Constant crashing

[Altanese]

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti
CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-14700K
RAM: 64GB (2x32)
OS: Windows 11
Mobo: B760 AORUS ELITE AX

(Note: I am well aware of the issues with the 13th and 14th gen Intel chips, I got the bios update from January)

The game constantly crashes after roughly ten minutes, sometimes as low as five, sometimes as much as twenty. Often when interacting with something but sometimes just out of the blue. The first crash was during character creation of all things, so I rushed through that and all the other crashes have been in the tutorial, which I have almost managed to power through.

XMP is not enabled
Drivers are up to date
Verified game files
Capped at 60fps
Set graphics to low
Run as administrator
Tried Win 8 compatibility mode
Only ever using DX11
Not using any mods
Probably tried a couple other things I can't remember, it's all been a frustrating haze

Any help would be vastly appreciated here, I'm at my wit's end.

[Thomas D.]

The thing with the issue and the bios update is that once the chips are damaged, the bios isnt fixing anything, its just preventing / slowing the damage down but not fixing it! So this still could be the reason if you used your system before the bios update.

Try to use Vulcan and see if it still happens there, too.

Have you looked into the Windows Event Log when this happens?

Try to increase the graphics setting and disable the 60 FPS cap and see if it happens, too.

What are the temperatures? Especially from the CPU?

Check if it happens on other demanding games / software, too? Especially stuff that uses plenty of CPU.

[Altanese]

Originally posted by Thomas D.:

The thing with the issue and the bios update is that once the chips are damaged, the bios isnt fixing anything, its just preventing / slowing the damage down but not fixing it! So this still could be the reason if you used your system before the bios update.

First got the computer in May of last year, and the original bios patch for the damage in August. While I know it's definitely damaged, I doubt just a couple of months are enough to do this much damage.

Originally posted by Thomas D.:

Try to use Vulcan and see if it still happens there, too.

Isn't Vulkan even more unstable? Everywhere I've looked says to use Dx11

Originally posted by Thomas D.:

Have you looked into the Windows Event Log when this happens?

Poking around gets me this:

Fault bucket 2245365211673349664, type 5
Event Name: BEX64
Response: Not available
Cab Id: 0

Problem signature:
P1: bg3_dx11.exe
P2: 4.60.72.89
P3: 670d2d6f
P4: bg3_dx11.exe
P5: 4.60.72.89
P6: 670d2d6f
P7: 0000000004c600c1
P8: c0000409
P9: 0000000000000002
P10:

Attached files:
\\?\C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\Temp\WER.fcc77d22-1aa2-4403-b3c4-59a9377efea7.tmp.WERInternalMetadata.xml

These files may be available here:
\\?\C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\ReportArchive\AppCrash_bg3_dx11.exe_8e79bb1a1afe3aa9b6cce54f1674c0b4b5c9d433_ac861ef2_847d1b19-3d64-470c-90ab-61db8abef5d9

Analysis symbol:
Rechecking for solution: 0
Report Id: b07e3b68-caf9-472e-a49f-3eac7b6331aa
Report Status: 268435456
Hashed bucket: 3cc521acb97763c70f2923c378cf4e20
Cab Guid: 0

Originally posted by Thomas D.:

Try to increase the graphics setting and disable the 60 FPS cap and see if it happens, too.

I tried that at first, didn't alter the graphics settings beyond default (which were uncapped FPS and ultra graphics) beyond minor cosmetic changes like font size and map orientation

Originally posted by Thomas D.:

What are the temperatures? Especially from the CPU?

Temps don't seem to get too bad, GPU idles at about 130 F and CPU at around 80 F-ish, and while playing both go up a variable amount, GPU capping at about 180 F max but usually in the 160-170 F range, and CPU in the 120s F, all within standard temperatures for intensive games.

Originally posted by Thomas D.:

Check if it happens on other demanding games / software, too? Especially stuff that uses plenty of CPU.

