Hi all
I could really do with some advice from the collective hive mind. It's been a while since I built my own PC but previous builds have gone without a hitch. This current one is doing my head in - it just appears to be issue after issue. Here's the sad story, apologies for the length, this saga has a lot of history to it ...
I wanted a small, quiet PC I could put on the desk rather than sucking in dust under it, so after a bit of research, I went with the following...
Phase 1 – Initial build
ASUS AMD B550 ROG STRIX B550-I GAMING Mini-ITX Motherboard
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 CPU
Seagate FireCuda 520 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD/Solid State Drive
Corsair Vengeance LPX Black 32GB 3600MHz AMD Ryzen Tuned DDR4 Memory Kit
NZXT White H1 Mini-ITX Windowed PC Gaming Case w/ 650W PSU & AIO
Gigabyte NVIDIA GTX760 OC 2GB Windforce Version (temporary taken from current PC until new 30 series GFX card arrived)
The NZXT H1 case, while cramped to work inside, was actually a joy to work with - 20 mins to add the components and I was ready to turn it on.
The system posted to BIOS but I noticed erratic and laggy performance from mouse and keyboard – assumed it was a driver issue and moved to installing OS via USB. OS install failed continuously. Realised no drivers installed at this stage and that install failure was likely caused by USB instability on motherboard. Checked for BIOS update. Came with original 0205 version. Now at 1202. Prepared flash drive for BIOS upgrade using the USB 2.0 BIOS flash port on the motherboard. BIOS appeared to upgrade successfully. No error messages and correct version number in BIOS. However, within seconds of posting to BIOS USB would lock up and keyboard and mouse became inoperable. At this point I RMA’d the motherboard back to Scan. Technician’s report was “all other ports tested fine but USB type-c (internal) consistently threw back over-volt warnings. faulty.” This didn’t appear to match with the source of the problem, but a new motherboard might at least rule out the issue being with the motherboard.
Interval entertainment
While waiting for the replacement motherboard, NZXT issue a safety warning about a potential fire hazard with PCIe riser in H1 case. After bouts of hysterical laughter from me, NZXT issue temporary fix that requires removal of one retainer screw.
Phase 2 – build with new motherboard and 3060 GFX card
Remove Gigabyte NVIDIA GTX760 OC 2GB Windforce Version
Add Gigabyte NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti 8GB GAMING OC Ampere Graphics Card
Replacement motherboard arrived just after 3060 GFX card, so built system with final components. Turned on PC for first time – exactly the same problem. At this point the language was getting choice and I was running out of compatible spare components to swap things out. Gave up in disgust and took it to the local independent computer shop. They called back next day to say the issue was with the RAM. System posted perfectly with new RAM and putting the old RAM in another system resulted in failure to post. Bought spare set of 16Gb RAM to get me going until 32GB set could be RMA’d. 16Gb will go to eBay.
Phase 3 - build with new RAM
Remove Corsair Vengeance LPX Black 32GB 3600MHz AMD Ryzen Tuned DDR4 Memory Kit
Add Patriot Viper Steel Series DDR4 16GB (2 X 8GB) 3200MHZ Kit
The system posted and keyboard/mouse worked – much rejoicing! Installed OS from USB. Updated BIOS. Installed Windows updates and GeForce drivers. A few BSOD along the way, but assumed it was just the system settling in. At this point made the decision that the SSHD drive I use for data, such as my Steam Games and CAD packages, was getting a bit flaky (didn’t always appear when starting current PC) and decided to visit local computer shop to get a 1TB M.2 SATA drive.
Phase 4 – additional M.2 drive
Add TeamGroup MS30 1TB SATA III SSD
Removed GFX card from case and installed additional M.2 drive in slot on rear of motherboard. Boot to BIOS. New drive appears as only drive in SATA list – the other is NVMe. All looks good. Restart to windows – all hell breaks loose! Graphics artefacts on screen before it BSOD. Remove additional M.2 and start investigating error messages in Event Viewer. Notice a number of nvlddmkm errors when system is crashing. An issue with the GFX card setup? Reinstall drivers. No change in stability. Light bulb moment! PCIe slot on motherboard is Gen 4. GFX card is Gen 4. PCIe riser is Gen 3! A bit of research later discovers it’s not just a simple set of wires. Set PCIe slot in BIOS to Gen 3. Success! System is much more stable.
