Random Crashes In-Game, No BSOD, What Is Happening?

[Evus0n]

So, I just recently bought a new gaming PC from a company named Ironside Computers. I got it in the mail on Tuesday. I installed GPU drivers, got Avast, installed Skype and Steam, then a few games on Steam, thats it. That night, I was playing DayZ, when the PC just rebooted. No BSOD, just rebooted. I though that was weird, but when I tried to play DayZ again, it kept happening about 5 mins in. So I just left it and went to bed. On Wednesday, nothing happened at all, no crashes or glitches. Yesterday, I had 1 crash, and that was when I was playing DayZ again. I just figured it was DayZ, being in Alpha and all. Today, I installed Warframe, Dark Souls 2, and a few other games. I had a crash in Warframe, where it froze and the audio looped after a cutscene, so I had to shut down the computer, because I couldn't alt tab or ctrl alt delete. The I tried playing Dark Souls 2, and I got a good 30 mins in, when I had another freeze with audio loop. I started it up again, and I got 5 mins in when I had a crash to reboot. What is going on?

[Chicken Maker?]

system specs such as CPU, and GPU type?
Could be a number of things related to heat, shorting out, or anything in between. My recommendation is to just call Ironside and have them take care of it.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

You could start by getting rid of Avast; nothing but problems that AV is.

Tell us the full hardware specs, OS, CPU and GPU temps; otherwise we can't really help.

[Evus0n]

Specs coming right up

System Specs:
OS: Windows 8.1
GPU: Nvidia Geforce GTX 760
CPU: AMD Athlon X4 750K Quad Core
RAM: G-Skill 8GB, 1x
Motherboard: Asrock FM2A55M-VG3+
PSU: Kingwin ABT-650MM
HDD: Toshiba 1TB

As for Temps, I booted into BIOs after a crash, and GPU temp was around 43C and CPU was around 33C.

Things I've Tried:
Uninstalling Avast AV
Uninstalling Nvidia Graphics Drivers
Disabling Realtek HD Audio

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Lack of BSoD is usually due to you not changing the OS' default option, which is to Auto Restart the system when a BSoD occurs. Turn of "Auto Restart" so u can see the BSoD and have it remain at this screen until u manually reboot.

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/windows7/ht/automatic-restart-windows-7.htm

Even with an auto restart; Windows should have traces of your errors within its Event Logs (aka Event Viewer)

Disable of your only Audio Device is not a good idea as this will usually have apps that rely on audio being enabled to run into problems.

Random rebooting could be a sign of many various issues; such as PSU not strong enough for the power requirements of the CPU+GPU (system as a whole basically) or it could be faulty RAM, Drive (such as read/write issues) or an overheating issue with either CPU and/or GPU.


Best bet is: since you bought it from a place that built it or supplied with it pre-built; whatever the case, you should deal with them and get support from them. You should have a warranty, use it to your advantage, it has a purpose. If you are unhappy with the system again deal with the place of purchase.

[Evus0n]

I've checked the event viewer, the only critical one I get is Kernel-Power ID:41, which I've read is when the PC isn't shut down cleanly (Right?) I have turned off Auto Restart, and there still isn't a BSOD.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Then u are obviously getting "Hard Reboots" so yes the system is not ever shutting down correctly when this is occurring. I would advise that u deal with the support of place of purchase. Especially if they are local, as it would be easier for them to diagnose such an issue by trying other hardware, such as Power Supply and such.

[Evus0n]

I'm starting to believe the power supply is fluctuating, leading to the GPU crashing on games that require heavier loads. THis doesn't happen in games that have lower graphics, e.g. LoL, Minecraft, etc. Any thoughts?

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Our guess is as good as yours TBO.
Can't know for sure from here: Run diagnostics software to rule out the RAM, HDD, etc...
Or deal with the branded Support (place of purchase)

That is your best hopes if u do not have any extra/compatible hardware on-hand you can swap out for testing purposes.

[UberFiend]

The freeze & audio loop is a gpu failure. Use MSI Afterburner to turn the fans up & see if that covers that part of it. 50%~60% should do it. (or more if desired)

Instead of disabling the Realtek audio, disable the nVidia HD Audio.

If it's a 760ti, and it's been on the shelf for a while it could be low on top-end voltage. See if there's a newer video bios at the manufacturer's website (ie: not nvidia).

Could be worth running through the registry with ccleaner if you have had multiple gpu drivers installed.

To address possible power fluctuation (which shouldn't be drastic enough for hard reset) try disabling AMD Cool & Quiet in BIOS (which will also make the cpu & case fans run faster, although I note temps don't seem to be an issue)

I'm assuming there's no overclocking going on...?

[Evus0n]

I installed Afterburner earlier, so I can turn the fans up. The gpu is a Zotac GTX 760, so I can check out the drivers there. I'll look at the BIOs later. And there is no overclocking, unless Ironside did some stuff, but I doubt it.

BTW, as this PC is new, I didn't think to look at Windows Updater, and it found an almost 1 GB file I need to get. Gonna be getting that after I get those drivers and Afterburner figured out.

[Evus0n]

Just installed drivers from the Zotac website, as well as that Windows update. Going to set up Afterburner, then going to test out DayZ and Dark Souls 2.

[Evus0n]

Currently playing Dark Souls 2. No crashes or anything weird. I crashed 4 minutes into the game when I tried DayZ. Alpha is Alpha? Will post if anything weird comes up.

[Evus0n]

30 mins into Dark Souls 2, I crashed the same way as I did with DayZ. I'm at a loss at what to do now.

EDIT: I just turned off Turbo Boost and Application Power Management in BIOs, I couldn't find a Cool n' Quiet.

[UberFiend]

When you install new gpu drivers (or any drivers) do you uninstall the old ones first?

The drivers & software that come on the disc you get with the rig are always out of date & best to check the websites of the manufacturer's of all your components for newer drivers & BIOS's - motherboard, graphic card, and chipset.

It sounds like a component power failure & I'm suspecting the gpu, but usualy gpu problems manifest with artifacts & other indications as well.

However any further suggestions or tweaks should not be needed by the user with a brand new build & I would start talking to the shop.

edit: turning off app power management sounds good. Turbo 'should' be ok on, under the circumstances doesn't hurt to test with it off though.

[Evus0n]

Yeah, I uninstalled the old ones. I have not seen any graphical artifacts or anything. The shop isn't open over weekends, so I have a few days to try and figure it out.

Going to test DayZ again. Supposedly Ironside puts their PCs through quality control, which apperantly is comprised of having the PC run through a program that tests/benchmarks it for 8 hours. That leads me to believe that this might be software,driver based?