I'm not sure if I'm making the right decision upgrading so soon after getting my last pc

[ozzyboy]

I'm having a really hard time to decide whether I should upgrade my computer and leave all of the previous components behind or if I should try and find some final way to make my computer still work again. So basically back in 2021 I bought a computer off of overclockers and for quite a while it worked very well but to save on cost I kept my old operating system from my previous PC. Now only three years in a computer that runs a 3070 graphics card is now crashing completely playing low intensive multiplayer games like dead by daylight I can try and show the full list if there is any interest in this post but I am heavily contemplating getting the new computer and just getting past this because I have had so many similar crashes in the past year where non-intensive scenes would crash the computer for example playing bg3 going through act 3 would slow the computer down but never crash it but if I were to spend too much time in the character creator then it had the likely chance of out of nowhere out of random crashing and computer very very heavily any professional or even just curious advice I would appreciate I have done the most minor changes to try and major system scans conclusive problem I have found is whatever is causing this is damaging RAM beyond the extent of being used for longer than six months at a time anything beyond that ends up damaging the computer completely or at least that's how it seems for now I have a new overclockers pre-built that I am on the edge of buying just so that way I do not have to deal with my consistent and unexplainable computer crashes anymore I have ragged my head around trying to fix it myself in so many different ways but now what I'm just repeating myself any external interest or tips or anything of the sorts would be appreciated but if nothing can change it is not the end that a world but at the same time as a few people have noticed three years is a very short time for a computer to go from high performing to crashing at the smallest inconvenience

 

[freddie64]

Could need a new PSU.

Overclockers use a Kolink PSU in a lot of their builds and they are not very good and i think only has a 3 year warranty.

Something like this should do the job.

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Phanteks AMP GH 750W 80PLUS Gold ATX Power Supply Modular - Black (SKU: POW-PHK-02517) = £84.95

Total: £88.94 (includes delivery: £3.99)​

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EDIT​

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If you could list all components or say what the build was called.​

​

Check with Overclockers to see if it is still in warranty.​

 

[Raumarik]

Only two times in 30 years my PC has had wierd behaviour like this.

First time was PSU, I tested it on another PC and had no issues, but it was a different spec PC.. so that test arguably wasn't relliable.
Second time it was a hairline fracture of the motherboard probably done during shipping from a previous RMA.

In this instance I have to agree with Freddie, it sounds as if it may be PSU related ,doesn't mean the unit is faulty, could be cables needing better connections but in all likelihood it is the PSU itself, reseating cables always worth a shot though.

 

[Dg834man]

Can you list your specs, what you describe is very vague could be quite a few things.

 

[ozzyboy]

Could need a new PSU.

Overclockers use a Kolink PSU in a lot of their builds and they are not very good and i think only has a 3 year warranty.

Something like this should do the job.

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Phanteks AMP GH 750W 80PLUS Gold ATX Power Supply Modular - Black (SKU: POW-PHK-02517) = £84.95

Total: £88.94 (includes delivery: £3.99)​

​

EDIT​

​

If you could list all components or say what the build was called.​

​

Check with Overclockers to see if it is still in warranty.​

OcUK Gaming Enigma Enthusiast - Ryzen 7 5700X GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Gaming PC | OcUK

Order now online and benefit from fast delivery.

www.overclockers.co.uk

Unfortunately I think I'm just outside the warranty coverage so I think that ship may have sailed.

 

[adrichardson81]

A 3070 should be plenty for what you're doing. Have you got anything overclocked? How are your temperatures?

 

[ozzyboy]

A 3070 should be plenty for what you're doing. Have you got anything overclocked? How are your temperatures?

I don't have anything overclocked, i did try to when the crashes first happened but it only made it worse so I reverted it back to normal. In terms of the temperature I'm not sure how to track them, I'll look at ways to do so and update this post when I have some concrete numbers

 

[adrichardson81]

MSI Afterburner will let you do it onscreen, Aida64 is good too. Should be plenty of guides to get you up and running.

 

[ozzyboy]

MSI Afterburner will let you do it onscreen, Aida64 is good too. Should be plenty of guides to get you up and running.

Highest I recorded whilst using the msi scan was 87°c

 

[Craig_d1]

OcUK Gaming Enigma Enthusiast - Ryzen 7 5700X GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Gaming PC | OcUK

Order now online and benefit from fast delivery.

www.overclockers.co.uk

Unfortunately I think I'm just outside the warranty coverage so I think that ship may have sailed.