I do sometimes get crashes on other things, it is true, but I usually find fixes for them. If they weren't always different fixes I'd be more inclined to think it is a hardware issue. I'm still open to that idea, but I want to try other options before I get a new CPU or any other hardware, especially with only vague conclusions that hardware is the problem.

[Thomas D.]

Originally posted by Altanese:

While I know it's definitely damaged, I doubt just a couple of months are enough to do this much damage.

I think several people got after about 3 Months or even sooner issues.

Originally posted by Altanese:

Isn't Vulkan even more unstable? Everywhere I've looked says to use Dx11

Usually thats true, because Vulkan is very new and some drivers (especially NVidia it seems) just suck. But maybe something is borked with your DX in that case the Vulcan version might run better. At least it doesnt cost that much to test it, does it?

Originally posted by Altanese:

Poking around gets me this:

Fault bucket 2245365211673349664, type 5
Event Name: BEX64
Response: Not available
Cab Id: 0

Problem signature:
P1: bg3_dx11.exe
P2: 4.60.72.89
P3: 670d2d6f
P4: bg3_dx11.exe
P5: 4.60.72.89
P6: 670d2d6f
P7: 0000000004c600c1
P8: c0000409
P9: 0000000000000002
P10:

Attached files:
\\?\C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\Temp\WER.fcc77d22-1aa2-4403-b3c4-59a9377efea7.tmp.WERInternalMetadata.xml

These files may be available here:
\\?\C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\ReportArchive\AppCrash_bg3_dx11.exe_8e79bb1a1afe3aa9b6cce54f1674c0b4b5c9d433_ac861ef2_847d1b19-3d64-470c-90ab-61db8abef5d9

Analysis symbol:
Rechecking for solution: 0
Report Id: b07e3b68-caf9-472e-a49f-3eac7b6331aa
Report Status: 268435456
Hashed bucket: 3cc521acb97763c70f2923c378cf4e20
Cab Guid: 0

Spontanously I have no clue what the issue could be. But some had an "BEX64" issue in other games too, for example in GTA 5 because of third party software that was interferring with the game: https://www.reddit.com/r/GrandTheftAutoV_PC/comments/32lypb/i_found_the_fix_for_the_bex64stackhash_error/

Here is another Source for information regarding BEX errors: https://www.quora.com/What-are-BEX-errors-in-Windows

If its truely a Buffer Overflow Exception, it could be caused by a Mod. You say you arent using Mods, but have you in the past? Because if yes, it might still be Mod related because some Mods leave additional files that might still be active which you havent removed that now cause this issues.

Besides that and third party software interfering with the game it could be also Malware, broken game files (maybe try a clean reinstallation of the game) or an hardware issue.

To the hardware issue, strings are usually ended with an value of 0 in memory. But when the CPU / RAM for example malfunctions a 0 could be changed to something else so the game might continue to read beyond the supposed end into memory its not allowed to access and then it gets killed by windows (which results in a crash of the game).

Originally posted by Altanese:

I tried that at first, didn't alter the graphics settings beyond default (which were uncapped FPS and ultra graphics) beyond minor cosmetic changes like font size and map orientation

Is the behaviour identical? I asked because if its CPU related issue and you decrease the graphics settings so much, the CPU might even get more load.

Originally posted by Altanese:

Temps don't seem to get too bad, GPU idles at about 130 F and CPU at around 80 F-ish, and while playing both go up a variable amount, GPU capping at about 180 F max but usually in the 160-170 F range, and CPU in the 120s F, all within standard temperatures for intensive games.

I understand only °C.

Originally posted by Altanese:

I do sometimes get crashes on other things, it is true, but I usually find fixes for them. If they weren't always different fixes I'd be more inclined to think it is a hardware issue. I'm still open to that idea, but I want to try other options before I get a new CPU or any other hardware, especially with only vague conclusions that hardware is the problem.

What fixes were there? Something like settings? The thing is, if its an hardware issue you might be able to bypass some issues with settings that just less likely trigger a situation that causes errors but even then if its hardware related its still an hardware issue (not saying it definetly is but I think the chances are there that it is).

