PC freezing while gaming

[mkosmoo]

As stated in the title, while gaming this PC freezes randomly and there's seemingly no way to predict when it'll happen. The PC completely freezes and the only solution is to force power off. This issue first arose this summer when I was still using the stock cooler and the paste had dried up. At that point I decided to get a Noctua NH-L9i, which seemed to solve the issue for a couple months. However, recently as I have played more demanding games like AC:V, which hit my CPU with 100% load quite often, the issue has arisen again. Temps get to a max of ~80 on Valhalla but in other games where the issue occurs, like Overwatch, I've seen temps as low as ~65-70 degrees upon freezing. The most recent crash, right before I made this post had my usage at ~60%, temps at ~65 degrees. I've only gotten a BSOD once, which I can only assume was related to this same issue as when looking it up it showed up as a CPU issue (CLOCK_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT). GPU Usage is similar to my CPU usage, where it is nowhere near full load and much cooler than 80 degrees, being at ~65 during my most recent crash. 

 

Operating System
            Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
        CPU
            Intel Core i5 6500 @ 3.20GHz (cooled using Noctua NH-L9i, a Noctua U12S is on the way and will be here Tuesday)
            Skylake 14nm Technology
        RAM
            16.0GB
        Motherboard
            Gigabyte Technology Co. Ltd. B150M-DS3H-CF (U3E1)
            %1 Chipset
        Graphics
            SMBX2231 (1920x1080@60Hz)
            DELL E177FP (1280x1024@60Hz)
            Intel HD Graphics 530 (Gigabyte)
            4095MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti (MSI)    50 °C (no clue why this shows up as 4GB, it's an 8GB card)
            SLI Disabled
        Storage
            111GB KINGSTON SUV400S37120G (SATA-2 (SSD))    38 °C
            1863GB Hitachi HDS722020ALA330 (SATA )    44 °C
            2794GB Seagate Backup+ Desk SCSI Disk Device (USB (SATA) )    51 °C
        Optical Drives
            TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-224GB
        Audio
            NVIDIA Virtual Audio Device (Wave Extensible) (WDM)

[IkeaGnome]

4 minutes ago, mkosmoo said:

            4095MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti (MSI)    50 °C (no clue why this shows up as 4GB, it's an 8GB card)
  

Did you buy this used by chance?

[Action_Johnson]

Have you tried a fresh install of Windows? 

 

I doubt you've damaged the CPU. Mac's have these chips with lousier heatsinks than what Intel provides. It'll throttle itself to avoid damage. 

[mkosmoo]

3 minutes ago, Voluspa said:

Did you buy this used by chance?

nope, brand new like 2 years ago when the 20 series had just come out. MSI software shows it as 8GB, I don't know what's up with speccy though

[mkosmoo]

4 minutes ago, Action_Johnson said:

Have you tried a fresh install of Windows? 

 

I doubt you've damaged the CPU. Mac's have these chips with lousier heatsinks than what Intel provides. It'll throttle itself to avoid damage. 

I did that earlier this year when the issue first arose, and the issue was fixed by using a better cooler. Maybe I'll try again though if the Noctua U12S doesn't solve anything. I definitely don't think I've damaged it, I just think it's really odd that this issue arose again within ~3 months with a new cooler.

[mkosmoo]

Just froze again after finishing an Overwatch game

 

CPU Usage - 46%

CPU Temp - 72 degrees C

CPU Power Consumption - 27.13W

GPU Usage - ? (wasn't on screen when computer froze)

GPU Temp - 70 C
GPU Power Consumption - 96.20W

[Action_Johnson]

35 minutes ago, mkosmoo said:

Just froze again after finishing an Overwatch game

 

CPU Usage - 46%

CPU Temp - 72 degrees C

CPU Power Consumption - 27.13W

GPU Usage - ? (wasn't on screen when computer froze)

GPU Temp - 70 C
GPU Power Consumption - 96.20W

huh... nothing about that looks strange. 

 

You're positive everything is physically installed correctly? Reseat all the power connectors on the Motherboard and video card? 

[mkosmoo]

19 minutes ago, Action_Johnson said:

huh... nothing about that looks strange. 

 

You're positive everything is physically installed correctly? Reseat all the power connectors on the Motherboard and video card? 

Yeah, I've been in there to do that recently. That's what's really strange about this issue is that nothing appears wrong. Was just in event viewer and that yielded no info from the most recent crash which I had timestamps for.

[expiredbiscuit]

21 minutes ago, mkosmoo said:

Yeah, I've been in there to do that recently. That's what's really strange about this issue is that nothing appears wrong. Was just in event viewer and that yielded no info from the most recent crash which I had timestamps for.

I think you have forgotten to mention the PSU in the info post.

[mkosmoo]

OH I totally forgot, I just copied the spec list from Speccy. The PSU is a 450W 80+ Gold Seasonic

[mkosmoo]

Just crashed again after an Overwatch game and temps were about the same as last time. Event Viewer showed NOTHING about the crash, only things about shutting down unexpectedly. The latest event shown before I turned the computer back on was from ~30 minutes before the crash.

[mkosmoo]

Everything has been reseated, and one of the cables to the GPU has been changed out for a new one too. Same issue still happens.

[BlackManINC]

5 hours ago, mkosmoo said:

OH I totally forgot, I just copied the spec list from Speccy. The PSU is a 450W 80+ Gold Seasonic

Is this the GPU you have in particular? If it is, then it recommends a 500 watt PSU. Sure, 450 watts may or may not be enough, but I wouldn't count on that being the case when its under load. 

