[SOLVED] Freshly built PC freezing under ridiculous workload

Dec 28, 2019
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Hi everybody. First of all I apologize if I'm publishing a copycat thread but I've searched for myself and tried many of the solutions suggested to users that have had a similar problem but no light at the end of the tunnel so far, I'm kind of brokenhearted.

Anyway, my PC is made of the following hardware:
CPU: Ryzen 7 3700X
GPU: Geforce RTX 2070 (Msi ARMOR)
MoBo: MPG X570 Gaming Plus
RAM: 32GB (16x2) Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200MHz
PSU: EVGA Supernova 750 G3 750W
Cooling: Masterliquid ML240L
Storage: 2x SSD SanDisk Ultra 1TB Sata III

The pc works fine since day one, it just doesn't stand a workload heavier than minesweeper (or maybe even minesweeper would be too much, I still have to try).
There are two kind of outcomes it gives me based on the kind of stess:
  • It freezes (image frozen, no mouse or keyboard output) and audio stutters with a glitchy and creepy sound, and then in 5-10 seconds it comes back to life.
This happens even with ridiculous workloads like opening a video file, having some internet tabs opened at the same time, having youtube playing in the background.
  • It freezes (image frozen, mouse or keyboard might have output but I'm not sure since I'm blinded by the frozen screen) but audio keeps going on and there's no way to exit the frozen screen except for ctrl+alt+del.
This happens under major workloads like an AAA game starting a loading.

Any answer is welcome here, I'm totally desperate and clueless being this my first (and awful I'd say) PC build.
If the problem is a faulty component my only deadline is finding it out before Jan 31st because prior to that date I'd be able to return it.
 
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me 1

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Oct 2, 2010
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Anything in event viewer? Check msconfig on startup stuff and services you have, or investigate with process explorer if you want to check deeper in services ( download it)
You can also try and check your ram again. If you have 2 , try taking one out.
Or try reinstall drivers.
 
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Dec 28, 2019
18
3
25
Anything in event viewer? Check msconfig on startup stuff and services you have, or investigate with process explorer if you want to check deeper in services ( download it)
You can also try and check your ram again. If you have 2 , try taking one out.
Or try reinstall drivers.
Both in event viewer and among enabled services nothing suspicious (but agaion, I'm no pro so I may be mistaken), I've already tried to reinstall drivers for each hardware component and nothing seemed to work. Now I'm gonna try the ram trick.
[EDIT]
The pc behaved exactly as always even with a single RAM stick.
 
Last edited:

me 1

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Oct 2, 2010
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Things to try:
Does it do the same in safe mode?
Do you have any processes with high CPU usage in task manager?
Also check Windows \ minidump folder to see if there are any files in there
Any exclamation sign at any device from right clicking on My computer, then properties, and Device manager?
In task manager, If you still see Explorer.exe terminate it, and rerun it from file > run , then write explorer . ( does that works?)
How much space you have free?
Also run a scandisc and program it to run at startup.
Try to install Speedfan and see temps.
 
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Vic 40

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I've been watching it since this morning and it seems to only be every couple of times it freezes that the SSD shoots up to 100%. Could just be a coincidence.
Maybe that the controller is bad,maybe it needs a firmware update. Most manufacturers have their own tool with which you can check,can download that on their site.


Not too sure what raid is. It shows that I have two different drives being my SSD and HDD if that helps?
Then you probably don't have it. Furthermore did you say in the first post you had two ssd's not one ssd+one hdd.
 
Dec 28, 2019
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Yeah I've got the latest BIOS

I've been watching it since this morning and it seems to only be every couple of times it freezes that the SSD shoots up to 100%. Could just be a coincidence.

Not too sure what raid is. It shows that I have two different drives being my SSD and HDD if that helps?
I think our problems are probably not related. Maybe it'd be better to separate your issue in a dedicated thread, just not to mess things up.
 
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Anyway, my PC is made of the following hardware:
CPU: Ryzen 7 3700X
GPU: Geforce RTX 2070 (Msi ARMOR)
MoBo: MPG X570 Gaming Plus
RAM: 32GB (16x2) Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200MHz
PSU: EVGA Supernova 750 G3 750W
Cooling: Masterliquid ML240L
Storage: 2x SSD SanDisk Ultra 1TB Sata III

If you bought the system then I would contact the vendor now for support.



Assuming you put the PC together yourself I would do the following:
  1. check your cpu temps using Ryzen Master while you're using the computer...you should be below 75c at 100% cpu load with the ML240L cooler and around 30-35c at idle depending on your room temp. Looping Cinebench R20 will get the temps up enough to check load temps. If you're hotter than 75c under load I would recommend removing, cleaning, and re-installing the waterblock with fresh thermal paste
  2. make sure you have downloaded and installed updated drivers...this should include the x570 chipset driver from AMD, the ALC1220 audio driver from MSI, and the GPU driver direct from nVidia
  3. unplug and then reconnect all power connections including those on the power supply itself to double check all connections are good
  4. reset the BIOS to defaults...after the reset select CSM mode, choose your boot drive, and select XMP for the memory...leave everything else at defaults
Do the above one at a time and then report back.



Click the + arrow next to Win 10 64 https://www.amd.com/en/support/chipsets/amd-socket-am4/x570

https://download.msi.com/dvr_exe/mb/realtek_hd_UAD_audio.zip

https://www.geforce.com/drivers/results/155645
 
Dec 28, 2019
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It seems you had someone else build the system. What is the memory currently running at? Have you made any changes to BIOS options?
I've built it myself but as I said I'm no expert and this is my first time. If by memory you mean RAM it's currently running at 2133 MHz, but I've already tried making it run at 3200 MHz (its advertised clock speed) and nothing changed.
 
