PC Completely Freezing

[Bombed]

Hey Tom's!


I built a new computer a few months back and I've been having a problem with it. A few times a week it will completely freeze and I will have to hold the power button to shut it down and then it will boot up just fine. I'm wondering how I can determine what the problem is.

Here are my specs:

Asus Z170-AR Motherboard
Corsair 850 PSU
Asus GTX 1070 Strix
16GB DDR4 PNY (From BestBuy)
Intel 6700k CPU
SSD main drive with backup HDD

I have ruled out overheating. I am in the process of doing a memtest but it's at 900% coverage with 0 errors detected. My first thought was bad memory since I don't trust PNY or PNX or whatever it's called. I don't know what else it could be. My GPU drivers are up to date but my windows updates are lacking since I didn't want WIndows 10 and the easiest way to stop Micro$oft from invading my PC was to turn off updates (this was early 2015).

What do you guys think? I don't have any replaceable parts on hand so I would have to go out and buy new stuff. This has been going on for months but it didn't seem like a huge issue but it is finally getting annoying. Today I was playing Path of Exile on hardcore and my PC completely froze up during a Breach.

What's my next step to fixing this rare but annoying nuisance that is my freezing PC?


Thanks Tom's!


QUICK UPDATE: So I ran 4 MemTest programs simultaneously (it suggested doing this because it can only check 2GB at a time?) and it says it found an error.

"A number was written to memory, and when that same location was read back, a different number was found.

This is not normal. Your RAM is bad, or your system is incorrectly configured. Even just one error means that you have a problem. If you have overclocked your machine, or selected aggressive RAM timings in your BIOS you should try more conservative settings before judging the RAM fully bad. If you can't get MemTest to run without errors even with conservative BIOS settings, however, your RAM is the most likely cause. Correctly functioning RAM has no errors, even if you run MemTest for days."


Now could this be a false positive since I was running MemTest 4 times at once? Or is it really bad RAM like I once suspected?

 

[weberdarren97]

Corsair 850 PSU is not enough information. What is the model of your PSU? Example: Corsair RM850i.

You have ruled out overheating... So then what are your max temps? I'm not trying to tell you that you're wrong, but there are plenty of people that decide that this isn't the problem, then it turns out to be the problem because they didn't do enough testing to be sure before saying that they were sure.

When the PC freezes, is this accompanied by any other strange behavior? Examples: Lines across the screen, entire screen is green, audio buzzes loudly until PC is reset, etc.

 

[Bombed]

Corsair 850 PSU is not enough information. What is the model of your PSU? Example: Corsair RM850i.

You have ruled out overheating... So then what are your max temps? I'm not trying to tell you that you're wrong, but there are plenty of people that decide that this isn't the problem, then it turns out to be the problem because they didn't do enough testing to be sure before saying that they were sure.

When the PC freezes, is this accompanied by any other strange behavior? Examples: Lines across the screen, entire screen is green, audio buzzes loudly until PC is reset, etc.

I believe the PSU is a Corsair HX850. It is an older model because I know they came out with an HX850i.

Overheating is always my first thought because it is the easiest to check. Under load (in a game) speccy is showing that my CPU is 50c, my mobo is 55c, my GPU is 61c, and my storage is 30c. Those are all good temperatures but correct me if I'm wrong.


When the PC freezes it normally isn't accompanied by anything. Once in a while I'll hear a loud noise in my headphones but it doesn't happen every time.

 

[weberdarren97]

The Corsair HX series is great. I highly doubt that the PSU is the problem here.

Is there evidence of abnormal electrical activity right before this happens? Example: the lights dim or flicker, you hear the home heater fan change speeds, etc.

Do you get a BSOD? If so, what is the error code?

 

[Bombed]

The Corsair HX series is great. I highly doubt that the PSU is the problem here.

Is there evidence of abnormal electrical activity right before this happens? Example: the lights dim or flicker, you hear the home heater fan change speeds, etc.

Do you get a BSOD? If so, what is the error code?

No I'm actually plugged into a UPS (CyberPower 1350 AVR).

There is no BSOD or error code. The computer just freezes so whatever was on the screen is still there, just frozen. Can't move mouse, the sound stops, the image is there but frozen.

Did you see my update in my original post? I ran 4 memtests at the same time and I got an error. Maybe I wasn't supposed to run 4 at once and that is what caused the error?

 

[weberdarren97]

Your test results are invalid. You did not run Memtest properly. Before testing, remove all the sticks except for the one you're testing. Run the test on each individual stick until you've tested all the sticks.

Never run more than one test at the same time.

 

[Bombed]

Your test results are invalid. You did not run Memtest properly. Before testing, remove all the sticks except for the one you're testing. Run the test on each individual stick until you've tested all the sticks.

Never run more than one test at the same time.

Okay, this may be a dumb question but I believe it won't let me test unless I enter 2047mb or less, right? Well my sticks are 8GB each so won't it only be testing 1/4th of a stick? Is there a better program that can test all my memory at the same time? I'm using MemTest at the moment.

