Question Ryzen CPU Upgrade - System Unstable

[swana2k]

Hi,​

Looking for some advice please...​

Recently upgraded CPU from a Ryzen 5 3600 to a Ryzen 9 5950X - no other changes. Since then, system has become unstable & have been experiencing random occasional black screen or reboots whilst gaming. Not consistent, could be once every couple of days then maybe twice in same day. Not frequent enough that the PC is unusable but still frustrating all the same...

Before the CPU change no such issues, perfectly stable.

The mobo was updated to latest BIOS before installation and CPU listed as supported. All drivers have been updated to latest version.
My initial thoughts are that this has something to do with the MOBO and/or power - is it possible the CPU is pushing it beyond its limit?
​

Any tips/advise would be greatly received please...

Original System Spec
AMD RYZEN 5 3600
ASUS B550M-K
RTX3060 12GB
COOLERMASTER MasterLiquid 120
16GB DDR4 3600Mhz - CORSAIR - Vengeance RGB PRO
480GB KINGSTON A400 SATA3 - 6Gb/s
650W PSU - SEASONIC GC-650 Gold

 

[zinkles]

How old is the PSU (power supply)?

 

[swana2k]

How old is the PSU (power supply)?

Approaching 3 years - bought early 2021

 

[zinkles]

are the crashes correlated to the load? (i.e. when performing a heavy stress test, does it crash more frequent?) This can help check if its a power related issue.

 

[swana2k]

are the crashes correlated to the load? (i.e. when performing a heavy stress test, does it crash more frequent?) This can help check if its a power related issue.

I would say so yes, the PC is only ever used for gaming majority of time and issue certainly only seems to occur when actually in middle of playing something. Run most games on high GPU settings but has happened with less demanding games as well.

Is there a tool or monitoring app which will log details to prove one way or another.

 

[NorbertPlays]

You can use HWiNFO to log everything. I'd try the following steps:

• Set RAM to base clock.
• Run Prime95 to fully load the CPU, monitor CPU package power and CPU temp.
• Run Furmark to fully load the GPU, monitor GPU power.
• Run both, monitor CPU power and temp and GPU power.
• Repeat a few times to see if there's any consistency.

My guess is that either your PSU is struggling (in which case loading one component at a time then loading both may give some sort of clue - if it survives a load on them individually but crashes on both then it's probably your problem), perhaps when you swapped CPU you didn't get a good mount with the cooler in which case keeping an eye on temps will give it away, or maybe you're running in to the irritating "AMD CPUs are really picky with RAM speeds" problem.

 

[swana2k]

You can use HWiNFO to log everything. I'd try the following steps:

• Set RAM to base clock.
• Run Prime95 to fully load the CPU, monitor CPU package power and CPU temp.
• Run Furmark to fully load the GPU, monitor GPU power.
• Run both, monitor CPU power and temp and GPU power.
• Repeat a few times to see if there's any consistency.

My guess is that either your PSU is struggling (in which case loading one component at a time then loading both may give some sort of clue - if it survives a load on them individually but crashes on both then it's probably your problem), perhaps when you swapped CPU you didn't get a good mount with the cooler in which case keeping an eye on temps will give it away, or maybe you're running in to the irritating "AMD CPUs are really picky with RAM speeds" problem.

Thanks for the detailed instructions - will test and report back findings! 👍

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Hey there,

Whilst the PSU might be the issue, I'd suspect it maybe your choice of CPU. The ASUS B550M-K does not have a very robust power setup, and run's with just 4+2 power phase/vrm. It's very weak for your CPU. I'm surprised it's not throttling like hell. Ideally you need a much stronger mobo to let your CPU shine. There is a big difference between the 3600 and 5950x, in terms of VRM requirements. Yours would be very toasty right now.

edit: When you updated the bios, did you clear CMOS. This is a very important step that is often not done by some updating their bios. If you don't clear CMOS it can leave remnants of microcode that can be buggy, or the update doesn't work.

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

My initial thoughts are that this has something to do with the MOBO and/or power - is it possible the CPU is pushing it beyond its limit?

Yes!

 

[Flayed]

You could rig a fan to point at the motherboard VRMs might help.

 

[swana2k]

Hey there,

Whilst the PSU might be the issue, I'd suspect it maybe your choice of CPU. The ASUS B550M-K does not have a very robust power setup, and run's with just 4+2 power phase/vrm. It's very weak for your CPU. I'm surprised it's not throttling like hell. Ideally you need a much stronger mobo to let your CPU shine. There is a big difference between the 3600 and 5950x, in terms of VRM requirements. Yours would be very toasty right now.

As I'm not overly knowledgeable in this area - would you happen to have any recommendations on a decent mobo upgrade for my particular setup? TIA

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

As I'm not overly knowledgeable in this area - would you happen to have any recommendations on a decent mobo upgrade for my particular setup? TIA

Yes, you can use this resource as a guide : https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PuUWroxA0HvSSipsXlB8hnYkshxD8LdeO5EA6WLdOQw/edit#gid=0

You really need a minimum of 8+2 configuration, but I would suggest something with 12+2. You can see a full list above.

edit: Any of these would be better choices than your current mobo:

ASRock B550 Steel Legend

GIGABYTE B550 AORUS ELITE

MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk