PC randomly rebooting/freezing under load since June ONLY at my place

[radioactivejawa]

Hello everyone, I'm really at the end of my wits here. Since late June, my PC has been acting up for random periods of time only under load (graphically-demanding games, video editing) and sometimes if I open programs too fast after booting up. It either freezes or reboots itself. Sometimes it takes a few (automatic, short) tries after the automatic shutdown to boot back up. I have brought it to two different stores two times, and it works perfectly fine (GPU tests, CPU stress tests, HDD and SSD tests...).

I have also changed the PSU to no avail. It has often randomly worked fine for periods as long as two weeks before acting weird again. It seems completely random, but it has never happened during browsing or doing light tasks. Also tried unplugging my peripherals one by one bar the PS2 keyboard (I will borrow my sister's tomorrow in order to try it out). It's always a hard reboot or freeze, with no BSOD or error screens whatsoever. Temps are perfectly fine.

At this point, seeing how it only happens at my place and even under minimal peripherals connected, I'm looking at external factors such as the wall socket (also tried out different multipliers and power plugs/chords). I'm running out of options and the situation is just frustrating.

Please help.

Here are my specs (my new PSU is an EVGA 650W BQ Bronze):

Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64-bit
CPU
Intel Core i7 4790K @ 4.00GHz 44 °C
Haswell 22nm Technology
RAM
16,0GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 1066MHz (9-11-11-31)
Motherboard
ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. Z97-A (SOCKET 1150) 34 °C
Graphics
M237WD (1920x1080@60Hz)
2047MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB (ZOTAC International) 45 °C
Storage
111GB KINGSTON SA400S37120G (SSD) 36 °C
1863GB Seagate ST2000DM001-1ER164 (SATA) 38 °C
930GB Western Digital WD My Book 1110 USB Device (USB (SATA)) 41 °C
Optical Drives
HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GH24NSB0
WD Virtual CD 1110 USB Device
Audio
Razer Surround Audio Controller

 

[scout_03]

you could use this to test the outlet https://www.amazon.com/Electrical-Receptacle-Outlet-Ground-Tester/dp/B0012DHVQ0 also how many device are on the same breaker if the is one with a motor it could be asking to much power on the breaker and made it momentary trip .

 

[bumnut53]

Bit of a long shot but have you tried dropping your RAM speed to 800?

 

[radioactivejawa]

you could use this to test the outlet https://www.amazon.com/Electrical-Receptacle-Outlet-Ground-Tester/dp/B0012DHVQ0 also how many device are on the same breaker if the is one with a motor it could be asking to much power on the breaker and made it momentary trip .

Modem, router, phone booth/charger, HDTV (I use it as a monitor), an external HDD and my PS3 spread across two strips than go into a multiplier which is connected to the wall socket. I don't have more devices connected than before, that's for sure. The number hasn't changed at all, and it should be far from surpassing the maximum wattage. The wall socket could have gone bad after a summer brownout, that's a possibility. I'll probably try the whole setup in another room of the house and see what happens once I have the time.

Bit of a long shot but have you tried dropping your RAM speed to 800?

Yeah. Also passed the tests without breaking a sweat.

 

[radioactivejawa]

Quick update: PC reboots or freezes after 1-2 minutes when running the Prime95 In-place Large FTTs and Blend tests. Small FTTs one doesn't seen to bring it down.

 

[scout_03]

post a picture of those 2 strip that connecy to multiplier then wall outlet .

 

[radioactivejawa]

post a picture of those 2 strip that connec to multiplier then wall outlet .

Nvm that, I just tested it on a whole different room in the house directly plugged to the wall and with entirely different monitor, mouse and cables. Behaves exactly the same and reboots after 1-2 minutes of Prime95.

 

[radioactivejawa]

Update: tried switching from the usual XMP OC profile for my RAM sticks to default settings in the BIOS and manually setting DRAM to 2133mhz. No reboots or freezes after an hour of gaming and editing. I will test it further and come back with the results. Dunno if I'm just lucky, as this issue has often vanished for more than one week only to pop back up.

EDIT: nvm, just rebooted again shortly after writing this.

 

[scout_03]

you did not post your psu specs so use occt to stress test it and if it pass test i would keep os drive only in and boot if result is good no reboot i would had a hdd and redo test for boot if there is not shuthing down i would had the other ssd for same test and see .

 

[radioactivejawa]

you did not post your psu specs so use occt to stress test it and if it pass test i would keep os drive only in and boot if result is good no reboot i would had a hdd and redo test for boot if there is not shuthing down i would had the other ssd for same test and see .

PSU and both SSD and HDD have been tested throughouly. Also this is a brand-new PSU (EVGA 650W BQ), as I thought the previous one (Talius Gaming Modular 700W) was defective.

 

[scout_03]

then you have to strip system to minimal parts for test and the previous psu defect could have damage sthe motherboard check if youdont see any bubled capacitors or resistors even any others parts on her .

 

[radioactivejawa]

then you have to strip system to minimal parts for test and the previous psu defect could have damage sthe motherboard check if youdont see any bubled capacitors or resistors even any others parts on her .

Everything looks fine. Cables, capacitors and other mobo components. Could the VRM be malfunctioning?

 

[radioactivejawa]

Update: got two reboots while browsing Chrome without load. Hasn't happened before. Whatever it is, it seems to be getting worse.

 

[radioactivejawa]

Update (good news, I think): testing each RAM module with Prime95's Blend test gave seemingly conclusive results:

- Stick 1 alone: reboot/freeze after 2-3 minutes.
- Stick 2 alone: no problems, left running for over an hour.
- Stick 1 + 2: reboot/freeze after 2-3 minutes.
- Stick 2 alone (second round): no problems again, left running for another good hour.

They're G.Skill RAM sticks, so I'll try to use the lifetime warranty. I'll keep you updated.

 

[scout_03]

memtest will give real test on ram .

 

[radioactivejawa]

memtest will give real test on ram .

They passed the first time I ran it and froze the computer the second time. That's why I checked them one by one today.

 

[scout_03]

that is the way to do it one at the time and in the same slot .

 

[radioactivejawa]

I can confirm that the RAM kit replacement solved all my problems. Have been slamming the PC hard for two weeks now with games, editing and anything else. Rock solid once again. Thanks everyone, this was a tough nut to crack!