 

[weberdarren97]

It won't let you test more than 2047MB? Something seems wrong here... Can you provide the URL at which you got your testing software?

 

[Bombed]

It won't let you test more than 2047MB? Something seems wrong here... Can you provide the URL at which you got your testing software?

I got it here: http://hcidesign.com/memtest/download.html

When I open the program it says: "If you have multiple cores/CPUs, run multiple copies of MemTest and split the amount of RAM tested between them."

This program seems shady, do you have a better suggestion for testing RAM?

 

[weberdarren97]

http://www.memtest86.com/

 

[Bombed]

http://www.memtest86.com/

Awesome. I will create a CD and give it a whirl. If my memory turns out to be fine, what do you think the next step would be? You think it could be my Windows Drivers? Like I said, once Windows 10 started forcing itself on PC's I turned off Windows Update.

I guess I'm getting ahead of myself. I will run this software and let you know what it says. Thanks for the help so far Weber.

 

[Bombed]

http://www.memtest86.com/

Okay so it's currently running now. How long will this take? I'm 18 minutes in and it's found 8 errors, I'm assuming my RAM is defective after all? I'm guessing normal RAM would find 0 errors? This program is awesome by the way, I feel like a leet hacker running it.

 

[weberdarren97]

http://www.memtest86.com/

Okay so it's currently running now. How long will this take? I'm 18 minutes in and it's found 8 errors, I'm assuming my RAM is defective after all? I'm guessing normal RAM would find 0 errors? This program is awesome by the way, I feel like a leet hacker running it.

It found 8 errors? You can stop the test there, we already know your RAM is faulty as soon as it finds a single error.

 

[Bombed]

http://www.memtest86.com/

Okay so it's currently running now. How long will this take? I'm 18 minutes in and it's found 8 errors, I'm assuming my RAM is defective after all? I'm guessing normal RAM would find 0 errors? This program is awesome by the way, I feel like a leet hacker running it.

It found 8 errors? You can stop the test there, we already know your RAM is faulty as soon as it finds a single error.

Yeah by the time I cancelled it, it was up to 15 errors (2nd Pass).

So this would be a reason why my computer would completely freeze up on me? And to solve this I just need to replace the RAM? I won't be buying PNY shit anymore. Thanks for all your help Weber! Do you have a suggestion for a good brand of RAM?

Thanks again!

 

[weberdarren97]

This would be the cause of your freezes. Replacing the RAM would solve the issue. However, this brings up an interesting question... What made your RAM go bad in the first place? It's possible that your RAM was simply faulty, but there's still the possibility that something else could have damaged it.

Your power supply is more than sufficient and your motherboard has good VRMs on it. It's highly unlikely that your RAM was damaged due to unstable power. Also, it's highly unlikely that a Skylake CPU would have a faulty memory controller. This basically leaves only the RAM itself.

While PNY isn't my favorite brand, this is the first I've heard of their RAM being faulty after such a short lifetime. Usually RAM lasts for at least a decade, assuming it's made properly.

I'd recommend Corsair Dominator or Vengeance, as well as most anything made by Crucial, G. Skill or Kingston.

 

[Bombed]

This would be the cause of your freezes. Replacing the RAM would solve the issue. However, this brings up an interesting question... What made your RAM go bad in the first place? It's possible that your RAM was simply faulty, but there's still the possibility that something else could have damaged it.

Your power supply is more than sufficient and your motherboard has good VRMs on it. It's highly unlikely that your RAM was damaged due to unstable power. Also, it's highly unlikely that a Skylake CPU would have a faulty memory controller. This basically leaves only the RAM itself.

While PNY isn't my favorite brand, this is the first I've heard of their RAM being faulty after such a short lifetime. Usually RAM lasts for at least a decade, assuming it's made properly.

I'd recommend Corsair Dominator or Vengeance, as well as most anything made by Crucial, G. Skill or Kingston.

When I was looking for new RAM I discovered that my CPU (i7-6700k) supports RAM speeds between 1866 and 2133. I believe my current PNY RAM is clocked at 2400. Could that be the problem? Do I need to change the speed manually or would the CPU control that automatically? When buying new RAM, do I want faster RAM or should I shoot for the 2133 speed?

 

[Bombed]

Should I have XMP enabled or disabled? Would that cause errors on the MemTest86 if XMP was disabled?

I tried to enable XMP but it wasn't an option. I'm guessing this RAM doesn't have any XMP profiles.

 

[weberdarren97]

Should I have XMP enabled or disabled? Would that cause errors on the MemTest86 if XMP was disabled?

I tried to enable XMP but it wasn't an option. I'm guessing this RAM doesn't have any XMP profiles.

XMP settings will not cause RAM issues. If RAM has an XMP profile, that means that it's designed to operate at the advertised "extreme" speed. If RAM does not have an XMP profile, the option to enable XMP will not be available.

 

[Bombed]

Should I have XMP enabled or disabled? Would that cause errors on the MemTest86 if XMP was disabled?