Dec 28, 2019
18
3
25
Things to try:
Does it do the same in safe mode?
Do you have any processes with high CPU usage in task manager?
Also check Windows \ minidump folder to see if there are any files in there
Any exclamation sign at any device from right clicking on My computer, then properties, and Device manager?
In task manager, If you still see Explorer.exe terminate it, and rerun it from file > run , then write explorer . ( does that works?)
How much space you have free?
Also run a scandisc and program it to run at startup.
Try to install Speedfan and see temps.
  • In safe mode doesn't freeze but still lags as hell (~ 1/0.5 FPS);
  • No high CPU usage in task manager;
  • No files in minidump;
  • No exclamation sign at any device in device manager;
  • The whole explorer.exe thing worked fine;
  • Atm I have ~ 660 GB on tha main SSD and 1TB free on the second one;
  • Scandisc reported nothing wrong;
  • Here are the idling temps taken with ICCT: https://i.ibb.co/Z8bqLV0/temps.jpg P.S.(these are Celsius degrees)
 
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Dec 28, 2019
18
3
25
  1. check your cpu temps using Ryzen Master while you're using the computer...you should be below 75c at 100% cpu load with the ML240L cooler and around 30-35c at idle depending on your room temp. Looping Cinebench R20 will get the temps up enough to check load temps. If you're hotter than 75c under load I would recommend removing, cleaning, and re-installing the waterblock with fresh thermal paste
  2. make sure you have downloaded and installed updated drivers...this should include the x570 chipset driver from AMD, the ALC1220 audio driver from MSI, and the GPU driver direct from nVidia
  3. unplug and then reconnect all power connections including those on the power supply itself to double check all connections are good
  4. reset the BIOS to defaults...after the reset select CSM mode, choose your boot drive, and select XMP for the memory...leave everything else at defaults

1. CPU temps idling ~ 35°, with Cinebench R20 running ~65° so no need to refresh thermal paste
In the chart of the different CPU on the left, where are all highlighted in green, mine was highlighted in orange, that's just to point out the one you're using or is it a bad symptom?
  1. I'm sure I've already installed all the needed drivers but better safe than sorry so I've downloaded and installed everything you told me to except for the geforce one (that's because is a notebook driver and also, as I said, I'm sure I've already installed all the drivers)
  2. Did it and nothing changed
  3. I've reset the BIOS and it already was in CSM mode so I simply selected the "Memory" tab in the left and enabled the A-XMP on the big red button in the top left corner (I'm not sure about this step so I link a screenshot of the BIOS UI so you can see what I've just done) https://images.anandtech.com/doci/14619/MSI_SnapShot.jpg
this is NOT a screenshot of MY BIOS, it's just a reference for buttons positioning

As usual, no change detected in the patient conditions
 
Dec 28, 2019
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Also I just want to thank every one who is caring about this issue of mine. I was just desperate before asking in the forums and even if nothing is working, having something to try it's better than just staring at the pc and doing nothing.
 

Vic 40

Titan
Ambassador
You could also try with different ram,even now sometimes ram gives problems with Ryzen and maybe chipset. A friend with ddr4 ram maybe?

tried installing windows on both ssd's? Think it's more hardware related,but it's worth a shot. If installing on the other ssd (wanting to try) disconnect the one where it is on right now.

Also try and power the gpu with two cables,not just with two connectors coming from one cable.

Test each of these options on it's own.
 
Dec 28, 2019
18
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Try downloading DDUninstaller and completely remove your nVidia drivers...it's possible the installation is corrupted.

https://www.guru3d.com/files-details/display-driver-uninstaller-download.html

Download the latest GeForce driver direct from nvidia.com and see if re-installing helps
Done. There was actually another twin driver and another driver of an old GPU I installed while building the pc for diagnostic purposes. But even if I've cleaned everything up and reinstalled the correct nvidia drivers nothing changed.
 
Dec 28, 2019
18
3
25
You could also try with different ram,even now sometimes ram gives problems with Ryzen and maybe chipset. A friend with ddr4 ram maybe?

tried installing windows on both ssd's? Think it's more hardware related,but it's worth a shot. If installing on the other ssd (wanting to try) disconnect the one where it is on right now.

Also try and power the gpu with two cables,not just with two connectors coming from one cable.

Test each of these options on it's own.

  • For the ram switch I have to wait until the chosen friend comes back from xmas homecoming, speaking of which, by different ram you mean different brand, clock or both?
  • The OS try did nothing.
  • Since I actually HAD a single cable for both my VGA connectors it felt like a eureka but unfortunately even this change did nothing.
 
  • It freezes (image frozen, no mouse or keyboard output) and audio stutters with a glitchy and creepy sound, and then in 5-10 seconds it comes back to life.
This makes me think that something is overheating. It cools down in 5 to 10 seconds.

Looking at your list of hardware I'm thinking the VRMs on the motherboard, as MSI's X570 boards have a bad rep for all the boards cheaper than the Unify model. Anyway is just a theory, an easy way to prove or disprove it is to take the side off the case and point a fan at the VRM area of the motherboard. See if the issue persists.
 
Dec 28, 2019
18
3
25
This makes me think that something is overheating. It cools down in 5 to 10 seconds.

Looking at your list of hardware I'm thinking the VRMs on the motherboard, as MSI's X570 boards have a bad rep for all the boards cheaper than the Unify model. Anyway is just a theory, an easy way to prove or disprove it is to take the side off the case and point a fan at the VRM area of the motherboard. See if the issue persists.

Tried it and didn't work. Also that would not have explained the permanent freeze when starting a high graphics game.