Some games causing new build to freeze/crash :[

[mglab]

Hi guys,

I built a new computer about a month ago and have been having this problem where certain games cause my computer to freeze. There are no problems during browsing and daily use. There are a couple games I've noticed this with: Left 4 Dead 2 and gaming on pcsx2.

While playing L4D2, I will usually get around 30 min on my first play time and then my computer will freeze to a gray screen with stripes and I cannot use any keyboard functions, so I will have to turn off the power to my computer. Trying to play after this will yield me a couple minutes of play time before it crashes again. PCSX2 will crash to a pink screen with vertical lines. If I leave it on, the BSOD will come on saying I had unrecoverable hardware error. These crashes happen every time.

I haven't tried many other games, but have been able to play Sleeping Dogs with no issue and KOTOR1 with minimal issues (I have to turn off grass and shadows or it is very glitchy, but I can turn these on while using my laptop...though I'm not sure if this is a related issue).

I don't really think it's a heating issue, but I'm not very sure how to test the GPU and CPU temps during this crash. I tried to test by Alt+Ent while playing Sleeping Dogs and my CPU is at 35C and GPU at 55C, but then again...I have no problem playing Sleeping Dogs. They both idle around 23-25C

I thought it may have been a RAM issue, so I reseated it and found out that it was defaulting to DDR-1333. I switched it to 1600, but I'm not sure if I was supposed to do anything else.


Please help. I'm seriously driving myself crazy over this!! Thank you!

Here are my specs. No overclocking has been done.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/xRLH
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/xRLH/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/xRLH/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($149.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z75 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($91.13 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($47.39 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($75.41 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($101.85 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($212.42 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER ATX Mid Tower Case ($43.08 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($56.62 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On IHAS324-98 DVD/CD Writer ($26.92 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $919.77
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-16 02:03 EST-0500)

 

[smorizio]

sounds like the video card over heating..that the fan not spinning up to max speed. try use msi afterburner and set a fan profile that maxes out the gpu fan. also watch your temps in some games to see if it the gpu. on a new build check that the mb bios is up todate and that the ram speed is set right. you cpu-z and read the ram speed but also look under spd tab for it rated speed. you may have to turn on xmp profile in the bios to set the right speed. also make sure the ssd firmware is up to date.
one other trick if it a gpu heat issue is take off the side panel of the pc for more airflow.

 

[mglab]

sounds like the video card over heating..that the fan not spinning up to max speed. try use msi afterburner and set a fan profile that maxes out the gpu fan. also watch your temps in some games to see if it the gpu. on a new build check that the mb bios is up todate and that the ram speed is set right. you cpu-z and read the ram speed but also look under spd tab for it rated speed. you may have to turn on xmp profile in the bios to set the right speed. also make sure the ssd firmware is up to date.
one other trick if it a gpu heat issue is take off the side panel of the pc for more airflow.

Thanks for your response. I did everything that you mentioned. RAM speed was correct, updated SSD and BIOS, and set GPU fan to 100% with side panel off. I checked the temps of my GPU often and it reported a constant 29-30C before crashing again. :[

 

[Cons29]

that 29-30 at full load? try other monitoring software

 

[smorizio]

I would ask your friends if they have a power supply you can use for testing. it could be that under load..(gpu pulls about 250w)
that about 20 plus amps. the 12v line is not holding or is rippling out. if it not the power supply then it may be a bad gpu.

 

[mglab]

Thanks again guys.

The 29-30 was not under full load, but was the temperature my GPU was at during the crash with my fan at 100%.

Anyway, I played some more games today and experienced no crashes in Portal 2, Borderlands 2, and Deus Ex: Human Revolution. The temp was around 38C for these games. So far, it's just Left 4 Dead 2 and PS2 emulation that has caused this crash (and they will crash every time).

I unfortunately do not have access to an extra PSU, GPU or RAM stick to test :\
Do you guys have any ideas on what could be causing crashes on only certain games? I don't believe L4D2 is any more graphics intensive than the others, so I don't really know what's going on. :[

 

[smorizio]

see if you have the newest direct x 9 and 10 files.make sure the download you used is newer the the april version of directx. there some june updates too out there. see if there any patches for the game.

 

[mglab]

Best answer selected by mglab.

 

[mglab]

see if you have the newest direct x 9 and 10 files.make sure the download you used is newer the the april version of directx. there some june updates too out there. see if there any patches for the game.

This seemed to have helped! thanks again!