I'd still phone them up and explain this has been going on for awhile. They may help you out of good faith. Say you became a member of the forum and they advised you to do this, as you asked for help here....that might also make them more receptive to helping out, esp. if they have an audience reading about the outcome..a pc should last more than 3 years, and by the sound of it, your's only lasted 2
Ring them today

 

[adrichardson81]

CPU or GPU? It's on the high side for either, obviously depending on your hardware, but not terrifying.

I'd go with Craig_d1's advice

 

[Tetras]

Now only three years in a computer that runs a 3070 graphics card is now crashing completely playing low intensive multiplayer games like dead by daylight

Describe "crash", what do you mean? Does it BSOD? Does it crash to desktop? Does the PC restart?

Should I assume that it never crashes in high intensive games? If that's the case, it suggests that you have a problem when there's a CPU bottleneck, but not a GPU bottleneck.

for example playing bg3 going through act 3 would slow the computer down but never crash it but if I were to spend too much time in the character creator then it had the likely chance of out of nowhere out of random crashing

What do you mean by "slow the computer down"?

What do you mean by "random crashing"? That's the same question I asked above.

I don't know if BG3's character creator has a very high framerate, or uses the CPU, but it is possible that this is your problem.

I have found is whatever is causing this is damaging RAM beyond the extent of being used for longer than six months at a time anything beyond that ends up damaging the computer completely or at least that's how it seems for now

What are you saying here? You have to replace the PC's RAM every 6 months, or are you saying that you have to reinstall Windows every 6 months?

If you have to reinstall Windows every 6 months then that suggests you have instability that is causing file corruption (e.g. an unstable memory overclock, or memory producing a low frequency of errors consistently over time), or a faulty/degrading SSD. It can also be caused by driver corruption, which might be related to the above.

 

[ozzyboy]

Describe "crash", what do you mean? Does it BSOD? Does it crash to desktop? Does the PC restart?

Should I assume that it never crashes in high intensive games? If that's the case, it suggests that you have a problem when there's a CPU bottleneck, but not a GPU bottleneck.


What do you mean by "slow the computer down"?

What do you mean by "random crashing"? That's the same question I asked above.

I don't know if BG3's character creator has a very high framerate, or uses the CPU, but it is possible that this is your problem.


What are you saying here? You have to replace the PC's RAM every 6 months, or are you saying that you have to reinstall Windows every 6 months?

If you have to reinstall Windows every 6 months then that suggests you have instability that is causing file corruption (e.g. an unstable memory overclock, or memory producing a low frequency of errors consistently over time), or a faulty/degrading SSD. It can also be caused by driver corruption, which might be related to the above.

Right I'll start with more details about the crashes, what usually happens is the screen goes black, the last half second of audio repeats at an indefinite pace until the computer automatically restarted it's self. The only variation to this are recent ones that have the screens do the same but the audio continues seemingly as normal and the computer won't restart unless prompted (during these crashes my input from mouse and keyboard had no effect on the audio so it's not a simple screen disconnect).

The reason why I mentioned the high intensity games is that I have played cyberpunk (post fixes) and never had this kind of problem even playing at mid to high graphic settings

By slow down the computer I mean that it does the normal things I've experienced hardware to do and slightly struggle to load a specific cutscenes or areas that have a lot of by design graphics dependant screens happening but even those with a few exceptions is very rear

If it is is there anything I can do to help the CPU?

I reinstalled windows once but nothing changed, in terms of the ram I bought extra ram not knowing my pre existing ram was damaged so when I added them the computer wouldn't boot but I did a ram diagnosis and the previous ram sticks where marked as damaged and once I removed and replaced them the computer was fine for what I can only say was a few months

 

[ozzyboy]

CPU or GPU? It's on the high side for either, obviously depending on your hardware, but not terrifying.

I'd go with Craig_d1's advice

I definitely will, due to my work hours I need to call them maybe tomorrow but at the latest on Friday

 

[Tetras]

what usually happens is the screen goes black, the last half second of audio repeats at an indefinite pace until the computer automatically restarted it's self.

This is kind of common, most often it tends to be PSU or graphics driver related, but it can be other things too, like a faulty cable, or software that interferes with the functioning of the drivers.

What is your monitor? Is it high refresh?

