Unstable system

nick4501

nick4501

nick4501

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Joined
26 Oct 2011
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3
Hi guys.

First time poster here, and hoping someone can help.

I've been building PC's for about 15 years and have come across a problem that I'm struggling to diagnose (without splashing out and replacing parts one by one).

My system is an X6 1055t, gtx 460 (768mb), Asus M4N75TD mobo. It was previously rock solid, until I decided to upgrade the CPU cooler and add another 8gb of ram (in preparation for the BF3 demo!). During the demo, it never failed on me (even when running for ~5 hours straight). After the demo I decided to reseat the CPU cooler and apply some better thermal paste. This reduced the temperature even further and I was happy...until it started locking up. I immediately ran memtest86+ (for 20 hours) and it passed. I ran Orthos to stress the CPU and memory together, but it was fine. It has only ever crashed when the graphics card is put to use through games (although it hasn't yet failed when running 3dmark 11). It fails anytime between 3 minutes and an hour into game play. It fails in multiple games. When it does fail, it's a complete system lock-up - high pitched crackling noise through the speakers, with the last image permenantly displayed on the screen (no BSOD or black screen, etc).

I've updated drivers, taken all BIOS settings back to default, flashed the BIOS, but still unable to pin-point the problem.

Why would it be rock solid during the BF3 beta, and then suddenly start to lock-up after I reseated the cpu and cooler? I know you're probably thinking bent CPU pin, etc, but then why would it ONLY lock-up during gameplay (and not through vigerous CPU stress testing?

My PSU is 500W Earthwatts. Possibly a little low, but has never given me any problems and, again, was rock solid before I re-seated the CPU...

Sorry for the lengthy post. Any ideas?
 
its an odd one!, you said your system never failed you before and basically only thing you did to encure the lock ups is reset the cooler etc, most people would think is the cooler reseated properly etc but as you said you have been doing it a long time lol! ermm only thing I can think of at the moment is to keep an eye on temps again and monitor them to ensure that aint the problem and narrow it down abit.
 
have you tried running without the new 8gb of ram installed.

have you added 8gb to your already installed memory or replaced it.

if you've added it are they the same make/model and getting the right voltage through them.

anything showing in event viewer.
 
Cheers for the replies guys.

I don't think CPU temp is an issue. If anything, after me reseating the cooler, temperatures dropped even further. Even after a lock-up, checking the temp in BIOS immediately after freezing shows that it's no more than 45 degrees. This should be absolutely fine because it got above 45 at idle with my stock cooler!

mp260767 - The new ram is the same make (Corsair), timings (9-9-9-24) and voltage (1.5V) as the existing ram, but the model numbers are slightly different. My original ram is "Dominator" ram, and have heatsinks on them - the extra pair doesn't. But as I said, with both pairs installed previously, I could run the BF3 beta perfectly.

Nothing is shown in the event viewer - it must lock up before any system notifications are raised.

I have just used a program called OCCT to hugely stress test the system. It locked up after 8 minutes. I was monitoring temperatures through-out and the GPU never gets past 70 degrees (highest I've ever seen it - running anything!) and the CPU is about 48 degrees. The program also monitors voltages from the PSU, and every one of them looks solid...
 
you tried running a minimum system, ie cpu, gfx card 1 stick ram, boot drive and nothing else connected to the psu ?

edit:

take it the heatsinks from the Dominator ram arn't catching on the cooler ?

daft thing, and i can't see any reason why it would make any difference but have you tried the old cooler ?

what cooler did you originally have and what did you swap it for .
 
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