Question New(ish) build is crashing after a few seconds

[silvors]

Hi there, I just finished building a new(ish) PC. I say newish because the case, ssd, and psu are from the previous build, but upgrading my GPU and CPU led to me buying a new mobo and ram as well. However, after I finished putting it all together and plugged it in to download the drivers, it started immediately crashing. Essentially, a few seconds to a minute after startup, it crashes.

The amount of time before the crash is variable and the longer I seem to wait between boots, the longer it seems to last. The furthest it lasted was a little over a minute, where it opened up to the desktop but it crashed before I could get a page to load on firefox and try to install new drivers. When I say crash, it isn't blue screening but instead is just shutting off. The lights on the GPU where it connects to the PCIE power cable blink red once when it shuts off, but I'm not sure if this is normal behavior in response to it powering off or an error indicator.

It will shut off even if I manage to get into the BIOS.

I've tried reseating the GPU a few times to no avail, I've also tried multiple PSU cables on the GPU.

The build is:
ASROCK A520M-HDV
AMD Ryzen 5 3600
Radeon RX 6700 XT
DDR4 3200 8GB (two sticks for a total of 16GB)
EV3A 700 BR
4TB Sandisk SSD (I don't remember the exact one)
Lian Li Lancool II White

The upgraded parts were
ASROCK 970M Pro3 --> ASROCK A520M-HDV
AMD Ryzen FX 6120 --> AMD Ryzen 5 3600
Radeon R9 280X --> Radeon RX 6700 XT
4x DDR3 1600 8GB --> 2x DDR4 3200 8GB

 

[Darkbreeze]

If you did not do a clean install of Windows after this major platform upgrade, that is almost certainly your problem or part of it although obviously that should have no bearing on it wanting to crash even when just working in the BIOS.

You also have a fairly poor quality power supply, that likely also has some miles on it by now.

What is the EXACT model of the memory kit you are using with this system? Ryzen platforms are particularly finicky when it comes to compatibility of memory kits. Also, what is the current motherboard BIOS version?

Did you buy the CPU and motherboard new, or used, and from where?

It might be a very good idea to pull the CPU and make sure that no pins were bent during installation but I'd wait on that until we check to see if that memory kit is even listed as compatible.

 

[silvors]

If you did not do a clean install of Windows after this major platform upgrade, that is almost certainly your problem or part of it although obviously that should have no bearing on it wanting to crash even when just working in the BIOS.

You also have a fairly poor quality power supply, that likely also has some miles on it by now.

What is the EXACT model of the memory kit you are using with this system? Ryzen platforms are particularly finicky when it comes to compatibility of memory kits. Also, what is the current motherboard BIOS version?

Did you buy the CPU and motherboard new, or used, and from where?

It might be a very good idea to pull the CPU and make sure that no pins were bent during installation but I'd wait on that until we check to see if that memory kit is even listed as compatible

This is the memory that I used: Silicon Power Value Gaming DDR4 RAM 16GB (2x8GB) 3200MHz PC4 25600

The graphics card is a XFX Speedster SWFT 309 Radeon RX 6700 XT 12 GB Video Card

All of the upgraded parts were bought new from Amazon.

PCPartPicker said they should all be compatible and work, but I understand that it's fallible

 

[Darkbreeze]

Well, PCPP only checks to see that the SPECIFICATIONS are compatible, for example, DDR4 memory in a motherboard that requires DDR4 memory. It does not check to see that specific memory kits have been validated as compatible by either the memory manufacturer or the motherboard manufacturer. For that you generally need to look at the motherboard QVL (Qualified vendor list) or check the memory manufacturer's compatibility list. The problem with that is that pretty much only G.Skill, Corsair and Crucial provide this. The others basically don't.

Try pulling out one of the sticks of RAM, leaving one stick in the A1 slot. If that fails to make any change swap that DIMM out for the other one and try that. If that also fails, try each stick individually in the other slot.

Also, try removing the SSD temporarily to see if perhaps there is a drive issue. What we want is to be able to get stable enough to get into the BIOS and check the BIOS version and hopefully update it to the latest one but we don't want to try that with it acting like it currently is. The reason is, if it has an older BIOS it probably needs to be updated because many BIOS updates are specifically for improvement of memory compatibility which can be a big problem on Ryzen platforms. Not as bad as it used to be, but with memory we are not sure is compatible, although I've seen a few indications that this specific memory kit has worked ok on some other Ryzen platforms, but that doesn't mean it does for this specific board, we want to eliminate any probable causes and early BIOS versions are prime targets for problems sometimes.

I still have serious reservations about that power supply though. It's a fairly problematic model. How long have you had that PSU in service?

 

[silvors]

Well, PCPP only checks to see that the SPECIFICATIONS are compatible, for example, DDR4 memory in a motherboard that requires DDR4 memory. It does not check to see that specific memory kits have been validated as compatible by either the memory manufacturer or the motherboard manufacturer. For that you generally need to look at the motherboard QVL (Qualified vendor list) or check the memory manufacturer's compatibility list. The problem with that is that pretty much only G.Skill, Corsair and Crucial provide this. The others basically don't.

Try pulling out one of the sticks of RAM, leaving one stick in the A1 slot. If that fails to make any change swap that DIMM out for the other one and try that. If that also fails, try each stick individually in the other slot.

