crashes freuquently Friend having issues with her PC

[Spit_Fyre7]

One of my friends is having an issue with her PC. Here's the specs before I continue on:

CPU: Ryzen 5 3600

GPU: RTX 3080 FE on vertical mount w/ PCIe 4.0 compatible riser cable

Mobo: ASRock B550m Pro 4

RAM: 48GB (x2 8gb x2 16gb) don't know brand but will update when I find out, I know all sticks are the same brand

Storage: 1TB Samsung 980 m.2 SSD

PSU: 750w pretty sure its Corsair 80+ Gold full modular

 

The issue she's having is that after a period of time, which seems to be completely random, her PC crashes straight to black screen. For a while we thought it was the CPU since for some reason it was pinned to its maximum clock speed at all times unless Task Manager was open. PC is still crashing from time to time though. Crashes happen regardless of the application from web browsing to heavy games regardless of settings. Tried running it without the riser cable and it still crashes. The fact it crashes directly to black screen makes me think it could be a faulty PSU?

Biggest issue is she's in another country so manually troubleshooting is impossible and bringing my extra parts to test against hers isn't possible.

 

EDIT: Tested each RAM stick individually, still crashes out to blackscreen. So either all four ram sticks are busted or its not a ram problem. If anyone has a suggestion regarding the CPU issue with it being pinned to max clock speed all the time. Already manually set the power settings to minimum 5% and max of 99%

[TatamiMatt]

That sounds like a RAM issue, remove the 2x8gb sticks and run the 2x16s in dual channel for a while and monitor for any crashing. It can be a bad idea to pair RAM of the same model but made a few weeks apart never mind different models and sizes altogether

[DoctorNick]

3 minutes ago, TatamiMatt said:

That sounds like a RAM issue, remove the 2x8gb sticks and run the 2x16s in dual channel for a while and monitor for any crashing. It can be a bad idea to pair RAM of the same model but made a few weeks apart never mind different models and sizes altogether

I agree, that sounds like a ram issue. It'll not work with DOCP/XMP enabled. She can run on auto speeds or set frequency, dram voltage and timings manually. personally if this is for gaming. I would simply remove the 16gb kit and put the 32gb kit in slot A2 and B2.

[TylerD321]

3 minutes ago, DoctorNick said:

I agree, that sounds like a ram issue. It'll not work with DOCP/XMP enabled. She can run on auto speeds or set frequency, dram voltage and timings manually. personally if this is for gaming. I would simply remove the 16gb kit and put the 32gb kit in slot A2 and B2.

This is almost certainly what it is. Another thing you could check is the windows power settings - some find it helpful to manually move the minimum processor state down to 5-10% from 100% on minimum and maximum.

[Spit_Fyre7]

2 hours ago, TylerD321 said:

This is almost certainly what it is. Another thing you could check is the windows power settings - some find it helpful to manually move the minimum processor state down to 5-10% from 100% on minimum and maximum.

 

2 hours ago, DoctorNick said:

I agree, that sounds like a ram issue. It'll not work with DOCP/XMP enabled. She can run on auto speeds or set frequency, dram voltage and timings manually. personally if this is for gaming. I would simply remove the 16gb kit and put the 32gb kit in slot A2 and B2.

 

3 hours ago, TatamiMatt said:

That sounds like a RAM issue, remove the 2x8gb sticks and run the 2x16s in dual channel for a while and monitor for any crashing. It can be a bad idea to pair RAM of the same model but made a few weeks apart never mind different models and sizes altogether

Quoting all three of you, does the possible RAM issue also cover the CPU being pinned to the max clock speed all the time or is that a separate issue?

[TatamiMatt]

I wouldnt say so, id say its the power settings applied if anything

 

Also check this current thread, specifically @GuiltySpark_s newest post

 

[Spit_Fyre7]

On 12/13/2023 at 8:26 AM, TatamiMatt said:

I wouldnt say so, id say its the power settings applied if anything

 

Also check this current thread, specifically @GuiltySpark_s newest post

 

Tested with both kits of ram being removed to see which one was at fault, still crashing

[TatamiMatt]

1 minute ago, Spit_Fyre7 said:

Tested with both kits of ram being removed to see which one was at fault, still crashing

Test with just one stick in slot 4 for a start, if that doesnt work try slot 2, likewise, try a different stick and rinse and repeat, that will rule out a RAM problem both in the modules themselves and in the slots

 

Also try this without XMP/EXPO enabled in stock JEDEC for extra stability

 

Is her GPU overclocked?

CPU overclocked?

 

Also running at max until task manager is opened sounds like theres a chance it could be mining malware?

[Spit_Fyre7]

3 minutes ago, TatamiMatt said:

Test with just one stick in slot 4 for a start, if that doesnt work try slot 2, likewise, try a different stick and rinse and repeat, that will rule out a RAM problem both in the modules themselves and in the slots

 

Also try this without XMP/EXPO enabled in stock JEDEC for extra stability

 

Is her GPU overclocked?

CPU overclocked?

 

Also running at max until task manager is opened sounds like theres a chance it could be mining malware?

CPU and GPU are at default states, never touched for overclocking. I could do a check for mining malware but she doesnt use it for anything but streaming and gaming so not likely. She has some issues with navigating the BIOS and Im not familiar with her BIOS pages. Just now froze up, went BSOD for split second, black, then restarted itself

[Spit_Fyre7]

On 12/14/2023 at 9:19 AM, TatamiMatt said:

Test with just one stick in slot 4 for a start, if that doesnt work try slot 2, likewise, try a different stick and rinse and repeat, that will rule out a RAM problem both in the modules themselves and in the slots

 

Also try this without XMP/EXPO enabled in stock JEDEC for extra stability

 

Is her GPU overclocked?

CPU overclocked?

 

Also running at max until task manager is opened sounds like theres a chance it could be mining malware?

Found the issue, for some reason it was the vertical mount and riser cable causing the problem. She took it out and it hasnt crashed since.