I tried to enable XMP but it wasn't an option. I'm guessing this RAM doesn't have any XMP profiles.

XMP settings will not cause RAM issues. If RAM has an XMP profile, that means that it's designed to operate at the advertised "extreme" speed. If RAM does not have an XMP profile, the option to enable XMP will not be available.

Okay, so I could buy a 3000mhz stick of RAM but since my CPU only supports 2133mhz then the RAM will run at 2133mhz? Unless I use an XMP profile or overclock it manually, correct?

Basically what I'm getting at is: Am I safe to buy higher clocked RAM or should I shoot for the 2133mhz that my CPU supports?

If it fits in my motherboard (DDR4) then it's pretty hard to buy the 'wrong' kind of RAM that won't work, correct? It's kind of fool proof, right? Speed, Voltage, etc.. the computer will automatically make it work?

 

[weberdarren97]

This would be the cause of your freezes. Replacing the RAM would solve the issue. However, this brings up an interesting question... What made your RAM go bad in the first place? It's possible that your RAM was simply faulty, but there's still the possibility that something else could have damaged it.

Your power supply is more than sufficient and your motherboard has good VRMs on it. It's highly unlikely that your RAM was damaged due to unstable power. Also, it's highly unlikely that a Skylake CPU would have a faulty memory controller. This basically leaves only the RAM itself.

While PNY isn't my favorite brand, this is the first I've heard of their RAM being faulty after such a short lifetime. Usually RAM lasts for at least a decade, assuming it's made properly.

I'd recommend Corsair Dominator or Vengeance, as well as most anything made by Crucial, G. Skill or Kingston.

When I was looking for new RAM I discovered that my CPU (i7-6700k) supports RAM speeds between 1866 and 2133. I believe my current PNY RAM is clocked at 2400. Could that be the problem? Do I need to change the speed manually or would the CPU control that automatically? When buying new RAM, do I want faster RAM or should I shoot for the 2133 speed?

Speeds below 2133Mhz do not concern DDR4. Never buy DDR4 that's slower than 2133MHz. Also do not attempt to use DDR3 with Skylake.

Just because the i7 6700K only officially supports 2133MHz DDR4 doesn't mean that your motherboard BIOS can't do its magic and bring memory speeds up into the XMP range. Currently, I think 4266MHz is the fastest RAM available, but your build will downclock this because it's faster than what the board supports.

Your motherboard supports up to 64GB of DDR4 clocked at 2133-3400MHz. In my opinion, anything above 3000MHz is a waste of money. The human eye can't notice the small difference between 3000MHz and anything faster than it. It's already faster than what we humans can notice, therefore anything faster will not yield a noticeable performance improvement.

 

[weberdarren97]

I could buy a 3000mhz stick of RAM but since my CPU only supports 2133mhz then the RAM will run at 2133mhz? Unless I use an XMP profile or overclock it manually, correct?

Basically what I'm getting at is: Am I safe to buy higher clocked RAM or should I shoot for the 2133mhz that my CPU supports?

If it fits in my motherboard (DDR4) then it's pretty hard to buy the 'wrong' kind of RAM that won't work, correct? It's kind of fool proof, right? Speed, Voltage, etc.. the computer will automatically make it work?

1) Your motherboard supports speeds up to 3400MHz. Just turn on XMP and it will do its magic. It may appear to be unresponsive for a moment, but it will recover. After this, you'll be running at the RAM's advertised speeds.

2) Your motherboard BIOS knows how to communicate the faster speeds to your CPU. You will be fine buying DDR4 clocked up to 3400MHz.

3) For the most part, yes. Except for non-standard RAM, this holds true.

 

[Bombed]

I could buy a 3000mhz stick of RAM but since my CPU only supports 2133mhz then the RAM will run at 2133mhz? Unless I use an XMP profile or overclock it manually, correct?

Basically what I'm getting at is: Am I safe to buy higher clocked RAM or should I shoot for the 2133mhz that my CPU supports?

If it fits in my motherboard (DDR4) then it's pretty hard to buy the 'wrong' kind of RAM that won't work, correct? It's kind of fool proof, right? Speed, Voltage, etc.. the computer will automatically make it work?

1) Your motherboard supports speeds up to 3400MHz. Just turn on XMP and it will do its magic. It may appear to be unresponsive for a moment, but it will recover. After this, you'll be running at the RAM's advertised speeds.

2) Your motherboard BIOS knows how to communicate the faster speeds to your CPU. You will be fine buying DDR4 clocked up to 3400MHz.

3) For the most part, yes. Except for non-standard RAM, this holds true.

Okay that's what I figured. Thanks again for all your help mate! I'll be ordering some new RAM soon.

 

[weberdarren97]

You're welcome.

The community is always willing to help. If an expert doesn't notice your thread right away, you can always just private me with the URL. Do not private me with direct questions. There are other knowledgeable users on the forums that will be able to correct me if I get something wrong.