The only variation to this are recent ones that have the screens do the same but the audio continues seemingly as normal and the computer won't restart unless prompted (during these crashes my input from mouse and keyboard had no effect on the audio so it's not a simple screen disconnect).

Cause tends to be the same as above, but somewhat more likely to be software related than hardware if the PC doesn't 100% crash/reset.

The reason why I mentioned the high intensity games is that I have played cyberpunk (post fixes) and never had this kind of problem even playing at mid to high graphic settings

Hmm, that's interesting, but hard to say it is more CPU or GPU related, because Cyberpunk is demanding on your whole PC.

The only difference I can think of, is that low intensity multiplayer games tend to have a lot of low load/high load scenarios, like when you change the map, or you respawn, so it is possible that the load switching causes it. Does that seem likely, or it has no bearing?

By slow down the computer I mean that it does the normal things I've experienced hardware to do and slightly struggle to load a specific cutscenes or areas that have a lot of by design graphics dependant screens happening

I don't know what to make of that. It could be an overheating CPU, I suppose, but that doesn't seem like a good explanation.

I reinstalled windows once but nothing changed, in terms of the ram I bought extra ram not knowing my pre existing ram was damaged so when I added them the computer wouldn't boot but I did a ram diagnosis and the previous ram sticks where marked as damaged and once I removed and replaced them the computer was fine for what I can only say was a few months

Does the new memory pass the same test?

What SSD do you have?

 

[ozzyboy]

This is kind of common, most often it tends to be PSU or graphics driver related, but it can be other things too, like a faulty cable, or software that interferes with the functioning of the drivers.

What is your monitor? Is it high refresh?


Cause tends to be the same as above, but somewhat more likely to be software related than hardware if the PC doesn't 100% crash/reset.


Hmm, that's interesting, but hard to say it is more CPU or GPU related, because Cyberpunk is demanding on your whole PC.

The only difference I can think of, is that low intensity multiplayer games tend to have a lot of low load/high load scenarios, like when you change the map, or you respawn, so it is possible that the load switching causes it. Does that seem likely, or it has no bearing?


I don't know what to make of that. It could be an overheating CPU, I suppose, but that doesn't seem like a good explanation.


Does the new memory pass the same test?

What SSD do you have?

My monitor is a Acor Communications Inc VG248 and I think the refresh rate is 144hz

It's hard to say if it does but it would make sense if so, recent crashes have been from things as trivial as transforming into a bat that has a load of particle effects but also times that the camera locks in to pick up a survivor (it's a little hard to describe without knowledge of dead by daylight but they are fixed set animations the the closest and most educated guess I have)

I have to remember what the test was, from what I remember it was a long process that required me to use some external software I downloaded on my usb

My operating system is on a OCZ-ARC 100 hard drive and the other two SSDs I have are a Samsung 850EVO 1TB and a WDC WD10EZEX-00BN5AQ

 

[Gray2233]

You might want to double check the health of that OCZ drive, that particular model came out ten years ago and I'm pretty sure it was a more budget orientated model.

 

[Tetras]

My monitor is a Acor Communications Inc VG248 and I think the refresh rate is 144hz

You may want to try 60 Hz and disabling (if you're using it) any variable refresh tech like freesync/gsync.

It's hard to say if it does but it would make sense if so, recent crashes have been from things as trivial as transforming into a bat that has a load of particle effects but also times that the camera locks in to pick up a survivor (it's a little hard to describe without knowledge of dead by daylight but they are fixed set animations the the closest and most educated guess I have)

Those kind of particle events can be either CPU or GPU based, so it is hard to say 100%, but typically they're more likely to be related to software (or driver) bugs/faults than to the hardware itself. That said, those kind of faults usually result in a crash to desktop, or an error message from the game, not a black screen.

You could try downclocking/power limiting your CPU and GPU independently, to check if running one or the other slower stops the crashing.

I have to remember what the test was, from what I remember it was a long process that required me to use some external software I downloaded on my usb

memtest86?

My operating system is on a OCZ-ARC 100 hard drive and the other two SSDs I have are a Samsung 850EVO 1TB and a WDC WD10EZEX-00BN5AQ

Have you checked the SMART data for these, in something like crystaldiskinfo?

 

[adrichardson81]

I had similar issues with a 3080 on an older psu. Transient spikes were high enough to randomly crash it when it was doing fairly low-intensity stuff, but high loads were fine.