Got cocky and ran Cinebench. Worked with a score of 9138. Ran Unigine Heaven Benchmark 4.0. Worked at high quality. Decided to increase to ultra quality. Appeared to work fine, but when I tried to quit the whole system froze. Image still moved but couldn’t interact with Windows in any way.
After hard reset, let Windows load – everything worked fine. Came back an hour later and the PC had hung again, with only background apps running. On the verge of becoming a Mac user by this stage!
Next steps
I’m uncertain what to do next. PC building for me has usually been a case of plug and play. I’ve never had to get this deep into troubleshooting and my lack of skill is starting to show. Help!
Thoughts…
Additional M.2 drive is staying out until I’ve diagnosed the underlying issue
Temperature does not seem to be an issue with the CPU or GPU
Wondered if the PSU was under-rated at 650W but GFX card recommends minimum of 600W system and even at max load the sum of all components should be okay.
Possibly an issue with the PSU that came with the case. If I buy a £12 PSU tester will it tell me if there’s an issue? My old case has 650W ATX PSU, so while I can’t test maximum load, I could test reliability of NZXT PSU. The thought of gutting two PCs and creating a ******* child does not fill me with joy
Have I missed a BIOS setting? Set to DOCP to get memory at best clock speed, but other than PCIe slot to Gen3, no other changes have been made. DOCP enabled/disabled appears to have little impact on stability.
Windows was installed on the original unstable system. Maybe a clean install, with PCIe at Gen3, might install drivers correctly.
Looking at event viewer, getting network (SAVAPI, ESENT, ef2express) and Distributed COM warnings. Nothing looks serious now that nvlddmkm error appears to have been resolved.
Is there anything else I can do? All thoughts appreciated
Algie
I could really do with some advice from the collective hive mind. It's been a while since I built my own PC but previous builds have gone without a hitch. This current one is doing my head in - it just appears to be issue after issue. Here's the sad story, apologies for the length, this saga has a lot of history to it ...
I wanted a small, quiet PC I could put on the desk rather than sucking in dust under it, so after a bit of research, I went with the following...
Phase 1 – Initial build
ASUS AMD B550 ROG STRIX B550-I GAMING Mini-ITX Motherboard
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 CPU
Seagate FireCuda 520 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD/Solid State Drive
Corsair Vengeance LPX Black 32GB 3600MHz AMD Ryzen Tuned DDR4 Memory Kit
NZXT White H1 Mini-ITX Windowed PC Gaming Case w/ 650W PSU & AIO
Gigabyte NVIDIA GTX760 OC 2GB Windforce Version (temporary taken from current PC until new 30 series GFX card arrived)
The NZXT H1 case, while cramped to work inside, was actually a joy to work with - 20 mins to add the components and I was ready to turn it on.
The system posted to BIOS but I noticed erratic and laggy performance from mouse and keyboard – assumed it was a driver issue and moved to installing OS via USB. OS install failed continuously. Realised no drivers installed at this stage and that install failure was likely caused by USB instability on motherboard. Checked for BIOS update. Came with original 0205 version. Now at 1202. Prepared flash drive for BIOS upgrade using the USB 2.0 BIOS flash port on the motherboard. BIOS appeared to upgrade successfully. No error messages and correct version number in BIOS. However, within seconds of posting to BIOS USB would lock up and keyboard and mouse became inoperable. At this point I RMA’d the motherboard back to Scan. Technician’s report was “all other ports tested fine but USB type-c (internal) consistently threw back over-volt warnings. faulty.” This didn’t appear to match with the source of the problem, but a new motherboard might at least rule out the issue being with the motherboard.
Interval entertainment
While waiting for the replacement motherboard, NZXT issue a safety warning about a potential fire hazard with PCIe riser in H1 case. After bouts of hysterical laughter from me, NZXT issue temporary fix that requires removal of one retainer screw.