Also, try removing the SSD temporarily to see if perhaps there is a drive issue. What we want is to be able to get stable enough to get into the BIOS and check the BIOS version and hopefully update it to the latest one but we don't want to try that with it acting like it currently is. The reason is, if it has an older BIOS it probably needs to be updated because many BIOS updates are specifically for improvement of memory compatibility which can be a big problem on Ryzen platforms. Not as bad as it used to be, but with memory we are not sure is compatible, although I've seen a few indications that this specific memory kit has worked ok on some other Ryzen platforms, but that doesn't mean it does for this specific board, we want to eliminate any probable causes and early BIOS versions are prime targets for problems sometimes.

I still have serious reservations about that power supply though. It's a fairly problematic model. How long have you had that PSU in service?

I tried each of the DIMM in both ports and it kept having the issue.

Removing the SSD and booting into the BIOS didn't solve the issue either.

The PSU is old, I've had it for maybe 3-4 years, possibly longer. This computer is actually my fiance's and when we built it, I had it from an upgrade I'd done. This is probably it's 4th set of fresh parts that it's seen.

 

[Darkbreeze]

So, couple of things to consider here. One is the PSU, which could very well be the entire issue and just to eliminate that possibility it's probably a really good idea to replace it with something new, that is of at least decent quality.

You definitely can't just go by brand. All brands with very good PSUs also tend to have some pretty crappy ones as well. You can use the following two links to help with selecting a PSU or if you want I can make a recommendation but I'll need to know what you can afford to spend on one and what country you are in.

Discussion - PSU recommendations and power supply discussion thread - Tom's hardware

Below you will find MY standard list of recommended power supplies and beyond that this thread is intended as a landing place for questions or discussions regarding specific units, platforms or related PSU tech, all of which are all welcome to be discussed here. If it's related to power supplies...

forums.tomshardware.com

Article - [psucultists] PSU tier list rev. 14.8 (Final Update Jul '21)

PSU Tier List 4.0 rev. 14.8 (outdated) Last Update: 12-07-2021 Legend : Gray - EoL/obsolete and/or otherwise not recommended for purchase. Green - small form-factor (gold and blue colors are disregarded due to scarcity of SFX PSUs) Gold - best units in the tier (includes requirements for blue...

forums.tomshardware.com

The other thing is, VERY OFTEN I've seen people get hardware from Amazon and Newegg that have been previously used, and damaged, then returned, and then they send those parts back out to the next customer as new even though they have been returned or damaged because they don't bother to take the time to test them. So that should always be in the back of your mind when purchasing from these retailers. I can't say it happens OFTEN, but it happens often enough for me to mention it. It's also possible to simply have received a bad CPU or motherboard. While CPU problems are historically not common in terms of failure, seems like lately I've seen somewhat of an uptick in faulty AMD CPUs, BUT, it's a lot more likely to be a board issue or a problem with the RAM not being compatible with that board.

The ASROCK HDV boards are pretty low end, and it is not uncommon to see people having problems with them regardless of generation or chipset family. It might definitely be worth it to try double checking that there are no bent pins on the CPU before buying or returning anything though because it's an easy mistake to make and it's one that a lot of people do unfortunately have happen. I've even seen some veteran builders do it from time to time.

 

[silvors]

So, couple of things to consider here. One is the PSU, which could very well be the entire issue and just to eliminate that possibility it's probably a really good idea to replace it with something new, that is of at least decent quality.

You definitely can't just go by brand. All brands with very good PSUs also tend to have some pretty crappy ones as well. You can use the following two links to help with selecting a PSU or if you want I can make a recommendation but I'll need to know what you can afford to spend on one and what country you are in.

Discussion - PSU recommendations and power supply discussion thread - Tom's hardware

Below you will find MY standard list of recommended power supplies and beyond that this thread is intended as a landing place for questions or discussions regarding specific units, platforms or related PSU tech, all of which are all welcome to be discussed here. If it's related to power supplies...

forums.tomshardware.com

Article - [psucultists] PSU tier list rev. 14.8 (Final Update Jul '21)

PSU Tier List 4.0 rev. 14.8 (outdated) Last Update: 12-07-2021 Legend : Gray - EoL/obsolete and/or otherwise not recommended for purchase. Green - small form-factor (gold and blue colors are disregarded due to scarcity of SFX PSUs) Gold - best units in the tier (includes requirements for blue...

forums.tomshardware.com

The other thing is, VERY OFTEN I've seen people get hardware from Amazon and Newegg that have been previously used, and damaged, then returned, and then they send those parts back out to the next customer as new even though they have been returned or damaged because they don't bother to take the time to test them. So that should always be in the back of your mind when purchasing from these retailers. I can't say it happens OFTEN, but it happens often enough for me to mention it. It's also possible to simply have received a bad CPU or motherboard. While CPU problems are historically not common in terms of failure, seems like lately I've seen somewhat of an uptick in faulty AMD CPUs, BUT, it's a lot more likely to be a board issue or a problem with the RAM not being compatible with that board.

The ASROCK HDV boards are pretty low end, and it is not uncommon to see people having problems with them regardless of generation or chipset family. It might definitely be worth it to try double checking that there are no bent pins on the CPU before buying or returning anything though because it's an easy mistake to make and it's one that a lot of people do unfortunately have happen. I've even seen some veteran builders do it from time to time.

So, I should check the CPU's pins, then try to upgrade the power supply and if that doesn't work, I should return the Mobo?

 

[silvors]

Update: I tried the Corsair RM850 from another build I have and it did not solve the issue.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Ok, so then as long as that is a known good working power supply we can rule that out.

Do you have other DDR4 memory you can try in there as well?

Definitely check the CPU for bent pins. Even a single pin that is barely bent can cause a variety of problems including what you're experiencing now.