Pc freezes/shuts down randomly, mainly during gaming

Pinta

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Mar 2, 2015
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Hi guys, I hope someone here can lend a hand, because I'm at my wits' end right now. And I know there's a ton of threads like this one, unfortunately none of them solved my issues.

A while ago, after installing Win 10 64bit, my pc started shutting down. I took it to a friend, who is an IT specialist. He ran a whole bunch of tests (including memtest - RAM is good), benchmarks and such, and said it's the graphics card (I previously had GTX 970). We changed it to the current GTX 1060, and added two more RAM sticks. Pc kept acting up, and was slow as a snail, so we tried again. We decided to install Windows on a brand new SSD, which gave it a lot more speed, and to keep the old, but big HDD as storage.

Still, even after all that, the computer shuts down/completely freezes randomly, no matter the game/program, occasionally even on plain Firefox while watching youtube or browsing the web.
I tried a different mouse, a different keyboard, all possible usb slot combinations. My drivers are up to date, I tried sfc and DIMM, nothing works. I disconnected all unnecessary drives, gamepads, what have you. I clean the dust off with compressed air regularly. Even connected to the internet via cable, because my old usb card was overheating. Pc temperatures are within norms and I'm not overclocking.

Could it be the PSU? I did have issues with one a long time ago, similar but it was much, much weaker, 450W or so. Power cord? HDMI cable? RAM speed? I've seriously ran out of ideas (and money), and am gradually running out of patience :(

Windows 10 Home 64-bit

CPU
AMD FX-8320
RAM
16,0GB Dual-Channel DDR3, two sticks at 889 MHz, two at 667 MHz
Motherboard
ASRock 970 Extreme4
Graphics
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB (MSI)
T24C300 Samsung monitor (1920x1080@60Hz) - connected via HDMI
Storage
223GB SSDPR-CX300-240 ATA Device (SATA (SSD))
931GB Western Digital WDC WD10EZEX-00BN5A0 ATA Device (SATA)
PSU
Aerocool Vp 750W
 

CrazyDingo

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May 1, 2015
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If this is a second thread for the same thing one of the moderators will just merge them.
Four sticks of ram from different kits that's going to cause some problems (may be another cause for as well of course). You need to stick to ram from one matched kit.
Have you tried a clean install of windows 10 (after carefully backing up, which you no doubt do regularly anyway)?
If you're just swapping parts and trying to use an old installation of windows 10 that may well be causing many problems as well.
Have you tested for malware? A clean install will sort that of course.
 

CrazyDingo

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May 1, 2015
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Easy first step, take out any unmatched ram. See how the system goes then.
When you installed win 10, did you have just the new ssd connected? If the old hdd was connected when you did the install that may also be causing some problems.
Have you checked the compatibility of the (two?) sticks of ram you're going to use with the cpu / mobo? Look for a vendor support list if possible (brand make etc - not just ddr3 / MHz).
 

Pinta

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Mar 2, 2015
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To be honest I doubt it's ram. Same stuff was happening before we added the two sticks, and I trust they are compatible. Unless my friend was mistaken.
HDD was not connected as far as I know.
Also the weird thing is, everything was working fine in his workshop. Games, browsers, other programs, but every time I take the pc back home it starts acting up. Could it be the power cord? Or maybe the outlet it's connected to? I know for a fact it's not grounded.
 

CrazyDingo

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May 1, 2015
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You really should be using a grounded cord, that could kill someone in an accident.
There may be other problems but mis-matched ram is really not a good idea - have a look at the sticky on the memory forum.
Is the ram on the amd / vendors memory support list for this cpu / mobo?
If you boot into bios/uefi and leave it sitting there does it freeze or crash?
Are there any crash reports or error logs?
I'm thinking you might want to breadboard this pc - takes some time, but sounds like it will save you time in the long run.
 
16,0GB Dual-Channel DDR3, two sticks at 889 MHz, two at 667 MHz

That is a poor choice of memory. Memory is guaranteed in the form sold. Other combinations have no guarantee to be compatible together. You are free to do your own compatibility testing.

Problems also could be your memory settings in BIOS. When using multiple kits there are no one set of settings to use.

Recommended memory for FX-8320 is DDR3-1866MHz when using one DIMM per channel or 1600MHz with two DIMMs per channel. I suggest using a single kit. 8GB should be adequate.