Question PC Freezes Randomly

[PranayChhabra]

Hello Everyone! Let me come straight to the point I have this PC for about 5 years now and starting november 2019 i am encountering this strange issue of my pc freezing randomly (usually more during gaming) My keyboard caps lock, num lock LEDs stop responding and i am forced to restart it manually. There are days where it doesn't freeze but other times it will freeze several times in a day. I have tried contacting multiple repair services but I am unable to recreate the freezes on my wish for them to diagnose the PC correctly. I play league and gta and have noticed that it freezes in league (every two matches) more than gta. At the moment of freeze if the Hard Disk LED was on it would stay ON and if it was off it would stay OFF. I am also using HDMI to DVI converter for my monitor/gpu. I don't get BSOD as well. When it freezes the screen just stucks there and if the audio is playing the sound also buzzes due to it being frozen (i assume), sometimes when I boot my PC i have to manually spin my CPU Fan it doesn't start automatically. These are my specs :

CPU : FX 8320E
GPU : ZOTAC 960 2 GB
MOBO : GA 970DS3P REV2
RAM : KINGSTON HYPERX 1866 MHZ x 2
HDD : WESTERN DIGITAL CAVIAR BLUE 1 TB
PSU : CORSAIR VS550
MONITOR : SAMSUNG B1930 (1366 X 768)

I have tried these fixes :

1. Clean Installed Windows (did not work)
2. Bought a new hard disk old one had bad sectors according to HDSentinel
3. Tried disabling superfetch and some other services (Did not work so I turned them on again)
4. Installed Fresh Graphics Driver after uninstalling old onesusing DDU.
5. Updated BIOS to latest version.
6. Checked the temps they were also fine.
7. Ran windows memory diagnostic tool without errors.
8. Ran userbench (everything was good except HDD it showed below average performance i dont know why as its brand new)
9. Took apart all components and cleaned them all.
10. Ran memtest64 (it froze so I took out one stick of RAM and ran it again WITHOUT ERRORS , i thought my one stick was faulty so I started a match of league with the other stick that I successfully ran memtest64 with and to my surprise there it was, a freeze again after 15 mins into the match)
11. Disabled Antivirus and Tried other AVs too.
12. Ran Unigine Benchmark without problems.
13. Ran NZXT Cam hardware monitor (to check loads and temps) while gaming and didnt found anything (cpu,gpu,ram) overloaded or overheated when it froze

and some more that I dont remember.....

I am fascinated by the fact that GTA V a heavier game runs perfectly and freezes very less, but I am getting these freezes 10 times as much in lighter games like (TF2, Palaldins and League Of Legends). I m going through a rough phase and gaming is the only escape I have. I have contacted many repairmen but they seem to be clueless and only suggest me fixes I have already tried. Any help would be appreciated. English is not my first language so please don't mind any errors.

Here's the video file displaying what the freeze is like :
https://streamable.com/qe9f1w

 

[VirtualLarry]

Was it overclocked at all? Those FX-series CPUs were pretty hard on mobo VRMs, if the VRMs didn't have heatsinks and/or good cooling, they would eventually burn out.

Offhand, without knowing anything else about your setup, that's what I would guess.

 

[mikeymikec]

A Windows-based memory tester isn't much use. Memtest86 is pretty thorough in my experience, it takes a lot longer and does more passes than the Windows memory diagnostic.

MemTest86 - Official Site of the x86 Memory Testing Tool

MemTest86 is the original self booting memory testing software for x86 and ARM computers. Supporting both BIOS and UEFI, with options to boot from USB.

www.memtest86.com

Download that, stick it on a memory stick or CD. Run a full set of tests on each memory module, one installed at a time.

Is the system just freezing or does it sometimes crash and reboot?

Free program, check to see if there's been any BSODs with this:

Blue screen of death (STOP error) information in dump files.

Displays information about blue screen crashes occured on your system. (MiniDump Reader)

www.nirsoft.net

Of course the fact that you've done two new installs wipes out a lot of evidence, so BlueScreenView will only show BSODs that have occurred since the latest install.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

I have seen those symptoms with unstable overclocks. I used to have a 8320e and you should be able to under volt it while maintaining full performance. I would set the clock speed manually in the bios too. It is an older system, so something may be degrading and require some tweaking to find stable settings. I would manually set the speed and voltage for everything, and if need be, experiment with down clocking. A different PSU never hurts for troubleshooting, if you can borrow or buy one.

I know you said temps look good and you cleaned everything, but I would redo the thermal compound on the CPU and GPU if they have not been done in years.

 

[PranayChhabra]

Was it overclocked at all? Those FX-series CPUs were pretty hard on mobo VRMs, if the VRMs didn't have heatsinks and/or good cooling, they would eventually burn out.

Offhand, without knowing anything else about your setup, that's what I would guess.

Would you be able to take a look if I send you a pic? If yes then where is it located? I never OCd it.

 

[PranayChhabra]

A Windows-based memory tester isn't much use. Memtest86 is pretty thorough in my experience, it takes a lot longer and does more passes than the Windows memory diagnostic.

MemTest86 - Official Site of the x86 Memory Testing Tool

MemTest86 is the original self booting memory testing software for x86 and ARM computers. Supporting both BIOS and UEFI, with options to boot from USB.

www.memtest86.com

Download that, stick it on a memory stick or CD. Run a full set of tests on each memory module, one installed at a time.

Is the system just freezing or does it sometimes crash and reboot?

Free program, check to see if there's been any BSODs with this:

Blue screen of death (STOP error) information in dump files.

Displays information about blue screen crashes occured on your system. (MiniDump Reader)

www.nirsoft.net

Of course the fact that you've done two new installs wipes out a lot of evidence, so BlueScreenView will only show BSODs that have occurred since the latest install.

It just freezes, i have never seen a BSOD. I ll try running memtest86, is it different?

I have seen those symptoms with unstable overclocks. I used to have a 8320e and you should be able to under volt it while maintaining full performance. I would set the clock speed manually in the bios too. It is an older system, so something may be degrading and require some tweaking to find stable settings. I would manually set the speed and voltage for everything, and if need be, experiment with down clocking. A different PSU never hurts for troubleshooting, if you can borrow or buy one.

I know you said temps look good and you cleaned everything, but I would redo the thermal compound on the CPU and GPU if they have not been done in years.

I have never OC'd the system and have never encountered BSODs, it just straight up freezes. Everything stops responding. I will try underclocking I dont have knowledge on setting clocks but hey first time for everything.

 

[mikeymikec]

BlueScreenView would also show the not-full-on Windows crashes, things like video driver resets, which might give a clue for what's going on.

memtest86: There are lots of ways to test memory. memtest86 7.4 has quite a varied routine which has worked well for me in the past.

If there aren't any other symptoms to go on from what's been suggested so far, I'm wondering if it's the PSU. The Corsair VS isn't exactly great stuff, I've never even heard of 80+ 'white' certification before (the minimum I go for is bronze), and PSU problems are the most likely to only give a single symptom that doesn't get logged.

 

[Torn Mind]

Since it occurs during gaming, it is possible that the GPU is starting to fail. To eliminate that as a possibility, you would need a known-good GPU to test the system with.

Since it seems you are in India, the power quality might have done a number over all of your components during these 5 years. Places like yours would be where a double conversion UPS would be appropriate in cleaning up the line power, but India is a place where many can't afford that level of tech.