Far Cry 4 Freezing?

[Harley Walter]

This is the third time I've played Far Cry 4, this time playing hard. No problems before. 5 or 10 Minutes into the game it started freezing? Haven't had this problem before. My System is - Windows 10, MSI MPower Z77 Motherboard, Intel i5 3570k, GC 980 Ti, 16GB G. Skill DDR 2133 Ram, Asus 28" Monitor, Corsair CX750W Power Supply. Surround Sound Logitech Speakers, 5 Storage Drives. Cleaned out inside of case now dust free, it did lower temps. I built this system about 3 or 4 years ago and it has had few problems. Drivers are up to date, Lowered display to 1920 X 1440. Any other ideas? Thanks, Harley Walter
Update 8/23/2017: Run video benchmark RES. 2560x1440, Temps 75C, FPS 110-179, In game cpu temps 51C, Regular Temps 29C-32C.

 

[mwryder55]

If you run a video benchmark program, like Heaven, does it freeze? Your power supply's warranty is for 3 years so I wonder if maybe it is starting to fail.

 

[atomicWAR]

What are your temps?

Couple things come to mind. First is your PSU the older CX units are not very good to be blunt. The second thing is your ram. Bad news is you can't do much to test if it is the PSU the good news is you can for your ram. So I would start by running memtest. If you ram fails then you know you have an issue there (and by fail I do not include rowhammer ie bit switching...most DDR3 fails this test...it is the everything else memtest tests for you are interested in here). If your memory passes then I would lean hard on your PSU. When a computer is under heavy load like gaming, PSUs that are going bad will cause the game to freeze or shut down completely. Unfortunately there is no good test ( you can run gaming benchmarks with mixed luck) to prove this is the issue and if it isn't buying a new one won't fix it. So try running memtest, LMK your temps and we will troubleshoot it from there.

https://www.memtest86.com/

 

[photonboy]

1) MEMTEST86 for a full pass (or until errors) www.memtest86.com

2) Intel CPU Diagnostic (until PASS) https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/19792/Intel-Processor-Diagnostic-Tool
*Will set CPU to default settings.
**Can try game before you REBOOT (which goes back to overclock values which you SHOULD have hopefully) to see if stutter is CPU issue.

3) VSYNC OFF, and
Drop settings to LOWEST or at least fairly low and test

4) Adaptive VSYNC
- VSYNC ON at 60FPS (if 60Hz monitor), but
- forces VSYNC OFF if you can't output 60FPS from the GPU (can help prevent some types of stuttering.. will create screen tear if FPS is below refresh rate)

5) MIPMAP issue? (I don't own FC4)
https://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Far_Cry_4#Fix_stuttering

6) Run OTHER games and benchmarks.
- Unigine Valley
- Furmark

Looking to recreate freezing.

7) Monitor CPU temperature and frequency (throttle temp is pretty high though. close to 100degC I think? but optimal lifespan recommends no more than 75degC sustained usage).

8) Really stuck?
a) Swap PSU if you can borrow one
b) get spare HDD/SSD and do a clean install of W10 + FC4 + drivers just to test and see if it's a software issue.

8) Software:
a) DDU + reinstall NVidia drivers, or
b) in-place upgrade of W10 (run setup.exe from recently created W10 install media. Google for how to use "W10 media creation tool" to create on 8GB+ USB stick)
- just run setup.exe from that and choose to "keep data and apps" (should be default and greyed out anyway).
- that may fix any strange software glitches

 

[atomicWAR]

1) MEMTEST86 for a full pass (or until errors) www.memtest86.com

2) Intel CPU Diagnostic (until PASS) https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/19792/Intel-Processor-Diagnostic-Tool
*Will set CPU to default settings.
**Can try game before you REBOOT (which goes back to overclock values which you SHOULD have hopefully) to see if stutter is CPU issue.

3) VSYNC OFF, and
Drop settings to LOWEST or at least fairly low and test

4) Adaptive VSYNC
- VSYNC ON at 60FPS (if 60Hz monitor), but
- forces VSYNC OFF if you can't output 60FPS from the GPU (can help prevent some types of stuttering.. will create screen tear if FPS is below refresh rate)

5) MIPMAP issue? (I don't own FC4)
https://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Far_Cry_4#Fix_stuttering

6) Run OTHER games and benchmarks.
- Unigine Valley
- Furmark

Looking to recreate freezing.

7) Monitor CPU temperature and frequency (throttle temp is pretty high though. close to 100degC I think? but optimal lifespan recommends no more than 75degC sustained usage).

8) Really stuck?
a) Swap PSU if you can borrow one
b) get spare HDD/SSD and do a clean install of W10 + FC4 + drivers just to test and see if it's a software issue.

8) Software:
a) DDU + reinstall NVidia drivers, or
b) in-place upgrade of W10 (run setup.exe from recently created W10 install media. Google for how to use "W10 media creation tool" to create on 8GB+ USB stick)
- just run setup.exe from that and choose to "keep data and apps" (should be default and greyed out anyway).
- that may fix any strange software glitches

Wow great way to make me feel lazy Photon...His post is very detailed. This was the stuff I was going to get to if memtest failed to find an issue but can now skip because he spelled out nearly every troubleshooting angle I can think of off the top of my head. I will chime in if something else comes to mind but generally speaking IF you can follow his list in totality you should find the issue effecting you.

