CPU Freezes on a custom built computer

[Drakinite_]

A few weeks ago, I built a new desktop with the following specs:

CPU: 2-core Intel Pentium G3258

MoBo: MSI Z97M-G43

Chipset: Intel Z97 Express

Graphics: 4GB GDDR5 EVGA GT 740, Superclocked

One DVI output is being used at 1240x1080

RAM: 8GB Kingston HyperX 1866MHz DDR3

64-bit Windows 7 Ultimate running on a freshly formatted 120GB SSD, along with most programs.

Media and some programs are stored on a 1000GB, 7200RPM Seagate HDD.

Its primary purpose is game development / gaming, amateur music production / animating; and its secondary purpose is heavy internet browsing / media.

A matter of days after it was built, I noticed that the computer often has bouts of frequent, irritating freezes caused by the CPU; during which, it does not respond and sometimes (but not always) even the cursor stops working.

I created a forum thread asking what CPU I should buy to replace the g3258, but they did not get enough information, so they didn't believe that it was the CPU that was freezing and gave me the wrong advice. I decided to create a new thread to get rid of the other confused replies, and because the cause of the problem may be something other than hardware. Let me explain.

The graphics card is definitely not the problem. It never dips below 75 fps (refresh rate for my monitor) when doing anything but very intensive graphics. When the freezes occur, they occur whether I am running a program that involves graphics or none at all.

These freezes are definitely the CPU overloading, for the following reasons:

1. When the computer freezes, it does not respond to any inputs for several seconds.

2. If I have task manager open, during a freeze, it always says that the CPU (both cores) are at 100% processing capacity. The moment it goes below 100% is when it unfreezes. No exceptions have ever occurred.

Now, there is one thing I observed that may point to the cause BEHIND the CPU getting overloaded being something else.

Any time I press the button on my keyboard to make the computer sleep, and then come back a few hours later, the freezes occur very commonly and for extended periods of time - at least once per minute that is over 5 seconds. After a restart, the freezing stops. If I leave the computer running overnight without letting it go on standby, when I use it in the morning, generally there are no issues. I will do further testing tomorrow and give an update.

In any case, the Pentium architecture IS old and I want a better CPU, so I will be buying the core i5-4690K. However I suspect that this freezing problem still needs to be resolved.

In conclusion, the CPU getting overloaded is definitely the problem - not the graphics card. However, the cause to the freezes COULD be something else. If you have any ideas to help, that would be very great.

Thank you for reading this enormous wall of text that I spent 40 minutes writing on my phone, and thank you in advance for the help!

[ApolloX75]

A few weeks ago, I built a new desktop with the following specs:

CPU: 2-core Intel Pentium G3258

MoBo: MSI Z97M-G43

Chipset: Intel Z97 Express

Graphics: 4GB GDDR5 EVGA GT 740, Superclocked

One DVI output is being used at 1240x1080

RAM: 8GB Kingston HyperX 1866MHz DDR3

64-bit Windows 7 Ultimate running on a freshly formatted 120GB SSD, along with most programs.

Media and some programs are stored on a 1000GB, 7200RPM Seagate HDD.

Its primary purpose is game development / gaming, amateur music production / animating; and its secondary purpose is heavy internet browsing / media.

A matter of days after it was built, I noticed that the computer often has bouts of frequent, irritating freezes caused by the CPU; during which, it does not respond and sometimes (but not always) even the cursor stops working.

I created a forum thread asking what CPU I should buy to replace the g3258, but they did not get enough information, so they didn't believe that it was the CPU that was freezing and gave me the wrong advice. I decided to create a new thread to get rid of the other confused replies, and because the cause of the problem may be something other than hardware. Let me explain.

The graphics card is definitely not the problem. It never dips below 75 fps (refresh rate for my monitor) when doing anything but very intensive graphics. When the freezes occur, they occur whether I am running a program that involves graphics or none at all.

