Mass Effect: Andromeda crashes/freezes accompanied by more than usual coil whine

[LetsGolem]

Hi

 

I just joined the LTT forum because I need help with an issue that I have with Mass Effect: Andromeda. I know my way around PCs but this exceeds my knowledge.

 

I am currently playing through Mass Effect: Andromeda. For 1-2 weeks now, the game has been crashing every couple of hours. Loud additional coil whine is audible when starting the game and when loading large 3D scenes. It gets a lot quieter after loading is finished.

One time, the game crashed repeatedly after about 5 seconds in the gear select menu before landing on a planet (avoided by skipping through the menu and using it at a forward station). Crashes or freezes occur mostly in animated loading scenes. It even spontaneously restarted the entire system once.

I have been using a reduced GPU OC profile for the game since, as well as testing no OC at all. It reduces the coil whine but barely helps with the crashes.

CPU and GPU get 1-3°C hotter while running ME:A but are well within acceptable range. My PC is stable in all other games and benchmarks. I usually have barely audible coil whine.

 

Any help is welcome. I find the game okay but I would still like to finish it without fearing that I am torturing my PC.

 

System:

MBO: Gigabyte Z170X UD-3 rev. 1

CPU: i5 6600k @ 4.4GHz, no added voltage

GPU: Palit GTX 960 6GB @ Core 1466MHz, VRAM 3802MHz. No added voltage. (ME: Andromeda OC profile: Core 1421MHz, VRAM 3502MHz)
PSU: Sharkoon WPM 700W 80+ Bronze semi-modular

Storage: 120GB SSD, 1TB HDD, 3TB HDD
Case: Self-crafted elegant housing made of select wood, constructed for simple design and pure function. ... JK, it's a black MDF box that I built. Sawed holes for fans, I/Os and PSU. Stuck my PC in there. Works. I'm happy.

[skankhunt]

Have you tried stress testing your CPU and GPU? 

[LetsGolem]

CPU not extensively. GPU yes, even with higher OC, which I had to turn down for GTA V because it was showing artifacts.

[skankhunt]

Just now, LetsGolem said:

CPU not extensively. GPU yes, even with higher OC, which I had to turn down for GTA V because it was showing artifacts.

I notice you have quite an overclock on your CPU with no additional voltage - your cpu may not be the problem - but I'd investigate it with a prime 95 run or something to see if it spits out any errors under synthetic load. 

 

Have you got MSI afterburner installed to see the utilisation of the CPU and GPU with on screen display? 

 

I am no expert, but did have something similar with my ryzen 5 1600 randomly crashing games and freezing up on me after overclocking and all I needed was a small bump in voltage to make it a little more stable!

[LetsGolem]

I am pretty sure the issue is not CPU related but I will give it a shot. Maybe I'll do a test with no OC on the CPU first.

 

Yes, I use HWMonitor and Afterburner. Utilisation is normal.

 

Thank yor for the tipps!

[skankhunt]

42 minutes ago, LetsGolem said:

I am pretty sure the issue is not CPU related but I will give it a shot. Maybe I'll do a test with no OC on the CPU first.

 

Yes, I use HWMonitor and Afterburner. Utilisation is normal.

 

Thank yor for the tipps!

Failing that Mass Effect Andromeda might just have a shitty port to PC. 

 

All the best anyway!