Phase 2 – build with new motherboard and 3060 GFX card
Remove Gigabyte NVIDIA GTX760 OC 2GB Windforce Version
Add Gigabyte NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti 8GB GAMING OC Ampere Graphics Card
Replacement motherboard arrived just after 3060 GFX card, so built system with final components. Turned on PC for first time – exactly the same problem. At this point the language was getting choice and I was running out of compatible spare components to swap things out. Gave up in disgust and took it to the local independent computer shop. They called back next day to say the issue was with the RAM. System posted perfectly with new RAM and putting the old RAM in another system resulted in failure to post. Bought spare set of 16Gb RAM to get me going until 32GB set could be RMA’d. 16Gb will go to eBay.
Phase 3 - build with new RAM
Remove Corsair Vengeance LPX Black 32GB 3600MHz AMD Ryzen Tuned DDR4 Memory Kit
Add Patriot Viper Steel Series DDR4 16GB (2 X 8GB) 3200MHZ Kit
The system posted and keyboard/mouse worked – much rejoicing! Installed OS from USB. Updated BIOS. Installed Windows updates and GeForce drivers. A few BSOD along the way, but assumed it was just the system settling in. At this point made the decision that the SSHD drive I use for data, such as my Steam Games and CAD packages, was getting a bit flaky (didn’t always appear when starting current PC) and decided to visit local computer shop to get a 1TB M.2 SATA drive.
Phase 4 – additional M.2 drive
Add TeamGroup MS30 1TB SATA III SSD
Removed GFX card from case and installed additional M.2 drive in slot on rear of motherboard. Boot to BIOS. New drive appears as only drive in SATA list – the other is NVMe. All looks good. Restart to windows – all hell breaks loose! Graphics artefacts on screen before it BSOD. Remove additional M.2 and start investigating error messages in Event Viewer. Notice a number of nvlddmkm errors when system is crashing. An issue with the GFX card setup? Reinstall drivers. No change in stability. Light bulb moment! PCIe slot on motherboard is Gen 4. GFX card is Gen 4. PCIe riser is Gen 3! A bit of research later discovers it’s not just a simple set of wires. Set PCIe slot in BIOS to Gen 3. Success! System is much more stable.
Got cocky and ran Cinebench. Worked with a score of 9138. Ran Unigine Heaven Benchmark 4.0. Worked at high quality. Decided to increase to ultra quality. Appeared to work fine, but when I tried to quit the whole system froze. Image still moved but couldn’t interact with Windows in any way.
After hard reset, let Windows load – everything worked fine. Came back an hour later and the PC had hung again, with only background apps running. On the verge of becoming a Mac user by this stage!
Next steps
I’m uncertain what to do next. PC building for me has usually been a case of plug and play. I’ve never had to get this deep into troubleshooting and my lack of skill is starting to show. Help!
Thoughts…
Additional M.2 drive is staying out until I’ve diagnosed the underlying issue
Temperature does not seem to be an issue with the CPU or GPU
Wondered if the PSU was under-rated at 650W but GFX card recommends minimum of 600W system and even at max load the sum of all components should be okay.
Possibly an issue with the PSU that came with the case. If I buy a £12 PSU tester will it tell me if there’s an issue? My old case has 650W ATX PSU, so while I can’t test maximum load, I could test reliability of NZXT PSU. The thought of gutting two PCs and creating a ******* child does not fill me with joy
Have I missed a BIOS setting? Set to DOCP to get memory at best clock speed, but other than PCIe slot to Gen3, no other changes have been made. DOCP enabled/disabled appears to have little impact on stability.
Windows was installed on the original unstable system. Maybe a clean install, with PCIe at Gen3, might install drivers correctly.
Looking at event viewer, getting network (SAVAPI, ESENT, ef2express) and Distributed COM warnings. Nothing looks serious now that nvlddmkm error appears to have been resolved.
Is there anything else I can do? All thoughts appreciated
Algie