 

[Colif]

1) MEMTEST86 for a full pass (or until errors) www.memtest86.com

2) Intel CPU Diagnostic (until PASS) https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/19792/Intel-Processor-Diagnostic-Tool
*Will set CPU to default settings.
**Can try game before you REBOOT (which goes back to overclock values which you SHOULD have hopefully) to see if stutter is CPU issue.

3) VSYNC OFF, and
Drop settings to LOWEST or at least fairly low and test

4) Adaptive VSYNC
- VSYNC ON at 60FPS (if 60Hz monitor), but
- forces VSYNC OFF if you can't output 60FPS from the GPU (can help prevent some types of stuttering.. will create screen tear if FPS is below refresh rate)

5) MIPMAP issue? (I don't own FC4)
https://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Far_Cry_4#Fix_stuttering

6) Run OTHER games and benchmarks.
- Unigine Valley
- Furmark

Looking to recreate freezing.

7) Monitor CPU temperature and frequency (throttle temp is pretty high though. close to 100degC I think? but optimal lifespan recommends no more than 75degC sustained usage).

8) Really stuck?
a) Swap PSU if you can borrow one
b) get spare HDD/SSD and do a clean install of W10 + FC4 + drivers just to test and see if it's a software issue.

8) Software:
a) DDU + reinstall NVidia drivers, or
b) in-place upgrade of W10 (run setup.exe from recently created W10 install media. Google for how to use "W10 media creation tool" to create on 8GB+ USB stick)
- just run setup.exe from that and choose to "keep data and apps" (should be default and greyed out anyway).
- that may fix any strange software glitches

Wow great way to make me feel lazy Photon...His post is very detailed. This was the stuff I was going to get to if memtest failed to find an issue but can now skip because he spelled out nearly every troubleshooting angle I can think of off the top of my head. I will chime in if something else comes to mind but generally speaking IF you can follow his list in totality you should find the issue effecting you.

hopefully he smart and has it copied to a word document so he doesn't have to type it out every time. Can get tedious writing out same instructions all the time

 

[photonboy]

Nope. I'm not that smart, though the thought has crossed my mind.

 

[atomicWAR]

Nope. I'm not that smart, though the thought has crossed my mind.

Thank you so much for that. I was thinking I was a complete idgit for not doing the same.
i had pondered as much in the past but every bit of advice I give is a bit different so I try to tailor each replay to the issues I see the OP having. I feel less lazy now but like you am pondering a making some pre-typed up replies for the common issues I see. Kudos on you your thoroughness thoroughness though in one reply. Can't tell the OP who to pick for a solve but I know who I a rooting for<cough Photonboy>

 

[photonboy]

I see no mention of whether these issues happen in OTHER GAMES.

If not, then it sounds like a specific issue with this game. I don't know what would CHANGE, though I do know I have issues with micro-stutter in a few games that happened as a result of upgrading from a GTX680 to a GTX1080.

Specifically:
Halo 2, and
Prototype (#1)

I had lots of STUTTERING issues with Far Cry 3 though. I don't think it likes dropping below 60FPS (VSYNC ON 60Hz monitor). Like a few games sometimes that creates much more stutter than others.

That's why I recommended VSYNC OFF or Adaptive VSYNC as discussed.

Also, I see a very high FPS so I assume VSYNC was OFF. No mention of whether it's a GSYNC monitor, or the upper refresh rate of that monitor.

But if the monitor is 60Hz then I'd definitely apply Adaptive VSYNC. (caps to 60FPS). If it's a 144Hz (non-GSYNC) monitor then use the "HALF REFRESH" option to cap to 72FPS VSYNC ON (VSYNC ON if it dips below 72FPS).

FPS also seems too high so I assume some settings were turned down? Not sure why.

*OP, please let us know if the issue gets resolved!!

 

[aquielisunari]

This is the third time I've played Far Cry 4, this time playing hard. No problems before. 5 or 10 Minutes into the game it started freezing? Haven't had this problem before. My System is - Windows 10, MSI MPower Z77 Motherboard, Intel i5 3570k, GC 980 Ti, 16GB G. Skill DDR 2133 Ram, Asus 28" Monitor, Corsair CX750W Power Supply. Surround Sound Logitech Speakers, 5 Storage Drives. Cleaned out inside of case now dust free, it did lower temps. I built this system about 3 or 4 years ago and it has had few problems. Drivers are up to date, Lowered display to 1920 X 1440. Any other ideas? Thanks, Harley Walter
Update 8/23/2017: Run video benchmark RES. 2560x1440, Temps 75C, FPS 110-179, In game cpu temps 51C, Regular Temps 29C-32C.

I certainly hope your issue is solved with so many troubleshooting steps on the table. Should your game be that stubborn it might be a file error. Are you playing this through Uplay? When you hover over the game it will show a little upside down triangle. Click that and click Verify Files.

Please keep us updated on your progress.

 

[Colif]

Nope. I'm not that smart, though the thought has crossed my mind.

Thank you so much for that. I was thinking I was a complete idgit for not doing the same.
i had pondered as much in the past but every bit of advice I give is a bit different so I try to tailor each replay to the issues I see the OP having. I feel less lazy now but like you am pondering a making some pre-typed up replies for the common issues I see. Kudos on you your thoroughness thoroughness though in one reply. Can't tell the OP who to pick for a solve but I know who I a rooting for<cough Photonboy>

After writing the same explanation out for years, you would think its obvious to make a word document with 9 or so pages of common explanations, or instructions. It only took me a year

Way you can show the op who you think deserves praise is an up vote - that is about only good use for them