Gaming PC Freezing

[mhorn37]

I recently built my first rig about a week ago and have found that it freezes up after about an hour of use. It happens during gaming, as well as browsing the internet or watching videos. Most recently, I left it on overnight to finish a download and it was frozen when I woke up. I went through and updated my Windows, checked that all my drivers were up to date, including BIOS, ran a memory test (turned up no issues), checked the SSD and HDD (no issues there), also reinstalled my OS twice, and all the temps look fine. I have spent the past week trying to find the issues, looking all over online, but haven't found a solution. On most of the lock ups, my mouse cursor can still move, but the most recent was a full lock up. My setup is as follows:

Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Asus Z87-A (NFC Express Edition) ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card
NZXT S340 ATX Mid Tower Case
Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply
HyperX FURY 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3
Power Plus X150 120GB SATA III 6Gb/s 2.5" SSD (OS is on here)
Mainstream 1TB 7,200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
Running Windows 8.1

I appreciate any and all help. I just want to get my computer up and running smoothly!

 

[George Mulligan]

What speed is your RAM and are you overclocking? If over 1600MHz, try setting to 1600MHz to see if that resolves issue. Secondly, the Corsair CX line is a lower quality unit, and although it should be enough for your system, I would also look at that as a possible weak link.

 

[mhorn37]

What speed is your RAM and are you overclocking? If over 1600MHz, try setting to 1600MHz to see if that resolves issue. Secondly, the Corsair CX line is a lower quality unit, and although it should be enough for your system, I would also look at that as a possible weak link.

No overclocking done, so I'm not entirely sure what the speed is. It's DDR3 1866 if that's it. (I am sort of new to building, so I'm not familiar with all there is to know)

 

[Neur0nauT]

If you are using Windows....Check the Windows event viewer, and filter the system section for Critical warning and alerts, then check to see if there is any indication of the lock ups.

you can find more info on doing this here: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/226084-event-viewer-open-use-windows-7-a.htm

 

[mhorn37]

If you are using Windows....Check the Windows event viewer, and filter the system section for Critical warning and alerts, then check to see if there is any indication of the lock ups.

you can find more info on doing this here: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/226084-event-viewer-open-use-windows-7-a.htm

Forgot to mention that. I'm running Windows 8.1 and will give that a shot when I get home from work.

 

[George Mulligan]

What speed is your RAM and are you overclocking? If over 1600MHz, try setting to 1600MHz to see if that resolves issue. Secondly, the Corsair CX line is a lower quality unit, and although it should be enough for your system, I would also look at that as a possible weak link.

No overclocking done, so I'm not entirely sure what the speed is. It's DDR3 1866 if that's it. (I am sort of new to building, so I'm not familiar with all there is to know)

1866 is an overclocked RAM, and it is probably automatically detected and set in your BIOS as "XMP" (eXtreme Memory Profile). If you enter your BIOS, you should be able to choose a 1600MHz profile instead of the XMP profile (which will show as 1866). Note depending on BIOS, you may see half of these numbers (i.e., 800 and 933) corresponding to the base speed, as the RAM is Double Data Rate (DDR).

 

[mhorn37]

What speed is your RAM and are you overclocking? If over 1600MHz, try setting to 1600MHz to see if that resolves issue. Secondly, the Corsair CX line is a lower quality unit, and although it should be enough for your system, I would also look at that as a possible weak link.

No overclocking done, so I'm not entirely sure what the speed is. It's DDR3 1866 if that's it. (I am sort of new to building, so I'm not familiar with all there is to know)

1866 is an overclocked RAM, and it is probably automatically detected and set in your BIOS as "XMP" (eXtreme Memory Profile). If you enter your BIOS, you should be able to choose a 1600MHz profile instead of the XMP profile (which will show as 1866). Note depending on BIOS, you may see half of these numbers (i.e., 800 and 933) corresponding to the base speed, as the RAM is Double Data Rate (DDR).

I will give that a shot later today! It does seem as though people are having issues with this RAM and MOBO from what I'm reading (I bought them in a combo from Newegg)

 

[mhorn37]

So I clocked it down to 1600 MHz, and it seemed to be working well for awhile, but then it started freezing again, and I actually ended up getting an error of CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED....any suggestions on how to proceed?

 

[mhorn37]

After replacing the RAM, and having it still freeze, then replacing the MOBO....and having it still freeze, I determined it was the SSD that I was booting on. Wish I had figured that out from the beginning.....but thank you for your help and suggestions!