Major issue with graphics heavy applications

[G510]

Hello guys, on Tuesday, I just build myself a new computer consisting of the following specs:

Specs listed here:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1YIlu (along with a be quiet! Power Zone 650W PSU)

So yeah, I got everything assembled with ease, everything was working as it should and then I played bad company 2. I was blown away by the performance (200 fps is crazy!) but noticed maybe after 20 mins of gameplay, that I would get a huge lag spike with the fps just instantly dropping down to 0 fps. I thought nothing of it and continued to play just fine.

The next day, I was playing it and surely enough, it happened again. This time I had GPU-Z opened and saw exactly what was happening - the GPU usage was dropping down significantly (sometimes right up to 0%)

Just to rule out windows 8.1 and (since it is relatively new) I did a fresh install of windows 7 sp1 and tested it out with some more bad company 2. Things seemed to improve (I don't think the lag spikes occurred at all) but just as I was confident everything was solved, the lag got WORSE than it ever was (with the spikes having every second or two) I was about to exit out of the game when the system crashed with a purple screen :$

I tested out heaven benchmark just to see what the story was and GPU-Z recorded this:

I tested out my GTX 660 (from another system) and it seemed to do the exact thing in regarding the lag spikes (although I won't rule out the 770 just yet - a purple screen of death is usually caused by a dodgy GPU)

So what do you think is up guys? Where would be the next port of call to check? This problem has me really boggled as to what it could be.

Thanks

 

[Slugbait]

Everything you bought was of really good, reliable quality except for the mobo.

Other users claim this particular mobo has serious issues with USB connectivity or ports are simply dead, RAM slots not working or bent, various problems with onboard audio and the NIC, and MSI chose to use a RAID controller that is already EOL.

Since it also happens with the 660, our first suspect is that the PCI-e slot is bad (assuming you're using the same slot). Try the other slots, although the bottom one may not be a viable choice.

Another possibility is that you board has an older BIOS. Sometimes a BIOS upgrade can work wonders, especially with newer GPU families that weren't fully tested when the board was first being developed.

If those two options fail, I would say an RMA is the answer. Do not replace it with another MSI.

 

[G510]

Thanks for the reply. I really do appreciate the help. I ran memtest 86+ for 7 hours (6 passes) and yeah, everything was fine so that's at least one thing we can rule out.

I don't know if its something of relevance to post here but the motherboard (static bag) seal seemed to be missing completely. There was no evidence that it was pre used (e.g mobo backplate was still sealed, all cables were there) , however when I did start up the system, it said that the CPU / RAM configuration had been changed.

Is that normal for a motherboard to do that when its fresh out of the box? I will try your suggestion soon and report back.