Btw. which Windows do you use? Because Windows 11 did some recent patches that caused plenty of issues especially with games.

Also someone else just said here that he has issues with the newest NVidia driver. And I had issues during installation and had to install them twice, kill NVidia related and reinstall them again to make them work properly.

[Altanese]

Originally posted by Thomas D.:

Originally posted by Altanese:

While I know it's definitely damaged, I doubt just a couple of months are enough to do this much damage.

Usually thats true, because Vulkan is very new and some drivers (especially NVidia it seems) just suck. But maybe something is borked with your DX in that case the Vulcan version might run better. At least it doesnt cost that much to test it, does it?

Can give it a try, sure.

Originally posted by Thomas D.:

Is the behaviour identical? I asked because if its CPU related issue and you decrease the graphics settings so much, the CPU might even get more load.

No, always the same, just crashing after a little while with no way of predicting it.

Originally posted by Thomas D.:

I understand only °C.

Roughly speaking-
80F = 26C
120F = 48C
180F = 82C

Safety triggers usually only trip at 200F/93C

Originally posted by Thomas D.:

What fixes were there? Something like settings?

Well, for instance, Total War: Warhammer III was fixed by going into NVidia control panel and manually capping it to 30fps.

Meanwhile, Surviving the Aftermath - Rebirth was solved by doing a bios update.

Red Read Redemption 2 just kept crashing with increasing frequency to the point of unplayability, and I never found a reason for it other than Rockstar not being very good at porting their games to PC.

Originally posted by Thomas D.:

Btw. which Windows do you use? Because Windows 11 did some recent patches that caused plenty of issues especially with games.

Win11 yeah, can have another friend with Win11 try BG3, they also got it recently.

Originally posted by Thomas D.:

Also someone else just said here that he has issues with the newest NVidia driver. And I had issues during installation and had to install them twice, kill NVidia related and reinstall them again to make them work properly.

I reinstalled drivers just a few days ago for different reasons, could try again.

[Thomas D.]

Not sure if you read it but I have editted some stuff in my previous post.

Originally posted by Altanese:

180F = 82C

82°C are kind of high for a GPU, probably to high. Especially considering that Total War: Warhammer III was fixed by capping FPS to 30. In that case it could indeed be a GPU that gets to hot issue. I think my GPU never reached 80°C (a 4070 OC) and usually doesnt even get much higher than 70°C under full load. Maybe just opening the case might help (in this case your whole system should be a bit cooler by just opening the case).

Try to cap the FPS of BG3 to 30, activate NVidia DLAA (on performance), reduce resolution and quality and see if it still happens.

Originally posted by Altanese:

Win11 yeah, can have another friend with Win11 try BG3, they also got it recently.

Since I dont use Win 11 myself I didnt care much about those issues, maybe google them to find out what type of issues they are and if they happen for everyone or only few and in which circumstances.

Originally posted by Altanese:

I reinstalled drivers just a few days ago for different reasons, could try again.

Try to completely deinstall them before you do that.

Originally posted by Altanese:

Well, for instance, Total War: Warhammer III was fixed by going into NVidia control panel and manually capping it to 30fps.

Meanwhile, Surviving the Aftermath - Rebirth was solved by doing a bios update.

Red Read Redemption 2 just kept crashing with increasing frequency to the point of unplayability, and I never found a reason for it other than Rockstar not being very good at porting their games to PC.

Nothing of this is normal. And capping any game is usually not necessary because the only cases where this would do anything is if the computer isnt capable to operate under full load which it should be able, otherwise its indeed some hardware issue.

Most commonly its overheating, but it can also be power related, for example if your power supply isnt able to deliver enough energy (especially when a GPU gets under full load) and / or if the board isnt able to power everthing with enough energy (especially true for cheap boards, my worst experiences were with ASRock).

