Are demanding games failing to launch properly on my latest system?
Are demanding games failing to launch properly on my latest system?
Hello,
I recently set up a new PC and have encountered some problems. Demanding games are leading to crashes on the desktop, often accompanied by a "bug report" from the game I was playing. The issue manifests as freezing or a brief black screen before returning to the desktop. The Event Viewer occasionally records errors, but sometimes it doesn’t. No artifacts are visible, and testing with the GPU at default settings has not resolved the problem. It appears to occur only during gaming sessions.
I’ve run multiple 3Dmark stress tests and completed the Heaven Benchmark for over 40 minutes without issues.
Games tested:
- Witcher 3 on Ray Tracing Ultra preset with DLSS Quality
- Metro Exodus on Extreme (benchmark used) – crashes after about the 5th cycle
- This one sometimes triggers a BSOD
- Guardians of the Galaxy with maximum settings and RT – less frequent crashes
Occasionally, these steps help:
- Lowering in-game settings (e.g., disabling RT, setting frame limits)
- Undervolting the GPU (though it still crashes occasionally)
- Avoiding pushing the GPU to full capacity (preventing overheating)
Current setup:
CPU: Ryzen 5 7600X
Motherboard: ASRock B650E PG RIPTIDE
RAM: G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo 32 GB (6000MHz, CL30)
GPU: EVGA RTX 3070 (used)
PSU: MSI MPG A850G PCIE5 850W
What I’ve tried:
- Tested GPU on another PC – symptoms suggest GPU issue, but it didn’t occur there.
- Ran Metro benchmark for 10 loops and 30 extra loops – ran smoothly.
- Played Witcher for 30 minutes without crashing.
- Ran HWInfo to monitor sensor data; old rig showed higher GPU heat but no failure.
- Ran Cinebench for 30 minutes, Memtest86 4 hours, no errors.
- Stress tests in OCCT completed successfully for Metro benchmark.
- After restart and BSOD, rechecked cables and connections – confirmed proper setup.
I’m still unsure. It might be the PSU that’s faulty, but I haven’t found any clear signs in the logs. Perhaps you can help identify the cause?
Spam filter blocked the link to my GDrive, where most test results and HWInfo logs are stored. Attempting to access:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1...1EMMEZBYoS
This tool checks if your RAM will run at the standard JEDEC speed, but it doesn't accurately identify small problems with XMP configurations. If you've already used standard speed, skip it; otherwise, consider running an OCCT RAM stress test. TestMem5 is available but requires careful setup for a simple RAM inspection.
Hey
@SorryBella
Thanks for your response!
I'm still confused about what's going on. I ran the Metro Exodus benchmark three times in a row, each with 30 loops. I wanted to check if the issue might be linked to the SSD I use for games. So, I switched Metro to my OS SSD and increased the Power Limit to 112% in MSI Afterburner to detect any problems sooner. Interestingly, nothing happened during these tests—every loop finished without crashes, and the hot spot stayed at 93.1°C during the first run.
In the second test, I moved Metro back to my gaming SSD while keeping the power limit at 112%. Again, no issues arose, and the temperature reached 93.1°C.
For the third time, I kept Metro on the gaming SSD but reset MSI Afterburner to its default settings (Power Limit set to 100%). The problem didn’t appear once more, and the hot spot dropped to 90.1°C.
What changed from the previous runs was that I connected the PC directly to the wall instead of using the extension cord. I’m not sure if this matters, but it could be a factor. (My old PC worked fine with the same setup.)
I still intend to run the OCCT RAM Stress test, since Memtest86 was executed with XMP enabled in the BIOS.
@SorryBella
Update: I performed the OCCT Memory test for 1 hour with 100% memory, Auto Instruction Set, and Auto Threads. I was surprised to see 7242 errors after an hour. Here’s the image: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Y2Yso_L...drive_link
I then ran it for 10 minutes at 80% load, achieving 0 errors.
Following that, I tried a 10-minute test using the AVX2 instruction set, but it failed almost right away! Image: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1m3OUp6Y...drive_link
Yes, that's correct. It seems your RAM is behaving erratically at the EXPO configuration. Although the E chipset line receives fewer BIOS updates compared to the standard line, if you haven't updated to AGESA 1.0.0.7 with BIOS, try that first before considering a RAM return.
Can this really be the main reason for my game crashes? I disabled EXPO in the BIOS, and the same AVX2 test completed without any issues! I also recently upgraded the BIOS to version 1.28, following the latest change log that suggests updating AGESA to ComboAM5 1.0.0.7b.
Sorry, the situation seems more serious than expected: after turning off Expo, the system initially completed 30 minutes of AVX2 testing and 30 minutes of auto test, but then crashed again. Running the test with extra GPU load in the background caused many errors and the OCCT process to fail. I see the error details here: [OCCT link] and [Event Viewer link]. It appears the RAM is likely defective.
It still crashes when using dead stock. Going back to the store where it was purchased would be a wise move. On all auto voltage, it should work at least up to JEDEC speed, but it appears to be very inconsistent. The only other idea I had is disabling RAM retraining.
Thank you very much for the excellent assistance you're offering! Also, yes, after switching to the SSE instruction set with about 95% load, it's still failing even without extra background load. You can check the timing details in the OCCT error screenshot from my earlier message.