New PC constantly crashing or freezing in demanding games since day one

[Darojas]

 

Timeline of Technical Issues with My PC (November 2024 – May 2025)

PC Specifications
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600X
• GPU: Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4060 Ti OC 8 GB
• RAM: 2x16 GB DDR5 6000 MHz G.Skill (SK Hynix chips)
• Motherboard: B650 AORUS ELITE AX ICE (BIOS updated to version F33 – includes RAM and CPU compatibility improvements)
• Storage: 1TB Adata M.2 SSD
• PSU: Seasonic Focus SGX 650W Gold 80+
• Operating System: Windows 11 (clean installed multiple times)
• Drivers: NVIDIA 576.40, clean installed several times
• XMP: Currently disabled (enabling it increases instability)
• Manual voltages: DDR VDD 1.30V and DDR VDDQ 1.30V (previously 1.10V; changed to try and fix the issue, but no success)

Issue Timeline

November 2024
• Built brand new PC.
• From day one, graphically demanding games (Red Dead Redemption 2, DOOM Eternal, etc.) crash after about 1 hour of gameplay.
• Sometimes no error message is displayed upon crash.

December 2024 – April 2025
• Game crashes occasionally include "Memory Access Violation" errors in logs.
• Ran stress tests with tools like OCCT and MemTest86 – no errors found.
• Despite passing tests, RAM issues still suspected.

May 2025
• Tested each RAM module individually in different slots (A2 or B2).
 ◦ Games no longer crash when using only one stick.
 ◦ Crashes return progressively when running in dual channel.
• Updated BIOS to version F33 (includes CPU and RAM compatibility improvements).
• After BIOS update:
 ◦ Games no longer crash, but now freeze completely after 5–10 minutes of gameplay.
 ◦ Audio continues in the background.
 ◦ Upon force-closing the game, Event Viewer shows:
  • nvlddmkm error – Event ID 153
  • Exception code 0xc0000005 (seen with idTechLauncher.exe for DOOM; also occurs in other games like Red Dead 2 with the error: 0x80000003)

Games that crash or freeze:
• Red Dead Redemption 2
• DOOM Eternal
• DOOM: The Dark Ages (new issue after BIOS update – black screen almost immediately)
• Metal Hellsinger
• God of War: Ragnarok
• Age of Empires IV

Games that work fine:
• Core Keeper
• Minecraft
• Terraria
• League of Legends
• Other low-demand games

Solutions attempted (without success):
• Clean install of Windows (multiple times) – no lasting improvement.
• Clean reinstall of NVIDIA drivers (multiple times).
• XMP kept disabled – enabling it causes more instability.
• No access to spare hardware for further testing or part replacement.

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[emosun]

7 minutes ago, Darojas said:

Games no longer crash when using only one stick.

 

7 minutes ago, Darojas said:

Games no longer crash, but now freeze completely after 5–10 minutes of gameplay.

replace the ram

I'm aware you have no access to hardware. So remove one ram stick until you have the means to replace it to stabilize the machine. When you get new ram choose a different make and model entirely to eliminate the chances of the ram having an undiagnosed bug with the motherboard firmware. Or just pick something on the boards QVL

it's clearly a ram issue that you aren't going to solve by using broken ram.

[191x7]

23 minutes ago, Darojas said:

 

Timeline of Technical Issues with My PC (November 2024 – May 2025)

PC Specifications
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600X
• GPU: Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4060 Ti OC 8 GB
...

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Is the RAM on the QLV list of the board?

 

Latest AMD chipset drivers?

 

SSD firmware updated?

 

[Mark Kaine]

1 hour ago, Darojas said:

Despite passing tests, RAM issues still suspected.

I agree!

 

Long list of stuff you tried but I'm tired so might missed some:

 

Latest Chipset drivers?

 

Tried different RAM at all?

 

Checked if RAM is on the QVL?

 

Tried another PSU? 

 

Those are, however, the most likely candidates being the culprit.

 

1 hour ago, Darojas said:

No access to spare hardware for further testing or part replacement

Ya, I mean, unless you're really good and know it's a software issue, how do you fix a PC without replacing parts?

 

I've worked in a repair shop for a while, that's usually how you fix stuff.

 

I'd just start with RAM tbh. 

[Darojas]

8 hours ago, 191x7 said:

Is the RAM on the QLV list of the board?

 

Latest AMD chipset drivers?

 

SSD firmware updated?

 

- No, my RAM (G.Skill Ripjaws S5 F5-6000J3238F16G) is not listed on the official QLV of my motherboard (Gigabyte B650 AORUS ELITE AX ICE).

- Yes, I’ve already installed the latest AMD chipset drivers

- Yes, I’ve used the ADATA SSD Toolbox to check and update the SSD firmware

 

I will buy Ram that are in the QLV and when I test them I will mention it here.

Thanks for the reply

[Darojas]

8 hours ago, emosun said:

 

replace the ram

I'm aware you have no access to hardware. So remove one ram stick until you have the means to replace it to stabilize the machine. When you get new ram choose a different make and model entirely to eliminate the chances of the ram having an undiagnosed bug with the motherboard firmware. Or just pick something on the boards QVL

it's clearly a ram issue that you aren't going to solve by using broken ram.

At the moment, I don't have access to new RAM, but I will try running the system with just one stick installed, as you suggested, to test stability and isolate the issue.

Once I have the opportunity to buy a replacement, I'll choose a different model that's fully listed on my motherboard's QVL.

Thanks for the reply