Need Help Pinpointing (possible) hardware issue

[DaddySnuggz]

Hello, I'm going to start off by first saying I am completely new to pc but trying to learn. I hope someone(s) can help me figure out what the issue that I'm having is or at least point me in the right direction.
PC Specs:
CPU- Intel i7-7700k
Gpu- Nvidia Geforce 1060 3gb
RAM- 2x8gb A DATA 2133mhz
MB- Asus Prime H270-plus
OS- Win10

To my understanding, the current hardware I have isn't the latest and greatest but up there as far as quality. The current issue I'm experiencing happens only when playing games know for a fact that my system can handle, ie. witcher 1 EE, Witcher 2 AoK EE.

I first experienced an issue during the first game in the middle of a fight trying to save some kid and the game crashes. After heavy research I find that W1 EE has problems being that its intended for winxp from when it was released so I went ahead and started playing W2. 2 hours into the game and I'm experiencing something similar. Screen goes black and repeats current sound track like a broken record. I cant alt tab to desktop or even bring up task manager to force stop the program.

Now before people start hating I ended up coming across a realization that I made a boo boo somewhere. prior to playing game when I built the pc I downloaded intel xtu version 6.2.0.24 and starting trying things a new person to pc shouldn't try. I ended up overclocking my cpu to perform at a 4.12ghz and never changed that setting regardless of what I was currently using the pc for. in other words ive had my cpu on an overclock consistently for maybe the past month and a half or so. realizing that I made this mistake I have changed the settings to perform at a balanced rate, but still experiencing these issues while playing w2.

at the most recent crash ive found that I cant cntrl alt delete and log off, then log back in to desktop without having to force boot the pc entirely. I started playing the game again but decided to switch it to windows mode so I can see whats going on with the xtu monitor and I found something that's been worrying me. the cpu temp has been staying at a steady 73c and the max core freq has been locked in at 4.01ghz. which in my current state of knowledge is leading me to believe that my system is still pushing out more power/speed/performance than is really required to play the game? not too sure, and this is why ive come here to figure out what the hell I'm doing with my life here. so to the questions.

A. If I put my cpu setting to perform at only what it is needed for the game, or at the balanced setting found in xtu advanced options, why is my cpu still pushing a clock higher than its manufacturer stamped speed.

B. If a game is shutting down or "freezing" as I explained above, is this a RAM issue or cpu issue.

C. If its a cpu issue, in your personal and more professional opinions, is it because I had left my cpu on a constant overclock for as long as I did, and if so am I going to be buying a new cpu in the near future to replace a ruined one (that I currently have)

D. Every time I try to google stuff I cant seem to find the exact thing I'm looking for. am I missing certain keywords or phrases in the search.

before I click the post button I would like to mention my gpu has remained at a steady 51-58c. I have also ran stress tests on both the cpu and memory using the xtu and both of these have passed. and as ever I highly appreciate any response to this post. (please help.

-PCnoob

[Big Boom Boom]

Your mobo does not allow overclocking. Not only it's locked, it also lacking in term of vrm cooling and power phase. Reset BIOS and uninstall XTU.

[DaddySnuggz]

thank you for the reply. will i be able to re install the xtu just to keep track of the current temp my cpu is running at without causing any issues. Also, (inyour opinion). is this the only thing causing the issue.

Ursprungligen skrivet av Big Boom Boom:

Your mobo does not allow overclocking. Not only it's locked, it also lacking in term of vrm cooling and power phase. Reset BIOS and uninstall XTU.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Power Profile in Windows has zero bearing on Cores / Frequency once u run a Game; it should run at max at all times during that kind of a thing, that what it is designed to do, otherwise whats the point of such power.

CPUs going beyond the stock freq = Intel CPUs have a Turbo, that Turbo will be used when running games, it's normal. It's a pre-determined safe OC the system will do all on it's own. If this is an issue of some sort, disable Turbo in BIOS, then re-test.

[Big Boom Boom]

Use another software to monitor temp, lots are much better and provide all sensor temps. Your mobo is locked it will not allow you to use clock multiplier to overclock, and you can't do it via blck as Intel blocked it in all 200 series chipset mobo UEFI. I don't know why you buy a H270 mobo for i7-7700k and then want to overclock it. XTU for me is a bad software and all overclock should be done via bios
I don't know what you change in XTU and I'm not going to spend time troubleshooting that, just reset bios and uninstall it.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

MSI Afterburner + RivaTuner + OpenHardwareMonitor is all u should need for monitoring.
Setup MSI afterburner to show all that info in-game via overlay and setup toggle keys so u can turn off the overlay whenever u wish.

What CPU cooler do u have?
Like list ALL your specs please.

[DaddySnuggz]

Ursprungligen skrivet av Big Boom Boom:

I don't know what you change in XTU and I'm not going to spend time troubleshooting that, just reset bios and uninstall it.

roger that will begin the process shortly.
will the current setup i have run most anything i attempt to play without any issues or need of over clocking at all?

Ursprungligen skrivet av BMGaming:

What CPU cooler do u have?
Like list ALL your specs please.

honestly im not to sure how to even look this up. i have one fan in the case over all and the brand is arc? not too sure if that answers the question but over all specs of the pc as a whole are listed above at the beggining of the post.

Ursprungligen skrivet av BMGaming:

Power Profile in Windows has zero bearing on Cores / Frequency once u run a Game; it should run at max at all times during that kind of a thing, that what it is designed to do, otherwise whats the point of such power.

CPUs going beyond the stock freq = Intel CPUs have a Turbo, that Turbo will be used when running games, it's normal. It's a pre-determined safe OC the system will do all on it's own. If this is an issue of some sort, disable Turbo in BIOS, then re-test.

okay will look in to. as far as these 2 games stopping mid play, sounding like an issue with the xtu setting i made and mobo/cpu combination as Big BB explained? or should i be looking into anything else

[Bad 💀 Motha]

First off, why do u have a "K" series CPU and then an "H" series motherboard; this makes no sense.

Only buy "Z" chipset Motherboards for "K" series CPUs.

Seems to me u went super cheap on everything but CPU; wasn't a good idea.
It would have been much better to do:
2400 for RAM (or better)
1060 6GB (or better)
Z270 Motherboard

What CPU Cooler did you buy?

Since u have issues at the moment; do not OC anything.