Random Crashes - Signs of a Bad SSD?

[jmartin2017]

Hey all,
Recently, when running high intensity games like CS:GO, my PC will suddenly out of the blue crash. No warnings, it just either completely goes black or the screen freezes with no sound, mouse, or keyboard control. (This actually happens often not just during games.) My OS is loaded onto an OCZ Vertex 460, and I've read that OCZ's are know to have MAJOR issues. The drive won't appear in my motherboard's boot order either, as a side note. Sometimes it's not detected at all. Just wanted an opinion on the matter before I start replacing things.
(In addition, there is sometimes a whine coming from somewhere in my case shortly before a crash. Again, this only happens sometimes, but could it be the PSU or GPU?)

Parts:
CPU: 4770k
MoBo: ASUS Z87 Pro
GPU: Gigabyte Windforce GTX770 2GB
PSU: Seasonic X750 Gold 750W
Storage: 120GB OCZ Vertex 460 SSD + 1TB WD Blue HDD
Ram: 16GB (2x8GB) Corsair Vengeance LP @1866 MHz

 

[voyboyfan]

It may be GPU overheating, or maybe you overclocked something and it isn't stable.
Can you run some kind of monitoring tool so that we can see what the idle and load temperatures are? Something like EVGA Precision or MSI Afterburner will do.
Check inside your case are all the fans spinning.

 

[jmartin2017]

All the fans are working and the system idles between 28-35 C and the highest it has ever been is 53 C. I haven't overclocked anything yet due to these problems, but I hope to as soon as I get them sorted out. Seems like the problem has to be a faulty component, I just don't know which one. 🙁

 

[voyboyfan]

Try running it without the SSD.

 

[jmartin2017]

The SSD has my OS on it and booting into the BIOS works fine. Not exactly sure what you mean

 

[voyboyfan]

I thought you said you've read that OCZ has major issues and you also said that it sometimes doesn't even detect it.
Also the whine is probably from the PSU.

 

[jmartin2017]

I found out that OCZ isn't great after the build was finished when I started noticing these things. Should have done my research 🙁 Sometimes when I turn on my system, the BIOS checks for a Windows Drive to boot from and doesn't detect one. When it goes into the BIOS, the OCZ doesn't appear in the boot order either. I have to go to SATA configuration and choose "Boot from this Drive" manually. This is my first build and I don't have any "known good" parts to swap with.

 

[voyboyfan]

Maybe it could be your CPU overheating, did you see that? Maybe the heatsink isn't positioned correctly.

 

[jmartin2017]

The CPU stays at a constant 30-35 C. The Hyper 212 EVO seems to keep everything cool, and I didn't run into any problems when installing he heat sink, but that is always a possibility. Thank you so much for your help so far. Based on all this, what do you think the issue is?

 

[ko888]

It's a flaky SSD. Yes you will get random crashes when the SSD disappears from the OS' view during use.

OCZ SSDs have some of the highest return rates, due to defects, in the industry.

 

[voyboyfan]

Well, I can't really tell. Your GPU is not overheating, your CPU is not overheating, your SSD is working properly, so that leaves us with RAM and PSU. But I can't see how would that cause the problem because if there was a problem with any of those 2 the PC probably wouldn't boot.
But just to make sure, use 1 stick of RAM at a time. Do that with the other stick too. And also switch the slots.
I really don't know what else could be the problem.
Maybe a faulty GPU? I don't know...

 

[voyboyfan]

Well there you go, it's your SSD.
No problem, I'm always glad to help even tho I was useless right now 😛

 

[jmartin2017]

I'm also concerned about the PSU and CPU. They both seem to be running fine, however I do get that whine occasionally. I also just want to make sure the CPU is running at an OK temp without doing any damage. I never get the BSOD when it crashes, and sometimes when the PC crashes during a game, I get an ASUS mobo warning saying "Power Supply surges detected during previous power on." I've heard that the voltage threshold for this warning is very low and any PSU will throw out a little extra voltage when going from a low power state, like staring at a wall in a game, then jumping to high power, like jumping and shooting in a game. Is this true or should I replace the PSU as well?

 

[voyboyfan]

30-35°C idle is good temperature.
That Power Supply surges detected is a tough one since the Asus regulation might be wrong as well making it a board defect.

 

[jmartin2017]

Thanks for all your help

 

[voyboyfan]

No problem.

 

[ko888]

I had an ASUS P8Z68-VPRO motherboard die on me about 3 months ago. The motherboard would get power surge detected messages more frequently as time went on over about a 4 month period and eventually the motherboard just wouldn't POST anymore. I presume it's motherboard VRM failure.