PC has been semi-randomly crashing for a year and a half, and nobody I asked could find a solution, please Help

[KobaTheDwarf]

I've been experiencing issues with my PC for about 3 and a half years, specifically crashes that have been occurring for the past year and a half. Despite my efforts, I haven't been able to pinpoint the cause of these crashes.

 

At first, I suspected that the crashes were due to my use of virtualization software like VirtualBox. However, even after reinstalling Windows 10, the crashes persisted. I decided to seek help from a PC repair shop, where the technician couldn't replicate the issue for four consecutive days, even when using tools like Furmark.

The technician suggested that I purchase a special extension cord with protection, as turning on the lights in my room sometimes caused the PC to wake up from sleep mode. Unfortunately, this solution didn't solve the problem. I also tried replacing the power supply with a new one, but the crashes continued.

Next, my professor advised me to check the CPU temperatures while in the BIOS. If the temperatures increased significantly, it could indicate a problem with the thermal paste. I replaced the thermal paste, but the crashes persisted. I also considered that inadequate cooling might be the issue, so I added four fans to the PC case.

I'm now at a loss for what to try next. Initially, I had accepted the frequent crashes, but since I started using Unity and Blender for my final high school project, the crashes have become unbearable. The PC freezes and reboots up to 15 times a day.

The crashes are most frequent when I'm using Blender or Unity. I've noticed that closing Chrome while working with these programs reduces the frequency of crashes. Additionally, avoiding video calls with screen sharing while using Unity also helps minimize the crashes. Taking screenshots of my project has become extremely difficult, as the PC often crashes soon after opening Unity.

 

At this point, I'm left with two options: either buying a new motherboard, processor, and/or graphics card, or purchasing an entirely new computer. Here are the specifications of my PC:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600
GPU: NVIDIA Geforce 1060 2gb
Motherboard: asus a320m-hdv
RAM: 2 x 8gb DDR4
Power Supply: Be Quiet 600W

One more thing, after a crash I find in the even viewer a kernel power error like shown in images.
Even if you cannot help, thank you for reading.

[manikyath]

run memtest overnight, this seems like a bad memory stick.

[191x7]

Do not run XMP / DOCP higher than 2933 on Ryzen 1st generation, it can't be stable.

Also, are you using the latest bios?

[PDifolco]

Looks like CPU thread dropping, as when they don't have enough voltage, don't see any fix

Either CPU bugs out else the board don't work correctly, seems a quite old system

Your mobo is quite crap honestly, I'd change it for a B550 or at least B450 one ($70-$100 used, +$30-50 new ), if crashes persist upgrade the (quite old) CPU to at least a 5500 (less than $100)

[KobaTheDwarf]

On 5/29/2023 at 10:22 PM, manikyath said:

run memtest overnight, this seems like a bad memory stick.

i ran MemTest, and it doesn't seem to be the memory, zero errors as far as I can see.

[KobaTheDwarf]

On 5/29/2023 at 10:34 PM, 191x7 said:

Do not run XMP / DOCP higher than 2933 on Ryzen 1st generation, it can't be stable.

Also, are you using the latest bios?

I'm not sure but here is the UEFI version of my motherboard, that should be it right? Google says that the latest UEFI version is UEFI 2.9, although I am not sure which number here would be the UEFI version number, sorry.

[191x7]

This is your board and the latest Bios is 8 something.

You have version 2.40.

https://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/A320M-HDV/index.asp#BIOS

 

You need to flash P3.40, then P5.50, then P7.00 and then you can flash the latest.

 

Since you've on an extremely old bios, the new Bios will highly likely solve all your issues.