PC Freezing with Black Screen, Audio Looping, Please Help!

[ares1023]

Hello All,

First here is my build: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/7JHZWZ

This was my first computer build that I built right around the time that the GTX 970 came out. Recently when I have been playing games (play time varies from 15min to 1hr) my computer randomly freezes with a black screen with the audio still playing in the background, and I am forced to turn off the computer. I also noticed that if I right click the context box is blank, same when I click the taskbar arrow at the bottom right to view additional notification icons. First I did a fresh reset to reinstall Windows 10 because it seemed to have started after a recent update, didn't fix it. Then I ran Memtest to check the RAM, did 15 passes which took 8hrs or so, no errors were found. At this point I am sure its not a software issue since I did a clean install of everything making sure everything was up to date before and afterwards. Now that it seems like its not the RAM, I don't know what to really do next to test the other components (ex. GPU, CPU, PSU, etc.). Any feedback/help will be greatly appreciated, thanks all!

 

[badboyrog2]

do you have the latest bios version?
Version 2702
Description Z97-PRO BIOS 2702
Improve system stability.
https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Z97PRO/HelpDesk_Download/
drivers updated?

 

[ares1023]

do you have the latest bios version?
Version 2702
Description Z97-PRO BIOS 2702
Improve system stability.
https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Z97PRO/HelpDesk_Download/
drivers updated?

Yes I have it updated to the latest bios version 2702.

 

[badboyrog2]

maybe drivers conflict or malwares running back

 

[ares1023]

Update: I made sure all drivers and programs were up to date, I ran Memtest, I ran a GPU stress test, checked the PSU. My comp passed all the tests which stumped me. But I decided to play some Civilization 6 to see if it would happen at low settings. My computer did the black screen again but it recovered after a couple minutes without me resetting, but then it froze again later with some textures distorted, not displaying properly, which screams GPU issue. So I borrowed my friends old EVGA Nvidia GTX 260 and took out my MSI Nvidia GTX 970 to check the GPU, and found that it was in fact the GPU. So I called up the MSI RMA Department, explained the problem and what I did to diagnose it, and they approved the RMA within 5 minutes, GPU had a 3 year warranty, really easy. I do want to note that I realized the GPU was slightly bent/drooping due to the weight of the GPU, and the fact that the mounting doesn't provide enough support. I can't say whether or not this design flaw caused the issue or can cause one later, but it is a design flaw nonetheless.