 

Link: https://www.msi.com/Graphics-Card/GeForce-GTX-1070-Ti-GAMING-8G/Specification

 

Also, concerning the operating system. Instead of reinstalling it, I would go into the 'services' tab and disable everything you don't need. My games weren't exactly freezing, but they were stuttering, so sort of like micro-freezing. I'm pretty certain that me going through that gigantic laundry list of of services that come activated with the O.S and disabling the ones I don't need is what fixed it. In I.T, they call that "device hardening", for the sake of security and performance. 

 

 

 

[Slowfudgeballs]

26 minutes ago, BlackManINC said:

Is this the GPU you have in particular? If it is, then it recommends a 500 watt PSU. Sure, 450 watts may or may not be enough, but I wouldn't count on that being the case when its under load. 

 

Link: https://www.msi.com/Graphics-Card/GeForce-GTX-1070-Ti-GAMING-8G/Specification

 

Also, concerning the operating system. Instead of reinstalling it, I would go into the 'services' tab and disable everything you don't need. My games weren't exactly freezing, but they were stuttering, so sort of like micro-freezing. I'm pretty certain that me going through that gigantic laundry list of of services that come activated with the O.S and disabling the ones I don't need is what fixed it. In I.T, they call that "device hardening", for the sake of security and performance. 

 

 

 

I agree. I've had VERY similar problems that you described in your OP and switching the PSU to a better one fixed it. I think it had something to do with overdrawing, you don't even need to be at full load, it can just randomly spike and cause it. While 450W may or may not be enough, the sudden spike might trip the objectively shittier components inside lower end models. Nobody really makes "quality" 450W PSUs. Also 1070 is an up their card so I'd have gone with a really solid 600W gold for peace of mind. But I'd even say a gold 550 might help you out. 

[mkosmoo]

12 hours ago, Slowfudgeballs said:

I agree. I've had VERY similar problems that you described in your OP and switching the PSU to a better one fixed it. I think it had something to do with overdrawing, you don't even need to be at full load, it can just randomly spike and cause it. While 450W may or may not be enough, the sudden spike might trip the objectively shittier components inside lower end models. Nobody really makes "quality" 450W PSUs. Also 1070 is an up their card so I'd have gone with a really solid 600W gold for peace of mind. But I'd even say a gold 550 might help you out. 

Yeah, I've just been reluctant to call it a power problem because it's more of a freeze than a shut down. I've also noticed that in Phasmophobia it reliably happens after I leave the game rather than during it. Almost as if it crashes because the load is taken off and power consumption lowers by like ~50W. I'll definitely look into a new psu though. What brands should I look for/ avoid?

[mkosmoo]

13 hours ago, BlackManINC said:

Is this the GPU you have in particular? If it is, then it recommends a 500 watt PSU. Sure, 450 watts may or may not be enough, but I wouldn't count on that being the case when its under load. 

 

Link: https://www.msi.com/Graphics-Card/GeForce-GTX-1070-Ti-GAMING-8G/Specification

 

Also, concerning the operating system. Instead of reinstalling it, I would go into the 'services' tab and disable everything you don't need. My games weren't exactly freezing, but they were stuttering, so sort of like micro-freezing. I'm pretty certain that me going through that gigantic laundry list of of services that come activated with the O.S and disabling the ones I don't need is what fixed it. In I.T, they call that "device hardening", for the sake of security and performance. 

 

 

 

That looks pretty much like mine. The one I have just has a titanium plate on the back of it, but looks like it's got the same cooler. 

I will definitely go through the services and enable the ones I don't need/ use and see if that helps any. 

[BlackManINC]

10 hours ago, mkosmoo said:

That looks pretty much like mine. The one I have just has a titanium plate on the back of it, but looks like it's got the same cooler. 

I will definitely go through the services and enable the ones I don't need/ use and see if that helps any. 

Yeah, assuming you have all your grounds covered, your drivers, bios and O.S are up to date, and you don't have any left over GPU drivers, etc. There really isn't much else I can think of as to why your games are freezing other than the power supply, or that gigantic pile of shit Microsoft loaded into the operating system as "services". You can try simply reinstalling the game, and then maybe restarting the computer, but eventually the freezing may come right back, the micro freezing in my case. 

[Slowfudgeballs]

On 12/20/2020 at 12:34 PM, mkosmoo said:

Yeah, I've just been reluctant to call it a power problem because it's more of a freeze than a shut down. I've also noticed that in Phasmophobia it reliably happens after I leave the game rather than during it. Almost as if it crashes because the load is taken off and power consumption lowers by like ~50W. I'll definitely look into a new psu though. What brands should I look for/ avoid?

If you go the new PSU route I'd say you shouldn't be buying based off the brand, although no review will show long term usage to see if it poops out after a while. But I'm partial to Corsair, Thermal take and EVGA PSU's since those are big name brands and have a reputation to uphold. My advice would be to look at the reviews of the product, do all the 1 and 2 stars have the same problem? If so how many of them are this problem, is it 90% of them? Was it possibly user error that made it a 1 star? But, if it craps out, a good PSU won't take other components with it so you can RMA the product for up to a year by law I believe. Look for a PSU with a long warranty that comes with the product by default, this will usually indicate their confidence in the product.