[Altanese]

Originally posted by Thomas D.:

If its truely a Buffer Overflow Exception, it could be caused by a Mod. You say you arent using Mods, but have you in the past? Because if yes, it might still be Mod related because some Mods leave additional files that might still be active which you havent removed that now cause this issues.

I just got this game and have not installed any mods, never do mods on fresh games.

Originally posted by Thomas D.:

Try to cap the FPS of BG3 to 30, activate NVidia DLAA (on performance), reduce resolution and quality and see if it still happens.

Did all of this, still crashed.

Originally posted by Thomas D.:

Nothing of this is normal. And capping any game is usually not necessary because the only cases where this would do anything is if the computer isnt capable to operate under full load which it should be able, otherwise its indeed some hardware issue.

That doesn't make sense though as to why BG3 would crash so much when Cyberpunk 2077, a much more intensive game, only crashed a couple of times out of over a hundred hours of play on this particular computer with the exact same hardware.

[Thomas D.]

Different game, different things get differently as much utilized.

It absolutely doesn't matter if a game is more demanding, has better graphics, is more intense or whatever, that's not how it works...

Quite the opposite, especially when it comes to heat you can achieve high heat often with pretty simple stuff up to a point of failure / damage, while complex stuff tends to spread the heat more and causes less high temps / load on single spots.

For example Prime95 is a stress test tool for CPUs that makes them produce a lot of heat with very simple instructions.

Just an example from the real world, a 100 W lamp is really bright and takes plenty of energy and produces plenty of light / heat. But now compare it to a 10 W laser that can burn and even cut stuff, which one would You prefer to stand in front the lamp or the laser?

[Altanese]

Cyberpunk 2077 would also get hotter than BG3, with CPU at least. GPU was basically the same.

Re: what you mentioned earlier, I don't know why you think the temps I posted aren't normal, they absolutely are. If anything the CPU temps are a little lower than average. Maybe not if I was using liquid cooling, but for fans this is normal.

Regardless, while I acknowledge that the CPU is partly damaged, I guarantee that it is not an overheating problem.

[juliejayne]

Whilst I would agree with what Thomas D. has suggested,

There are 2 other items that you have not mentioned. SSD, how large are they and how much free space do you have.
RAM, 2x 32GB at what speed is it actually running. Have you tried swapping the 2 sticks over or running with just the one. Silicon lottery being what it is it could be that one is not as good as it ought to be and even if not running at the XMP OC speed it could still be an issue.

[Altanese]

Originally posted by juliejayne:

Whilst I would agree with what Thomas D. has suggested,

There are 2 other items that you have not mentioned. SSD, how large are they and how much free space do you have.
RAM, 2x 32GB at what speed is it actually running. Have you tried swapping the 2 sticks over or running with just the one. Silicon lottery being what it is it could be that one is not as good as it ought to be and even if not running at the XMP OC speed it could still be an issue.

SSD is 2TB with nearly half of that free, and it's health status is 100% so it isn't a TBW problem

I've also run stress tests on the GPU and RAM, and especially on the CPU since it was most sus, and they all worked fine at high loads and higher temperatures with no errors or any problems whatsoever, so at this point I am extremely doubtful that it has anything to do with hardware at all.

What's most curious is I noticed that the BG3 crashes don't always create crash logs in the Windows Event Viewer.

[juliejayne]

I would still take a look at the RAM sticks, What speed are they running at?

[Altanese]

Originally posted by juliejayne:

I would still take a look at the RAM sticks, What speed are they running at?

4800 MT/s

[Thomas D.]

Wait something doesn't make sense.

This is your motherboard: https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/B650-AORUS-ELITE-AX-rev-10-11/sp#sp ?

That is an AMD motherboard that doesn't support an Intel CPU how are you using it with an Intel CPU?

[juliejayne]

I suspect that he meant to say. B660 but I could be wrong.
Oh and the B660 does not support 4800 MTs, so that is overclocked.
I think. I will check tomorrow.

[Altanese]

Sorry, meant to say 760 not 650