Is there a problem with the hardware?
Is there a problem with the hardware?
Hello everyone! My friend recently finished assembling his PC, and here are the specifications:
MSI Tomahawk x570s
Ryzen 5950x
MSI 4070 Super
1TB 980 Pro
2TB 980 Pro
128GB DDR4 3600 Corsair Vengeance
Windows 11 Home
Original components before problems:
CPU
MB
RAM
1 TB 980
Around May, he added the 2TB drive, GPU, and an additional 64GB of RAM. Since then, he’s experienced blue screens labeled “DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION”.
Initially it was occasional (once a week), then more frequent (several times weekly), and eventually it would freeze within ten minutes, displaying the same blue screen, remaining stuck until manually shut down (long press). This issue also occurs even when there’s no load.
I’ve tried diagnosing the problem by reinstalling drivers for every part (including GPU DDU), checking temperatures under both load and idle, analyzing crash dumps, using Event Viewer, performing a GPU stress test on a working machine, testing RAM with MemTest86 (no issues), running Disk Sentinel (no issues), reseating the GPU and RAM.
I also swapped RAM sticks and slots, used known working RAM and GPU, reinserted the M.2 card, changed the port to PCIe -> NVMe, tested with SATA SSDs and HDDs, wiped drives before reinstalling Windows.
When trying to reinstall Windows after formatting, it would install normally until reaching the keyboard layout screen, then freeze again, triggering the watchdog violation. The PC would freeze while attempting to select a drive for installation, even after all troubleshooting steps were completed.
I didn’t replace or test the CPU on another machine. The reason was that this PC had been running smoothly with no crashes until May, right when these upgrades began.
However, upon checking the 2TB M.2, I noticed the heat sink was missing, suggesting it might have been physically damaged during installation. Here’s a photo:
https://imgur.com/a/l4dofpi
For reference:
https://imgur.com/a/l4dofpi
My conclusion is that this drive began to harm the motherboard (power shorts, instability, etc.). This happened despite all troubleshooting efforts during the process.
I’m seeking advice from others on this matter. The next step would be to buy a new motherboard and replace the 2TB M.2 slot.
He bought the identical set he was using, which added an extra 64 gb. He had initially run 2x32 but upgraded to a 4x32 kit with the second one. The issues were already present before getting the larger 64gb model. Hope this resolves the matter. Yes, I think the SSD wasn’t being used properly. I wasn’t there during the installation and found out about it this evening.
Did you attempt RAM at base or lower speed? Full speed might be a bit excessive for the memory controller with 4 sticks/channels in use. It seems Ryzen isn’t happy with Vengeance RAM, and many people are complaining about it. I usually recommend Kingston for AMD/Ryzen setups.
I also have a different 16x2 kit that isn't Corsair, which I plan to test on the machine tomorrow.