Issue with pc freezing under load

[Karol Czarnyszewicz]

Since I purchased my pc, it has been crashing under heavier load i.e gaming. The image freezes, so does the sound and I can't do anything else other than turn it off with a button. At first I thought there is a problem with temperature because everytme after turning it back on, fans would start spinning at full speed. However after i changed fans, the freezes keep happening however without the fans spinning faster after turning it back on.

My pc specs:
CPU: intel i5 6600k
GPU: XFX Radeon RX 480 GTR black edition
MB: Gigabyte z17- Gaming k3
RAM 2x8 GB Ballistix sport ram 2400MHz
COOLING: 2x Noctua NF-f12
2x Noctua NF-A14
CM Hyper 212 EVO
STORAGE: SAMSUNG SSD 840 PRO for WIN 10
SEAGATE BARRACUDA 7200.11

 

[clarkjd]

Since I purchased my pc, it has been crashing under heavier load i.e gaming. The image freezes, so does the sound and I can't do anything else other than turn it off with a button. At first I thought there is a problem with temperature because everytme after turning it back on, fans would start spinning at full speed. However after i changed fans, the freezes keep happening however without the fans spinning faster after turning it back on.

My pc specs:
CPU: intel i5 6600k
GPU: XFX Radeon RX 480 GTR black edition
MB: Gigabyte z17- Gaming k3
RAM 2x8 GB Ballistix sport ram 2400MHz
COOLING: 2x Noctua NF-f12
2x Noctua NF-A14
CM Hyper 212 EVO
STORAGE: SAMSUNG SSD 840 PRO for WIN 10
SEAGATE BARRACUDA 7200.11

Freezes tend to be memory related and crashes/re-boots/restarts tend to be power related. That being said, an inadequate power supply can have an effect on the memory, so
1. What brand, make and model of PSU do you have?
2. How old is it?
3. Is this a new build? or a pre-built like HP, Dell, Lenovo, etc.?
4. Has this behavior just started, or has it been happening since the PC was new?

 

[Karol Czarnyszewicz]

It has been happening since I've built it. It is 1,5 years old. PSU iis beQueit Pure Power 9 600W

 

[clarkjd]

It has been happening since I've built it. It is 1,5 years old. PSU iis beQueit Pure Power 9 600W

I suspect an issue with the memory. Try using only one memory stick at a time, to see if we can identify a faulty memory stick. You can also download and run MEMTEST86.

 

[Toxic_Cobra]

I second this. I had my build and it worked fine but crashed sometimes and I figured out one ram stick was faulty, try taking out all but one memory stick and test them all individually untill you find the stick that won't boot, as clarkjd stated. If it crashes during memtest then it's definitely ram related.

 

[clarkjd]

It has been happening since I've built it. It is 1,5 years old. PSU iis beQueit Pure Power 9 600W

Since you say that the freezes only occur during heavier load, I did a closer look at your PSU, and according to this:
https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/631048-psu-tier-list-updated/
you have a tier 4 PSU(tier 1 is best and tier7 is worst). Usually, a tier 4 PSU is used for an office productivity type PC, but not really good for the high demands of a gaming system. If your PSU can't supply enough power to your system, it can exhibit strange behavior, including freezes.
If you can eliminate the memory as an issue, You can download and run PRIME95 as a stress test for everything but the video card. This would show any issues with overheating.

 

[Karol Czarnyszewicz]

I am back from a trip. I did the MemTest and it didn't show any error. I will run the PRIME95 test later, however so far I have been monitoring my temps and they have been fine.

 

[Karol Czarnyszewicz]

So after running PRIME95 it didn't show anything extraordinary either.

 

[clarkjd]

I am back from a trip. I did the MemTest and it didn't show any error. I will run the PRIME95 test later, however so far I have been monitoring my temps and they have been fine.

MEMTEST86 consists of several different tests during each pass. How many passes did you run?

 

[Karol Czarnyszewicz]

11

 

[Karol Czarnyszewicz]

If it matters, the crashes frequency lowers after turning down graphic settings to minimum.

 

[clarkjd]

If it matters, the crashes frequency lowers after turning down graphic settings to minimum.

Try to download and run FURMARK. This is a stress test for your graphics card.

 

[Karol Czarnyszewicz]

I will run it and tell results at evenin 'cause I am going out rn.

 

[Karol Czarnyszewicz]

I have ran furmark and unigine, no issues with that

 

[clarkjd]

I have ran furmark and unigine, no issues with that

At this point, we know that the freezes tend to happen when under load, but we haven't narrowed it down to a specific part. If you haven't already, I suggest that you run Prime95, and let it run overnight, or until it freezes. Run the test that uses the most memory. Monitor the temps.

 

[Karol Czarnyszewicz]

So while doing the test 1 thing bothers me. Why on afterburner does it show that my power drain is on 601W, is it even possible? I mean my PSU is only 600W + why is it so high

 

[Karol Czarnyszewicz]

Especially that PSU calculator shows that only about 500W is required

 

[clarkjd]

Especially that PSU calculator shows that only about 500W is required

Two things to remember:
1. the online PSU calculators are, at best, estimates based on average values. They are not 100 percent accurate.
2. Programs, like Afterburner, are also based on industry averages, and are at the mercies of the individual sensors of whatever they are measuring. The difference between 600 and 601 watts is basically insignificant.

That being said, the fact that Afterburner is showing that you are using 600+ watts of a 600 watt PSU is troubling, and, if anywhere close to true, would explain the freezes. PSUs can usually exceed their ratings, but not for long, and good ones will go into protection mode, either OCP, OVP, maybe even OWP.

Now, what is causing the excessive power draw is way beyond any diagnostics we can do over the internet. Your options are to replace specific components, one at a time, until you locate the culprit; or take it to a repair shop and let them zero in on the offending component.

 

[Karol Czarnyszewicz]

But do you think that there may be some kind of error in the afterburner itself as it shows 601W drain no matter what i do

 

[clarkjd]

But do you think that there may be some kind of error in the afterburner itself as it shows 601W drain no matter what i do

That is always a possibility, but I've not heard of anybody else complaining about that in Afterburner . Can you get a different (or older) release of Afterburner to test?

 

[Karol Czarnyszewicz]

I will try to, so if it doesn't show any difference would you recommend to buy a new PSU and if so which

 

[Karol Czarnyszewicz]

There is still one thing that concerns me, why didn't it freeze after 10h of stress testing

 

[clarkjd]

There is still one thing that concerns me, why didn't it freeze after 10h of stress testing

If you just stress tested with prime95, then while you WERE stress testing the CPU and ram, you were NOT stressing the GPU. Furmark is just the opposite. I am not aware of a stress test that stresses both the CPU and GPU at the same time. I guess that you could run both PRIME95 on a couple of cores, and Furmark at the same time. You might try that before you buy any new components.