I've been having freezing, crashes, and blue screen errors with my computer for quite some time. I've tried many different things from simple stuff to making sure my drivers are up to date and also re-dowmloading drivers just to be sure and now just recently i actually completely factory reset my computer to see if that would even help and unfortunately it hasn't. The most frustrating part about it is that i just out right dont know what is causing the issue. A part of me has the feeling that it might be the graphics card because if my computer is turned off for a long period of time and i turn it back on, most of the time the computer doesnt recognize my tv or monitor that is connected to the graphics card and i have to force shut off my computer and turn it back on multiple times before it finally recognizes my display device.
Another thing to point out too is that it only seems to freeze when there isn't a heavy load on the computer. Most the time it freezes when im browsing the internet or playing low taxing games like League of Legends, but it never freezes when im playing higher taxed games on ultra settings like the Withcer 3 and Battlefront. It has froze while playing Fallout 4 though a couple times.
Im getting to the point where i just want to start buying a replacement part one by one until the freezes stop. How could i know what is causing it. Do i need a new SSD, is my OS corrupt, new CPU, Motherboard, RAM?
My graphics card is a Sapphire R9 290x 4GB and i have an AMD 9590 CPU (the newest component in my computer and the problems with my computer were happening before i got the new CPU).
Motherboard: Sabertooth 990fx R2.0
PSU: Corsair HX850
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4X4)
I built this computer about 2 and a half years ago. The parts that are in my computer from the original build are my Motherboard, half my RAM (was 8GB but later added two more sticks), and my SSD. The CPU and GPU are upgrades i added this year.
Any tests or software that i can run to find the problem?
Well i guess it time to poke things and see what happens, Do you have an OC on your CPU or GPU. Also have a look at your SMART status on the ssd. A nice thing to remember for the next crash is what are the error codes on the bluescreens.
If your looking for stability tests to run id say OCCT is a nice place to start, although if your pc is crashing at idle it's most likely a bad component or a bad OS.
Try moving the RAM around and removing one stick at a time to confirm whether or not it is a stick of RAM or a slot on your motherboard that is causing it
What do you mean by smart status on my SSD? And by OC are you referring to a cooler? I have Corsair H100i on my CPU.
I do remember the blue screen error saying BAD_POOL_ERROR i think is what is said,but i remember a google search on that just came up with a miasma of different problems. Wasn't really 1 common problem that comes with that error.
Smart status is actually S.M.A.R.T (wiki reference) it is data coming from your SSD about its health. As it is collected by the SSD itself it spans the lifetime of it, and is not cleared when you reinstall the OS or the like. Here is a wiki comparison chart of S.M.A.R.T tools, I'd just use something light like CrystalDiskInfo, though I've never used it myself as I've only checked in in linux. Some of the stats are more critical than others. Below is a list of the most critical ones. Some may not be displayed for you, as not all stats are collected on all drives/SSD's. Generally though, the program you use to check the stats will tell you if something is very wrong.