My first intel build.. apparently cursed

[CliffTerios]

So I have built my very first intel based PC, and my second build in total, but sadly I can't enjoy it right away. In fact, I spent an entire day trying to make it work to begin with. Before I get into the problems, the specs: 

 

ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming Aura

Intel 6700k (stock) 

CoolerMaster Hyper T212X

ASUS STRIX GTX 1060 6 GB

2x 8 GB Corsair Venegence LPX 3000 MHz DDR4 (XMP profile enabled) 

Corsair RM750x 80+ Gold PSU 

Samsung 850 EVO 120 GB SSD (Boot & OS) 

Crucial MX300 525 GB SSD 

> CoolerMaster MasterCase 5 Pro

 

upgraded from an old FX 8350 + GTX 780 Ti build. 

 

 

Right off the gate my assumption is the OS I'm running, which is Windows 7. I'm not a big fan of neither 8.1 nor 10, so I tried my luck with my age old USB install of Win7. Putting everything together, the PC would not let me install Win7 on any of the drives, claiming some sort of drivers would be lacking. Installing the SSD's in my old build, however, allowed me to put Win7 on it and then boot from them in the new system. Pre-installed Intel LAN drivers on my SSD so I can download everything else once the drives are back in the new system. 

It sounds short and simple but me getting to the point of the system reliably booting without system lock ups (and trying to figure out how to install anything without the drivers for the USB controllers working, until I got the idea to pre-install LAN) took me a whole while. I went through multiple re-installs of the OS on both SSD's until it stopped freezing and crashing itself to death. The price for a reliable boot off of my 120 GB SSD was me no longer being able to choose my SSD's for boot priority (simply won't show up in the list) which means every time I turn on the system I have to mash F2, then F8 and then choose my boot OS. But at least it's running and the GeForce Drivers no longer killed the system.

 

The next problem would be strongly fluctuating core frequency. 

So I have no idea about intel but is it normal for the CPU to fluctuate a ton when going from idle to light tasks? Like I'll be sitting anywhere from below 1000 MHz to about 2400 MHz and it keeps adjusting depending on the load, but it also causes really sudden spikes and hitches when I start heavy loads like starting up a game.

I feel like locking the frequency would made far more sense- Is there something wrong with my settings or CPU?

Overall I'm getting really weird vodoo type issues on this system which I feel has to do with my outdated operating system and the way the OS handles the hardware in terms of load distribution and stability. 

 

On default fan configurations, my system would be dead quiet but whenever I go from low or medium to high load, the CPU would spike to (up to) 77°C for a brief few seconds while my cooler ramps up rapidly. Again, this causes massive hitching and sometimes even freezes up to system lock-ups. Adjusting the fan-curve seemed to help a little bit with that, but the fluctuating core clocks still worry me. 

 

Furthermore I (for some reason) can't use Firefox anymore- Apparently my connection is not secure? Never seen that problem before. Chrome works just fine but I do need both browsers to work, and Firefox won't let me access anything.

 

I'm sorry, this post is already way too long, but those are some of the problems I'm dealing with. Am I right in my assumption that a fresh install of Win10 would likely fix all these problems? Or is it something else entirely? I'd like to avoid moving away from Win7 if at all possible.

 

Thanks for taking your time to read through this.

[gtx1060=value]

4 minutes ago, CliffTerios said:

So I have built my very first intel based PC, and my second build in total, but sadly I can't enjoy it right away. In fact, I spent an entire day trying to make it work to begin with. Before I get into the problems, the specs: 

 

ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming Aura

Intel 6700k (stock) 

CoolerMaster Hyper T212X

ASUS STRIX GTX 1060 6 GB

2x 8 GB Corsair Venegence LPX 3000 MHz DDR4 (XMP profile enabled) 

Corsair RM750x 80+ Gold PSU 

Samsung 850 EVO 120 GB SSD (Boot & OS) 

Crucial MX300 525 GB SSD 

> CoolerMaster MasterCase 5 Pro

 

upgraded from an old FX 8350 + GTX 780 Ti build. 

 

 

Right off the gate my assumption is the OS I'm running, which is Windows 7. I'm not a big fan of neither 8.1 nor 10, so I tried my luck with my age old USB install of Win7. Putting everything together, the PC would not let me install Win7 on any of the drives, claiming some sort of drivers would be lacking. Installing the SSD's in my old build, however, allowed me to put Win7 on it and then boot from them in the new system. Pre-installed Intel LAN drivers on my SSD so I can download everything else once the drives are back in the new system. 

It sounds short and simple but me getting to the point of the system reliably booting without system lock ups (and trying to figure out how to install anything without the drivers for the USB controllers working, until I got the idea to pre-install LAN) took me a whole while. I went through multiple re-installs of the OS on both SSD's until it stopped freezing and crashing itself to death. The price for a reliable boot off of my 120 GB SSD was me no longer being able to choose my SSD's for boot priority (simply won't show up in the list) which means every time I turn on the system I have to mash F2, then F8 and then choose my boot OS. But at least it's running and the GeForce Drivers no longer killed the system.

 

The next problem would be strongly fluctuating core frequency. 

So I have no idea about intel but is it normal for the CPU to fluctuate a ton when going from idle to light tasks? Like I'll be sitting anywhere from below 1000 MHz to about 2400 MHz and it keeps adjusting depending on the load, but it also causes really sudden spikes and hitches when I start heavy loads like starting up a game.

I feel like locking the frequency would made far more sense- Is there something wrong with my settings or CPU?

Overall I'm getting really weird vodoo type issues on this system which I feel has to do with my outdated operating system and the way the OS handles the hardware in terms of load distribution and stability. 

 

On default fan configurations, my system would be dead quiet but whenever I go from low or medium to high load, the CPU would spike to (up to) 77°C for a brief few seconds while my cooler ramps up rapidly. Again, this causes massive hitching and sometimes even freezes up to system lock-ups. Adjusting the fan-curve seemed to help a little bit with that, but the fluctuating core clocks still worry me. 

 

Furthermore I (for some reason) can't use Firefox anymore- Apparently my connection is not secure? Never seen that problem before. Chrome works just fine but I do need both browsers to work, and Firefox won't let me access anything.

 

I'm sorry, this post is already way too long, but those are some of the problems I'm dealing with. Am I right in my assumption that a fresh install of Win10 would likely fix all these problems? Or is it something else entirely? I'd like to avoid moving away from Win7 is at all possible.

 

Thanks for taking your time to read through this.

happens to me every now and then - i generally just go and clear caches cookies etc - and switch networks

[The_Askinator]

You're just going to have to try Windows 10, if that doesen't fix it, than try to do a factory reset.  If THAT doesen't work, something must have broke and you're gonna need to contact the manufacturer for new parts.  I'm sure they come with a warranty.

[Dr_Pleeper]

The fluctuating core clocks is not a problem, the cpu automatically adjusts its speed to handle the task depending upon the amount of work it has to do. If you install CPU Z on your phone you will see that it does the same thing.