Games keep crashing every ten minutes. Is this a hardware problem?

Two weeks ago I changed my ram from 4GB Kingston ValueRam DDR3 1333mhz ram to 8GB Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1600mhz , but one stick of ram was faulty so its out on RMA. For eight months my rig was running perfectly with no crashes or errors with the Kingston ValueRam , but ever since I got the XMS3 ram my rig is very unstable. The stick of Corsair ram I still have ran four passes of memtest V4.20 (Which took over four hours) with no errors.

I am after reinstalling windows about six times in the past two weeks because I was thinking there was something wrong with my windows install , but the problem is still ongoing. Whats happening is every single game I play will only run for ten minutes before crashing.

So today I went back to my Kingston Value Ram and the problem is still there. I ran OCCT GPU test for an hour and it ran with no errors. As I type this I have four instances of Prime95 running with two hours with no problems. I will leave that run for another hour. Before somebody jumps in and sys to run prime95 for 24 hours I have to say that running it for that long is redicolous and unneccesary. If it runs for three hours without errors I will run memtest for four passes.

Do you guys have any other suggestions of what tests I can run? I am kind of afraid this might be a PSU problem.

 

Remove overclock and try again.

deltatux

 

Im ahead of you with that, I tried with default settings and its still the same:banana::bang:

 

Sounds like faulty memory to me then or the memory controller in the CPU is faulty. When they crash, are there any error messages?

deltatux

 

In games the error is just that the game stops responding and 3D Mark 11 gives me this error : Workload Single init returned error message: Process exited unexpectedly , but as I said Ive tested the ram already two weeks ago and it done 4 passes in memtest without any errors. Ive done Prime95 for three hours and it passed so I will run memtest again and see if its the ram.

 

Obvious it is the memory. You changed memory sticks and then there is issues. Common sense...

As for prime95 and any other bake test app out there, there not reliable in anyway shape or form. They do not, I repeat do not reflect real world uses so having it pass 20 passes means absolutely nothing, as evidenced by the fact that your games will crash after 10 mins!

People really need to stop using these bake test programs. They do not mean anything, they should not be used to measure stability because frankly there useless as they do not reflect anything you would be doing on a daily basis. I can't stress enough how much these programs are B.S...

 

did you try to raise the voltage on the ram a little ?
tried to put it in other slots ?
in bios dont use xmp profile better so set it yourself

let us know...

 

Sounds like memory is causing issues, although try prime95 for 12 hours. Prime95 doesn't usually crash systems within a 3 hr timeframe. Do it overnight instead.

deltatux

 

If you are having the same issue even with your known good ram I disagree with everyone pointing at that, that is pretty clear evidence that it is not the problem. I would remove and re-seat your video cards. Otherwise it is possible that one of the memory slot's was damaged or got some debris in it during the change so inspect those with a good flashlight. I would start there, but to just go "it's the ram" when you clearly stated you also tried known good ram is not helpful.

 

Did you read this?

"So today I went back to my Kingston Value Ram and the problem is still there"


Clearly written in the original post! It is helpful to read the original post before blurting out wrong answers

 

LOL Some people clearly didnt read my original post fully. Its not obvious that its a ram problem if I am after changing from the the Kingston Value Ram that gave me no problems in eight monts to XMS3 ram which gave me problems and back to my kingstom ValueRam thats run perfectly for eight months and I am still having problems.

Whats with you people jumping to the conclusion without reading my original post first? Even funnier is the post saying its common sense that its the ram after changing my ram lol. Its also Common Sense to read a post fully and understand what it says before answering.

Also its not a problem with my overclock , because with default bios settings I am having the same problem. I am also not using XMP for the ram and I have it set manually. I also had the XMS3 ram just above 1.65v which didnt help no matter what speed it was running at.

Anyway Ive left memtest run four runs with no errors on the XMS3 ram.

I will inspect the ram slots tomorrow and I will reseat my graphics card.

I also forgot to mention that with this motherboard that if only one or two sticks or ram is used then the computer will only boot up with the ram in the red ram slots. Ive tried booting with the ram in the black slots with no ram in the red ram slots , but the motherboard wont show the P.O.S.T. screen if the ram is in the black slot alone.

 

can u disable Wlan just to test
1 guy i know was having boot problems and instability because of his Wlan
sounds very strange i know but maybe a small thing to check and rule out

i changed my ram just to test to the black slots and didn't have a problem booting up maybe this helps dunno

(mobo=rampage 3 extreme i know its different just trying to help)

 

Do a clean install of your Video card drivers. Make SURE the card is not overheating. Set EVERYTHING back to defaults.

Also, make sure your Power supply is not dust bunnied. Every fan / heatsink cleaned.

 

Sounds like you've been handling your pc parts without earthing yourself tbh.

 

could be ur voltage settings are low or if I remember correctly try checking ur QPI/volts and try re-adjusting it because a crash like that is possibly ram related..

I had a similar issue with my i7 , when I bought faster memory and prime ran fine along with memtest..
Problem was that BFBC2 would crash after 20-10mins of gaming , sometimes even after 40mins...

But after fixing my QPI volts , it never happened again..
I know my tip is not good but figured I should let u know..

 

It is still a memory problem. I didn't say it is the new memory. I just said it is memory related. Like I said common sense. If something worked for the last 8 months, then didn't after a switch, then you isolated the main problem. Even if the old memory dosen't work after, it is still something to do with the memory regardless.

Common sense goes along way...

 

cant remember which corsair power supply it was, but some of the 1000w models were actually 2x 500w psus stuck together. so if youve got that model, make sure your CPU and GPU are on separate rails to make sure your computer isnt running out of puff.

 

Thanks for the tip. I will see if Wlan is enabled and turn it off and see if that helps.

Ive done a clean install of my graphics drivers a few times already.

1. Uninstall with YourUninstaller super mode which deletes most of the registry keys
2. Run Driver Sweeper 3.01
3. Run Crap Cleaner
4. Install new driver

Ive been building conputers long enough to know that not earthing myself while handling the computer components is a bad idea :thumbdown

I doubt its a voltage problem. I tested games with default settings and the Kingston Valueram , but I had the same problem , but I will raise the voltage and see if it helps.

Thanks for the tip. I am sure I have my GPU on a seperate rail to my CPU. I will check that too.

Do tell me what you think my problem is then?

 

Ok in the past two hours I've Checked the ram slots for dirt or damage , Ive changed the PCIe power to a different rail to my CPU , Ive set the ram in different ram slots , I've disabled all services I dont use , I've raised all voltages a notch , I've checked for dust in the PSU and all other parts of the rig and Ive set the QPI to the lowest QPI speed available. Nothing helped.

@alco : Ive ut the ram in the black slots alone , but the motherboard wont show a POST screen if I do that. It just sits there with all fans at 100% and will do that until I do a hard shut down.

 

in some ocasions reseating the cpu can help
just give it a shot

your temps are good ?
try it with 1 memory stick (maybe even underclock your memory to see if it helps )

you have a spare psu to rule that problem out also maybe ?

maybe a bios update or even an older bios to try