Hello guys,
For the past few months now my PC has been crashing (BSOD) while gaming, I am fairly new with PC's so i could really use some help to try and diagnose my problem.
I'll also add that i have my DMP files zipped up, I just need to know where to share them to.
I don't have them on hand but there is a list of things you need to give when asking for this kind of help. The computer parts, any overclocking, age of parts, type of software, what games, etc. Can't help without that.
Whoops, sorry totally skipped my mind.
My parts are:
CPU- i7-4770k
MOBO- Asus H87I-PLUS Mini ITX
PSU- Corsair cx500 80+ bronze
GPU- EVGA 750ti FTW(the one with two fans using a 6pin connector)
RAM- Ripjaws 8gb(two dims)
OS- Windows 8 pro
I built my PC last June ('14).
I have never OC it, but there are plans to OC once I move back to the US.
The games I play are Bf4,Bf3, H&G, Skyrim and CS:GO. The machine never fails to crash at least once each time I play.
Side note: I really do not know if this might be the source of the problem but when I initially built my PC I accidentally bought an upgrade key to Windows 8 Pro instead of the full OS, (the pc didn't function well until I looked online and followed some instructions to unlock the full OS functionality through the command prompt.)
Hmm. That might have something to do with it. Would have to test though.
As for general troubleshooting, play a game till it crashes. Immediately go to "event viewer" (use windows search bar in start menu) go to system/applications/etc on the left of the window and look for an event log. Should have a red symbol and, when you click on it, a description of what crashed. Tell me what you find.
I've looked at that before, it's the Kernel power event 41.
Lovely... My favorite event ID.
Well, you said you aren't OCing anything? Then this is most likely caused by a bad PSU or something "backfiring" on the PSU, causing it to quit, if you'll excuse me dumbing down what's actually happening. The latter being extremely unlikely because the most common thing that does that is an unstable overclock, which you don't have. So, do you have a second PSU? I'm going to assume that's the problem.
Sigh.. I love my PC so much right now, haha.
So this is my second PSU, the first one i had was the one that came in the EVGA hadron case.(so its the EVGA 550W 80+ gold). Recently i decided to get a different case with more airlfow so i went for a 300D and I had to buy a new PSU which is the cx500W 80+ bronze that i currently use. The reason as to why i think that it isn't the PSU is that this problem has been ongoing since i had the other PSU. Could the problem possibly be the 24pin connector on the MOBO or the 6pin on the GPU? If so is there a way to diagnose this with out needing a second MOBO or GPU?
I know of no way to test that via software. As for testing if it is the OS's fault... That would require re-installing it. Since you have substantial reason to believe it's not the PSU, you're SOL as far as trouble shooting goes. It MIGHT be the GPU actually. I've ran into problems where the GPU would cause an event 41. If you have a second GPU laying around try it. I assume you don't since you're using a friggin 750ti but... Maybe an even older one? Even if you had to minimize graphics to run it, it's more info to work with.
Yeah, this is my first build ever so I don't have other parts just laying around. The 750ti was more of a " I need something cheap, small and somewhat powerful" for the Hadron Air. I think i might have to dish out the money for the gtx970 or just a ~$350-$400 card. Any suggestions?
Well, last time I checked the 970 is $350 so what's your question? There are cheaper cards that are fine for 1080p, but Imo the days of 1080p are over. Every GPU release has seen better FPS on older games or the same FPS but in newer games until now we're at the point where the standard upper-mid range GPUs like the 970 can do 1440p perfectly fine without SLI. My advise is save your money till you can get such a card. Then you're ready for 1440p when you can buy one of those still expensive monitors. And in the meantime your 1080p is max settings with great FPS.
You can try to stress parts artificially with OCCT or something similar, that should help narrow the list down. OCCT has stress tests that pretty much only stress one specific part, like CPU or GPU, and not the rest. The only real way to test this is to get a separate set of parts and start swapping parts out.
I'm not sure what you mean by "full OS functionality"... Windows 8 Pro is Windows 8 with more stuff and less bloat. Maybe you screwed something up without realizing it?
By "full OS functionality" i meant that when I first installed the upgrade key, I was running a more constricted version of Windows 8 Pro (A way of Microsoft telling me to buy the actual Software rather than just an Upgrade Key).
I think i'll give OCCT a try, I need to find a fix for this damn thing because it just ruins my little time that i get with my PC.
Thank you.
I had the money for the 970, it was just a matter of should I buy it or not.. In short I ended up buying it, I believe my crashes have nothing to do with my GPU due to the fact that in the first 10mins of playing Bf3 my pc crashed again... :/
Unless I have missed something you have a GPU built into your CPU - i7-4770.
I recommend you:
- Stress test your Mobo/CPU with Intel Burn Test or similar.
If it does not crash;
- Uninstall your Nvidia drivers and card then installing the Intel drivers and use the internal GPU. (Whilst this is not a proper gaming GPU you will definitely be able to get BF3 or 4 or even Unigine Valley running on lower settings).
If that does not crash you are back to figuring out if its GPU, PSU or just your OS. Do you have an extra drive you could perform a second OS install on (either Windows or Ubuntu)?