Stability Issues - New(ish) Computer - Culprit?

[arty]

About a year ago I put together a new build comprising of an i7-13700KF, 7900 XT, 32GB RAM, etc., mainly for 4K gaming. I've been really happy with the performance in games, but throughout the whole time I've suffered fairly regular crashes in Windows 11.

Oddly the computer is largely stable in 3D games, which I can play for hours at a time without issue, but simply watching a Youtube video in Firefox or even scrolling down a webpage can cause the computer to totally lock up, requiring a hard reset. Often when this happens I have to manually re-enable the graphics card device in Device Manager for things to go back to normal, which seems a little strange. Just now while watching a video it locked up so badly that even the reset button didn't appear to work; I pressed it several times, and then after maybe 20 seconds the whole PC switched off

I've done all the usual stuff in terms of updating drivers (and BIOS), and I'm not running any overclocks or undervolting as far as I know. Prime95 seems pretty stable, as does FurMark and other 3D benchmarks, so I can only assume that it's RAM (which I have tested with MemTest), motherboard or software

Any ideas people have for how to pin down the problem would be gratefully received, as it's getting pretty annoying now with multiple crashes per day. Thanks!

EDIT - Here's an example of a web page which causes a hang somewhat reliably: https://factorio.com/blog/post/fff-414

 

[arty]

Thanks, though I have tried messing about with that before without any success, I will do so again. I've tried a bit with Edge just now and not managed to cause any crashes, but I have also had crashes with just Discord and Steam running, so I'm not 100% sure it's purely a Firefox thing. I've even had crashes just browsing around folders in Explorer / File Manager / whatever it's called in Windows 11.

 

[arty]

Are you undervolting?

Are you using a riser?

What is the monitor setup? (number and refresh)

I assume you have run the stability tests suggested to identify a faulty 13th/14th gen CPU too?

No undervolting, I don't know what you're referring to when you say a 'riser'; do you mean a GPU backplane or something weird like that? If so, then no. The monitor is a Dell G3223Q running at 2160p, 144Hz refresh rate.

What specific stability tests are you referring to? I know a little about the Intel issues but not seen any tests designed to reveal them.

 

[arty]

Could be a BIOS issue. I had similar issues which were solved by a very recent mobo Bios update. You already said is was up to date though. Have you checked recently for updates? Do you have another PCIE slot to try the Gpu in? Have you checked your GPU for BIOS updates?

Funnily enough there is a beta BIOS update available for my motherboard (MSI MAG B760 Tomahawk), but the notes just say:

-  Update CPU Microcode 0x129

...which isn't terribly helpful. With regards to GPU BIOS updates, I've had a look on the Sapphire and AMD websites, but I haven't seen any sign of BIOS updates for my 7900XT. Do they show up in the Adrenaline software?

 

[arty]

At this point you may as well try the BIOS update but be warned beta updates can be even more unstable! GPU BIOS updates I usually get from the manufacturer's website. Not sure if the Sapphire software would do that. Do you get the drivers from AMD's website or via the app? If the latter I would grab it from AMD's website.

I will probably wait until this is not a beta update, as I am able to play games with some degree of stability at the moment, and don't really want it to get even worse

I have been installing graphics card driver updates from within the Adrenaline software, but I could try reinstalling directly from the website download.

They're like a ribbon cable, usually used to mount the GPU vertically. You can also try setting the PCI-E gen manually to 3.0 in the BIOS, if you have one.

I'm definitely not using anything like that; the card's just plugged directly into the motherboard PCI socket.

 

[arty]

Could this be the Intel degradation issue rearing its head? As @Tetras mentions, Intel seem to have a tool, but it isn't aimed specifically at the instability issues.

How to check if your Intel 13/14 gen cpu is affected by instability problems

Maybe you have heard of problems with Intels Raptor Lake CPUs (13/14 Gen Intel Core i) that have degradation problems due to high voltage and therefore can crash in some situations like gaming. We show you an easy way to check if your cpu is affected by using Intels own Processor Diagnostic Tool.

www.cpu-monkey.com

Thanks for that link. I've just run the tool, and it passed.

On another note, I've done a clean install of the AMD graphics drivers, so I'll give it a while and see if that fixes the problem. Thanks all for your many suggestions!

 

[arty]

By way of an update:

Not had any crashes at all since doing a clean uninstall / reinstall of the AMD graphics drivers, without the Adrenalin software. I'm rather hoping that this has solved it.

freddie64: Thanks for the suggestion; I'll probably put the BIOS update on when it's out of beta. I'm not exactly delighted about having a processor affected by this problem. Wish I'd gone AMD for the CPU as well now