These freezes are definitely the CPU overloading, for the following reasons:

1. When the computer freezes, it does not respond to any inputs for several seconds.

2. If I have task manager open, during a freeze, it always says that the CPU (both cores) are at 100% processing capacity. The moment it goes below 100% is when it unfreezes. No exceptions have ever occurred.

Now, there is one thing I observed that may point to the cause BEHIND the CPU getting overloaded being something else.

Any time I press the button on my keyboard to make the computer sleep, and then come back a few hours later, the freezes occur very commonly and for extended periods of time - at least once per minute that is over 5 seconds. After a restart, the freezing stops. If I leave the computer running overnight without letting it go on standby, when I use it in the morning, generally there are no issues. I will do further testing tomorrow and give an update.

In any case, the Pentium architecture IS old and I want a better CPU, so I will be buying the core i5-4690K. However I suspect that this freezing problem still needs to be resolved.

In conclusion, the CPU getting overloaded is definitely the problem - not the graphics card. However, the cause to the freezes COULD be something else. If you have any ideas to help, that would be very great.

Thank you for reading this enormous wall of text that I spent 40 minutes writing on my phone, and thank you in advance for the help!

Did you not look at your other thread?

 

There is a BIOS update for your board that specifically improves performance and compatibility with the G3258.

 

http://www.msi.com/support/mb/Z97M-G43.html#down-bios

[Wander Away]

The pentium "architecture" isn't old, as the G3258 is based on the same haswell architecture as the i series. 

What it looks like to me is some background processes piling up over an extended period of time. Have you checked which thread/program is using the cpu during those freezes? 

 

I've had couple issues with really laggy computer after waking from hibernation, but I normally always shut down my computer when i'm not using it; since I boot up extremely fast. (go SSD's for boot drive, woo!)

 

Btw, cpu≠computer, when the title says "The CPU Freezes", I thought its the physical CPU that is faulty, which is highly unlikely. It's not a big problem, it just makes me cringe a little bit. 

[Voldy21]

Considering that you do so much on your computer I would agree that it would probably be the problem. 2 cores isn't enough when you're doing so much so your CPU is probably bottle necking. I would highly suggest getting the i5-4690k.

 

Edit: I didn't think about background processes. Check task manager and watch CPU utilization to see what's pulling in all the resources when it's being maxed out.

[Drakinite_]

Did you not look at your other thread?

There is a BIOS update for your board that specifically improves performance and compatibility with the G3258.

http://www.msi.com/support/mb/Z97M-G43.html#down-bios

That's the first thing I'm going to do when I get to the computer tomorrow. Unfortunately I spent twenty minutes typing this thread before I saw your reply. Thank you though.

[ApolloX75]

That's the first thing I'm going to do when I get to the computer tomorrow. Unfortunately I spent twenty minutes typing this thread before I saw your reply. Thank you though.

NP. Hope it works. Update to the latest revision for best results, fixes are all retroactive.

[Drakinite_]

The problem isn't bios. If I put the computer to sleep while logged in, it's fine, but in the login screen it bugs. It's a Windows issue, I think.

Thanks for the help, though, Apollo.

[d1screet]

Why did you purchase a dual-core processor when the primary purpose of the computer was media production?

 

And honestly, clearer information documenting your problem would be helpful, including some screencaps/recordings; as well as performance/temperatures/etc. metrics during WHICH programs.

 

There can be a TON of reasons as to why the Pentium G3258 may seem to bottleneck; it's not old architecture, do some research before spouting that claim.

 

I would honestly look to do some thorough testing with better documentation; triage your computer, don't just slice and dice in a new CPU. Things like incorrect chipset drivers, faulty motherboard, malware/bloatware, can all affect your computer and send CPU usage skyrocketing, and just swapping in a new CPU won't solve the problem. If you think Windows is truly at fault, run a live version of Linux from a USB drive and see if that solves anything.

 

Also, did you just mark your own post as best answer?

[Drakinite_]

I set my post as the "best post" because I found out that the problem is software, not hardware nor BIOS nor drivers. 

 

Windows is the problem. The CPU only freezes if I put the computer into sleep while in the login screen. If I do anything else, it is perfectly fine.