Are the game crashes linked to a defective CPU?
Are the game crashes linked to a defective CPU?
Hi.
Ive been having some really annoying crashing issues with almost all games i play and it seems to be related to my cpu hitting a 100% usage and when that happens the game will simply shut down (though not always, sometimes all it takes is a slight usage spike up to 60-80% and games could just shut down) Ive tuned my ram down from the 6400mhz ive ran it at for nearly 9 months down to 5600mhz, crashes still happened so i went down to 5400, crashes still happened and now im at 4800mhz which is as low as i can go.
By going down to 4800 i discovered that i can now launch battlefront 2 and fifa23 without the games crashing instantly on startup however i still cant play a full game as the games will just crash on random, cpu usage sitting around 60-80% in those games.
Other games have had crashing issues too like PUBG, World of warcraft (error #132), Rocket league, Mordhau. Essentially all games i play regularily.
Here are my PC specs:
CPU: 13700kf
GPU: PNY XLR8 4090
Mobo: MSI z790 Tomahawk ddr5 wifi
RAM: G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB DDR5-6400 BK C32 DC
PSU: Corsair RM1200 SHIFT
AIO: Arctic II 360
SSD: 500gb samsung 970 (Windows installed) - Kingston kc2500 - WD 500gb 2.5inch ssd - Firecuda 2tb
I used to have a gigabyte z790 elite AX mobo but i had pretty frequent pc crashes where it would just blue screen and restart stating that "Bad OC profile, loading optimized defaults" and the only OC i had was the XMP at 6400mhz.(now i have the MSI motherboard and had 1 of those crashes)
I ran a memtest86 with XMP enabled and the ram passed without any problems.
Then i discovered that the official intel numbers for cpu/ram is up to 5600mhz, thats when i started turning it down but the crashes still remained.
Few days ago i had the weirdest crash ever, i had WoW on the main screen, Firefox with some tabs on the 2nd and discord on the third with a buddy screensharing and all of a sudden my pc almost fully freezes, mouse barely responded to movement and my friends couldnt hear me anymore, audio became laggy and WoW definitely stopped working but i got Task manager open atleast which showed my CPU usage randomly stuck at 100%, this was also when i had XMP enabled making ram speeds sit at 6400mhz.
Now, since my games still seem to suffer from crashing issues seemingly tied to cpu hitting 100% (temps are perfectly fine too, never hitting past 90) would it be safe to assume i have a bad cpu?
I have all drivers up to date before anyone thinks to suggest it.
I ran a cinebench single core test and it passed with 2034 points which seems to be along what other 13700k cpu's get (I have hyperthreading turned off)
I clicked the multi core one and it ran for about 4 seconds before stopping due to an error and cpu usage spiked to a 100 in the task manager.
Tried it a 2nd time and it ran for about 10-12 seconds this time, cpu temps hitting 90 at most and then it crashed.
Here's a pastebin to the bugreport text i got from cinebench:
https://pastebin.com/e0tzbnF3
Dont mind the "volvo" folder, i just extracted it to a random folder i had on my desktop.
Hopefully someone could give me any pointers what the issue could be, i run my pc at stock speeds and factory OC.
I recently upgraded an older system and added a faster CPU and RAM. The computer started normally at the default JEDEC speed for the new RAM without XMP enabled, so I turned XMP on and ran MemTest86+ via USB. After two full cycles, MemTest showed no issues. Once I logged into Windows, fifteen minutes later Firefox froze and the PC restarted. This occurred again, followed by a sudden reboot without any BSOD.
I entered the BIOS with XMP active and adjusted the CL (CAS) timings slightly slower. Since then, everything has worked smoothly.
The lesson here is that you can't be completely certain your memory overclock is stable just because MemTest reports it's fine. If you're using the latest BIOS version, consider adjusting the CL timing. If that doesn't work, switch to manual settings and gradually increase the speed to 6,400MT/s. Starting at 4,800MT/s is usually a safe point for most systems. You might be able to find the right settings in the SPD chip using tools like Aida64.
My RAM is currently operating at 4800mhz cl32 because even 5400 cl36 didn’t work. It’s really frustrating since I see many people easily "plug and play" with XMP clocking up to 7000mhz and run smoothly, just like my friend who uses a 12700k with the same RAM. GSKill 6400mhz cl32. I might go the extreme route and buy a new processor to check if it’s stable. I updated the BIOS to the latest version but have no idea how to adjust the RAM timings without a detailed guide.
Actually, CPU faults are quite rare. It's much more surprising that the CPU itself fails compared to other parts. You might notice your CPU reaching 100% while it begins processing the crash. Have you checked the CPU and GPU temperatures? Do you have the latest drivers for all core components, not just the BIOS? Are you using two memory modules? If so, it could be helpful to remove one and see if the problem continues, then replace it and test again.
I have verified the CPU and GPU temperatures, and they are consistently within normal ranges. I use the driver booster (premium edition) to obtain the necessary drivers, which works similarly to what I did on my previous system and performed excellently. I currently have two memory modules, so I plan to test this immediately. The games that tend to cause crashes are FIFA and Battlefront 2; other titles like World of Warcraft usually run smoothly for several hours before suddenly failing multiple times within minutes. This will need to be tested over a full day with one RAM module. Thanks for the advice!
Ramstick nr1
With one stick of RAM and XMP activated, FIFA23 crashed immediately upon launch, CPU reached 85% utilization. Hyperthreading was active. Cinebench multicore test stopped instantly under these settings. Restarted the PC and turned off XMP. FIFA crashed during an ultimate team match within two minutes, CPU usage spiking to 90% at crash. Highest CPU temperature recorded was 82°C. GPU never exceeded 45%.
You might find some understanding regarding this matter, thank you for your patience. If the replacement was merely faulty hardware, it would likely be easier to resolve.
I’d be interested in trying some other RAM and testing whether it makes a difference, particularly if the system still experiences crashes at 4800MT/s. It would be tough to adjust the CL timing further. You’ve already learned how to tweak XMP speeds; just look for guides on the line.
My applications don’t gain much from high XMP overclocks on my 7950X, so I’m using two 32GB Kingston Vengeance RAM sticks at 4800MT/s. I’m not willing to risk overall stability for a small boost in app performance.
Would you notice any noticeable changes in your games after applying high XMP overclocks? (I mean beyond just a slight FPS shift.)
Thanks for the update. I’m not really expecting a big improvement in game performance just by enabling xmp settings, but it bothers me since I bought 6400mhz and can’t use it. Currently, I’ve turned off hyperthreading and all E-cores on my 13700k, and I’m able to play FIFA23 without any issues. My RAM is set to the default 4800mhz. I’m wondering if other games will run smoothly now, but I’m still confused—does this seem like a problem with E-cores or hyperthreading? Or could RAM somehow influence E-cores and hyperthreading in a way that causes crashes?