Deon du Plessis

Okay, so my saga continues. @Falkentyne, HWinfo64 (both the beta and stable 6.12 release) reports these values: IA Domain Loadline (AC/DC): 1.000 / 1.000 mOhm GT Domain Loadline (AC/DC): 3.100 / 3.100 mOhm @unclewebb, thanks for your input. On the back of it I went looking for settings to tweak in my mobo and came across an MSI blog post about overclocking. I found something about CPU Loadline calibration, and a recommendation for a specific setting. While my board's BIOS is not identical to the one in the article and I could not set the CPU Core Voltage Mode to Adaptive/Override/Offset/Adaptive + Offset/Override + Offset, I found the CPU Loadline calibration setting and set it to the recommended mode. Same result. I fired up Breakpoint, and it hung after about 20 minutes. Temperatures were all within a normal range, CPU wasn't loaded, it just hung. I have since tried manually setting my CPU voltage to slightly higher than was being reported in my BIOS but I got a BSOD before Windows even loaded, so I guess not. I'll keep on researching and trying. Otherwise, I guess I just disable C-States entirely and get on with my life. Thanks for the tips and suggestions, LTT peeps.

@Bananasplit_00 There was a BIOS update a few weeks back that I installed... no change in behaviour (this was before installing the new PSU). @Falkentyne I'll do that when I get home tonight and update here...

Hi everyone, I am very sad to be posting about this again, but here I am. This post refers: So I bought a new PSU after saving up a bit (I went for a Corsair RM850i so I could run Corsair Link), I installed an AIO water cooler (Antec Mercury 240) to keep temps down, and the problem I posted about above still exists. I am not overclocking at all, but with the new PSU installed my PC still crashes if C-States are enabled. Sometimes on the desktop, but mostly while I game. I run 2 screens and I keep Corsair Link and MSI Dragon Center's hardware monitor on the 2nd screen, and when crashes happen I see nothing unusual in any of the reported temperatures. This time around I tried setting C-States to Auto and disabling C1E. This worked for a bit longer, but my system still crashed, this time on the desktop while I was afk and the system was just idling. Then I tried disabling all C-States from C3 and up, with the same result. Disabling C-States altogether is the only way my system runs 100% stable; my temps are a few degrees C higher with them disabled, and while I can live with things this way I'd prefer my PC to use less power wherever it can for the sake of my power draw and overall temperatures (and thus my CPU's longevity). Weirdly I have issues going into Sleep mode, too - sometimes the system will enter sleep but the PSU and all of the fans stay on and I have to hit the switch on the PSU. This happened with the previous PSU as well (a Corsair HX1000W) and was a big part of the reason I suspected it was the problem. My question to you all is this: Is there anything else I can tweak on my motherboard (an MSI Z390 Gaming Plus) that I am missing that could solve the problem? Ideally I'd like C-States to be enabled and no crashing. Or am I looking at either a faulty board, or - God forbid - a faulty CPU? Memory has all been tested with MEMTEST86 and every stick passed with flying colours, so it's definitely not that. Any and all help/advice would be hugely appreciated. Sorry for the long post, and thanks in advance.

The bit about bad C-state support in older PSUs is particularly interesting, I had not come across that before. And yeah, I guess 10+ years for a PSU is kinda pushing it... Thanks for the answers, everyone, looks like it's time for a new PSU!

Hi everyone, First-time poster here but long-time system builder; I am seeking some troubleshooting advice, please, as I am at my wits' end with this particular problem and am hoping the LTT community can help. My recently-built rig hangs, sometimes while I am gaming, other times on the desktop, and sometimes (but only sometimes) when I run the benchmark on Intel's XTU utility. Through all the reading I've done so far, I have narrowed the cause down to "something to do with C-states", which implies a power, CPU, or board issue, and I need some help in narrowing down which is ultimately at fault. When I disable C-states in the BIOS entirely, she runs stably - I played Fallout 4 all weekend long without a single crash when before, game would crash anything from a few minutes to a few hours in. But of course I'd like to NOT have to do that to have a stable system. It’s a 9700k/32GB/Z390 build, BIOS and all drivers are 100% up-to-date, and all RAM DIMMs tested OK in MEMTEST86. Temps are fine, too, and my CPU fan has been set to max RPM JIC and temps are within the normal range. Things I’ve tried (but the system still crashed): · Setting C-states to Auto · Disabling EIST and Speed Step but leaving C-states enabled · Disabling C-states from C3 and down · Unplugging all unnecessary external devices (USB hubs, USB HDDs etc.) · Running my RAM in both XMP profiles as well as without XMP enabled at all Right now my best guess is it’s the PSU. Firstly, it’s an 11-year-old model (Corsair HX1000W), and secondly I also have issues sending my PC to sleep – it sometimes enters the sleep state (the Power light blinks and my monitor turns off) but my case and CPU fans keep spinning and all lights remain lit. If I power off with the PSU switch and then power back on, she resumes from sleep as if nothing had happened. I monitored voltages and temps using MSI's Dragon Center software on a 2nd screen while gaming, anticipating seeing weird behaviour when the system inevitably crashed, but when it happened I saw absolutely nothing out of place. 12V supply was rock-solid, CPU core voltage didn't vary much, and temps were in an acceptable range at the time. My question is, is it reasonable to think an 11-year-old PSU can’t satisfy the power or feature requirements of a Z390 board and 9th-gen Intel chip, either due to its inherent design or the fact that it’s old and parts of it might be degraded? Or is this a CPU/board issue? The reason I ask is the PSU worked just fine on the 4770k system I upgraded from, which is weird. Sorry for the info dump, and thanks in advance for any input/insight you can provide.