Crashing during games
Crashing during games
My computer stops when playing games. Details: AMD 5900x ROG Crosshair VIII Formula BIOS 4004, 3090 Founders Edition, 32GB (4x8GB) G.Skill TridentZ Neo 3600MHz CL14 OS on Windows 11 Screen or VR. It crashes at random during a game, similar to Age of Empires 4 and Automoblista 2. Logs show a memory hardware error from Machine Check Exception. XMP profile is active. Memtest detected no issues after several passes. Benchmarks pass smoothly in 3Dmark and Cinebench. Resetting BIOS seems to allow gameplay without crashes or long enough for sessions. Is there anything else you can try? Are you stuck using default DDR4 (2133MHz) RAM settings? Edited March 18, 2022 by BinaryShadow Corrected board
Random crashes under stress might stem from various causes, but memory issues are rare after running a Memtest. Your PSU performance matters—check its wattage, model, and brand. A 5900x and 3090 can deliver significant power, so that’s a good starting point.
I think its either your PSU is not providing enough power or a issue with your RAM.
This component connects to the CPU and frequently manages memory. Have you attempted a BIOS reset? Running tests with default settings might help. By design, the CPU doesn't support 3600MHz out of the box, so adjusting timings manually after testing at standard speeds is advisable. You can obtain the full timing table by downloading AIDA64 from motherboard->SPD. The latest BIOS I found is 3801 – details available here: https://rog.asus.com/motherboards/rog-ma...pdesk_bios
Typically, this occurs when RAM runs out during gameplay, causing the system to crash and launch the desktop. It might be due to an XMP profile setting being disabled. Try adjusting it and see if the issue resolves.
I'm using a Corsair 850W power supply just to confirm it doesn't cause the system to freeze into a black screen before rebooting, which feels like a hard crash. When I set optimized defaults in BIOS it seemed to fix the problem, but then I noticed the system would run at 2133MHz instead of the intended speed. I'd like to try faster RAM speeds if possible. I'm attempting to recreate the issue for testing and it usually works fine in single-player mode with XMP enabled. Yesterday in multiplayer it crashed twice before I returned to BIOS defaults.
It's right around the halfway mark between "okay" and "not enough" for your configuration—especially since you're working with an 80% efficient PSU. That means you're getting close to the 700-watt target for the system...
I think you're mixing up efficiency and actual power delivery. I'm sure you're right that 850W PSUs might not perform as efficiently, leading to more energy loss when used at 80%.
Failed again at the start of the week; this time upon returning it acted oddly. Windows events failed to show, the VR game wouldn’t launch, would begin to load but took an extremely long time. Cleared nothing after several restarts. Changed BIOS to 4006, performed a fresh Windows 10 install, updated drivers and installed the latest games except RGB software, and it ran smoothly for a night of play—possibly a fix, but still uncertain.
Playing through yet another gaming session without any interruptions, sensing progress is coming. I’m installing a Corsair Commander Core 8 and hoping the iCUE update won’t cause issues.