Experiencing crashes when gaming or installing software.

[cyroiv]

Hi, I was hoping you guys could help me figure out whats ailing my PC. Build is slightly over a year old.

Specs:

CPU- 4790k
Cooler - x61 Kraken
Motherboard - Asus Formula VII
Ram- Corsair Dominator Platinum 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 (CMD8GX3M2A2400C11)
GPU - GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 980 4GB G1 GAMING OC EDITION
PSU- Corsair 860i
SSD- Corsair Neutron XT 250GB
HDD - WD Black 1TB

Problem:

I've been having issues playing my games as of two weeks ago. Experiencing my games completely freezing or kicking me to the desktop (csgo.exe has stopped working). On a rare occasion it will totally reboot my PC. As far as GPU temps, idle is around 30 degrees and full load 65-70 depending on game. Heaviest Game that I play is most likely GTA 5. Was getting a lot of blue screens as well, mainly pagefault in non paged area. Went and tested my ram with memtest 86 after that, and it failed. Got some replacement ram after an RMA. The bluescreens went away but games still freeze or crash. Another issue arose after I received then new Ram kit. I'm unable to install any piece of software, or driver without my PC being completely unresponsive. I was able to install somethings in compatibility mode. Tried updating PC to windows 10 and it blue screened in the middle of it. (Clock WatchDog Timeout)

Steps I've taken:

First thing I've done was a fresh install of windows 8.1. This was when I noticed I has issues installing things. Updated my bios, set my CPU back to it's original settings and ram is running at base 1333mhz without XMP enabled. Unplugged all my cables, reseated the ram ( tested in both sets of slots), reseated my GPU and tried looking for blown capacitors on my motherboard. Didn't reseat my CPU yet (bent pins maybe?). Computer works for basic everyday use right now but it's unreliable to play games on.

I'd really appreciate if you guys could help me figure this out, I'm rather stumped. I have a surge protector between my pc and the outlet but I'm wondering if I still managed to fry something.

 

[Supahos]

Did you reinstall windows before or after the ram swap? If before try it again, (also run memtest on the new sticks) other "likely" cause is disk failure

 

[cyroiv]

Did you reinstall windows before or after the ram swap? If before try it again, (also run memtest on the new sticks) other "likely" cause is disk failure

I reinstalled windows after the ram swap. I'll try running memtest 86 for a few passes on the new sticks. I have everything running off my SSD. Might try swapping over to my secondary HDD and go from there. Any good ways to test an SSD?

 

[Supahos]

If Samsung they have a utility, most have some sort of "proprietary" testing software on their website

 

[cyroiv]

If Samsung they have a utility, most have some sort of "proprietary" testing software on their website

Just used the Corsair software I found on their website and my SSD passed the SMART tests. Anything else to try? :C

 

[Supahos]

Now is where it gets trickier if it passes mem test, next step is remove gpu and see if same issues with onboard video.... But this isn't 100% as dropping the 980 could hide a power supply issue as well. But removing the gpu would be my next step.

 

[cyroiv]

Now is where it gets trickier if it passes mem test, next step is remove gpu and see if same issues with onboard video.... But this isn't 100% as dropping the 980 could hide a power supply issue as well. But removing the gpu would be my next step.

I'll go try it and report back then. Thanks!

 

[cyroiv]

Now is where it gets trickier if it passes mem test, next step is remove gpu and see if same issues with onboard video.... But this isn't 100% as dropping the 980 could hide a power supply issue as well. But removing the gpu would be my next step.

I took out my GPU and set the bios to use cpu graphics. And it's working. Gonna try and run some games.

 

[cyroiv]

Onboard video seems to be running well. No crashes or freezes yet. Still having issues installing software.

 

[Supahos]

Hmmm did you ever run memtest on the new sticks? Seems like we may have found one issue... But still could have a memory problem, (also dont know if removing the gpu fixed a gpu or psu failure)

 

[cyroiv]

Hmmm did you ever run memtest on the new sticks? Seems like we may have found one issue... But still could have a memory problem, (also dont know if removing the gpu fixed a gpu or psu failure)

Gonna try sending out my gpu for RMA but I'll try mem test again. Did a little research and the ram I have isn't on my motherboard's qualified vendor's list. Also used corsair's memory finder to see what was compatible with motherboard but the kit they sent me isn't on there either.

Link for QVL http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/LGA1150/MAXIMUS-VII-FORMULA/M7F_DIMM_QVL_033115.pdf?_ga=1.161841663.270241699.1469586795

 

[Supahos]

Usually those lists mean nothing, too many kits on the market to test them all. Not being on the list doesn't mean incompatible, just 99% of the time it means untested. Do you have access to another psu?

 

[cyroiv]

Don't have access to another power supply unfortunately. Have very few spare parts if any laying around. Trying to avoid taking my PC to a repair center but I might have to.