Question Ongoing System Instability – Z890 GODLIKE + Ultra 9 285K | Seeking Insight or Similar Cases

[Odin187]

Hey all,

Looking for help identifying the root cause of a persistent stability issue with my newly built system. I want to outline everything from the beginning in case anyone has experienced something similar or has insight into what could be going on.

System Overview:

• Motherboard: MSI MEG Z890 GODLIKE
• CPU: Intel Core Ultra 9 285K
• GPU: MSI RTX 5080
• RAM: DDR5 7200 (XMP used intermittently during testing)
• PSU: MSI MPG A1000GS PCIe 5.0 (ATX 3.1)
• Cooling: TRYX Panorama SE 360 AIO
• OS: Windows 11 (Fresh install after initial issues)

Timeline / Symptoms:

Initial Setup & Boot Issue:

• After upgrading to this platform, I couldn’t get into Windows due to Ethernet driver issues. I got impatient and nuked the system with a fresh install. Despite that, I still had to manually download and install LAN drivers on another PC to get back online.

Post-Install Behavior (All Stock Settings):

• UserBenchmark tests ran extremely laggy — delayed sound, choppy visuals, 5–10 second input lag.
• Boot times were slower than expected (especially compared to older systems using the same SSD).
• Some benchmarks (like Time Spy and Civ VII) caused hard crashes, not BSODs — just full system lockups with AIO screen resetting, but system still powered. No keyboard/mouse response.

Initial Troubleshooting:

• Updated to the latest BIOS (v1A1) to address potential Arrow Lake microcode and firmware issues.
• Disabled XMP and saw some perceived improvement, but still experienced crashes under certain loads (3DMark CPU Profile, Time Spy, games).
• Re-enabled XMP and ran multiple benchmarks. Some completed successfully (Steel Nomad, Speed Way), but crashes eventually returned — same freezing behavior, same reset symptoms.

Other Testing & Adjustments:

• Enabled Fast Boot and Memory Fast Boot (post-BIOS update) — boot time improved noticeably.
• Plan to begin structured testing using HWiNFO64 logging + benchmark loops to pinpoint the failure point.
• Testing will involve running multiple benchmark passes with XMP disabled, logging all sensor data to verify if RAM is at fault, or if the root issue lies elsewhere.

I am trying to determine whether this is an issue with a specific hardware component (CPU, board, memory, PSU, etc.), or simply growing pains from early BIOS/firmware/driver immaturity on a new platform. If it’s the latter, I’m open to undervolting or other safe tweaks to keep things stable until fixes roll out. If it starts looking like an actual hardware fault, I’ll stop wasting time and pursue an RMA.

Has anyone else experienced this type of behavior? Or seen similar reports tied to this generation of Intel CPUs or Z890 motherboards — especially MSI’s GODLIKE? Any links, threads, or firsthand experience would be super appreciated.

TL;DR:

• Z890 GODLIKE + Ultra 9 285K system
• Initial post-install required manual LAN drivers to reach internet
• UserBenchmark + general use was laggy even at stock settings
• Multiple hard crashes in Time Spy/Civ VII
• Tried disabling/enabling XMP, improved boot time with fast boot, but crashes persisted
• BIOS updated to latest (v1A1)
• Currently planning detailed testing with HWiNFO logs to isolate root cause
• Goal is to confirm if it’s BIOS/firmware-related or true hardware failure

 

[faalin]

So fresh windows install, and the only thing i see you installed was the lan drivers.

Do not rely on windows updates to install drivers, most of the time its a windows generic driver or the wrong one. Go to your motherboards webpage and download all the drivers needed for your system, also go to Nvidia's webpage and download the correct drivers for your GPU.

 

[Odin187]

So fresh windows install, and the only thing i see you installed was the lan drivers.

Do not rely on windows updates to install drivers, most of the time its a windows generic driver or the wrong one. Go to your motherboards webpage and download all the drivers needed for your system, also go to Nvidia's webpage and download the correct drivers for your GPU.

Apologies, I should’ve clarified earlier — I installed more than just the LAN drivers.

The ones I downloaded and installed were:

Intel Chipset Driver
Killer Network Universal Drivers
Intel Dynamic Tuning Technology
Intel Serial IO Drivers
10G Super LAN Drivers

The GPU was also updated.

I will download the rest when I get home. I was just attempting to get it connected with the hopes it would finish up. Thank you for that suggestion.