F5F Stay Refreshed Power Users Overclocking Overclocking made my computer crash permanently, so I got a BSOD (a critical error where something stopped working).

Overclocking made my computer crash permanently, so I got a BSOD (a critical error where something stopped working).

Overclocking made my computer crash permanently, so I got a BSOD (a critical error where something stopped working).

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XMasacremcX
Junior Member
8
10-06-2026, 09:28 AM
#1
Hey, I tried to speed up my CPU (an Intel Core i7-9700K) from 4.6 GHz to 4.9 GHz using a voltage of 1.40V. Even after testing voltages between 1.30V and 1.40V, it wouldn't stay stable. I tried lowering the speed back down to 4.8 GHz or lower, but every time I started my computer, I got an error message saying "Critical Process Died." I also reset the BIOS settings and cleared the CMOS, which didn't help much. Now I'm really stuck because I can boot into the BIOS screen, but nothing is working in Windows. I don't know what to do yet. I still get a BSOD right after running a stress test (P95) for two seconds, so I haven't been able to start up or enter Safe Mode either. My computer has an Aorus Z390 Ultra motherboard, an Intel i7-9700K processor, an Nvidia RTX 2080 Super graphics card, a Gigabyte SSD, and Corsair Vengeance RAM (8GB x 2). I hope someone here can give me some advice to fix this.
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XMasacremcX
10-06-2026, 09:28 AM #1

Hey, I tried to speed up my CPU (an Intel Core i7-9700K) from 4.6 GHz to 4.9 GHz using a voltage of 1.40V. Even after testing voltages between 1.30V and 1.40V, it wouldn't stay stable. I tried lowering the speed back down to 4.8 GHz or lower, but every time I started my computer, I got an error message saying "Critical Process Died." I also reset the BIOS settings and cleared the CMOS, which didn't help much. Now I'm really stuck because I can boot into the BIOS screen, but nothing is working in Windows. I don't know what to do yet. I still get a BSOD right after running a stress test (P95) for two seconds, so I haven't been able to start up or enter Safe Mode either. My computer has an Aorus Z390 Ultra motherboard, an Intel i7-9700K processor, an Nvidia RTX 2080 Super graphics card, a Gigabyte SSD, and Corsair Vengeance RAM (8GB x 2). I hope someone here can give me some advice to fix this.

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Phailinh
Junior Member
40
10-06-2026, 11:58 PM
#2
Four gigabytes would be more than enough. I have the same issue you are facing right now, but I just bought this system: CPU: AMD Threadripper 3970X Motherboard: ASUS ROG Zenith II Extreme Alpha RAM: 96GB G.Skill 3200Mhz CAS Lat 14 Quad Channel Monitor: SAMSUNG 49-inch Odyssey G9 - QHD, 240hz, 1000R Curved Gaming Monitor, 1ms, NVIDIA G-SYNC & FreeSync, QLED Video Card: MSI Gaming X Trio 2080 Ti Sound Card: Creative...
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Phailinh
10-06-2026, 11:58 PM #2

Four gigabytes would be more than enough. I have the same issue you are facing right now, but I just bought this system: CPU: AMD Threadripper 3970X Motherboard: ASUS ROG Zenith II Extreme Alpha RAM: 96GB G.Skill 3200Mhz CAS Lat 14 Quad Channel Monitor: SAMSUNG 49-inch Odyssey G9 - QHD, 240hz, 1000R Curved Gaming Monitor, 1ms, NVIDIA G-SYNC & FreeSync, QLED Video Card: MSI Gaming X Trio 2080 Ti Sound Card: Creative...

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FakeMushway
Junior Member
11
10-07-2026, 04:52 PM
#3
Put a USB stick in your PC, try to start up with that, and if it works on the computer, maybe the Windows is the only thing wrong.
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FakeMushway
10-07-2026, 04:52 PM #3

Put a USB stick in your PC, try to start up with that, and if it works on the computer, maybe the Windows is the only thing wrong.

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Lips
Senior Member
624
10-09-2026, 09:30 AM
#4
Right now I can't do this because I just moved and don't have a USB. Do you know if your Android phone could work as a bootable drive since it uses USB-C and my desktop supports it? Also, will the 4GB of storage on that old USB stick be enough for Linux?
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Lips
10-09-2026, 09:30 AM #4

Right now I can't do this because I just moved and don't have a USB. Do you know if your Android phone could work as a bootable drive since it uses USB-C and my desktop supports it? Also, will the 4GB of storage on that old USB stick be enough for Linux?

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Sims4fun
Member
191
10-09-2026, 06:10 PM
#5
4GB of RAM is way too much for my system. Right now, I have the exact same problem as you do. I built this whole setup: CPU: AMD Threadripper 3970X Motherboard: ASUS ROG Zenith II Extreme Alpha RAM: 96GB G.Skill 3200Mhz CAS Lat 14 Quad Channel Monitor: SAMSUNG 49-inch Odyssey G9 - QHD, 240hz, 1000R Curved Gaming Monitor, 1ms, NVIDIA G-SYNC & FreeSync, QLED Video Card: MSI Gaming X Trio 2080 Ti Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster AE-9 & Sound Blaster X7 Headphones: Sony MDR-Z7 Storage: Sabrent 2TB Rocket NVMe 4.0 Gen4, Samsung 970 EVO 2TB - NVMe PCIe M.2, Sabrent 500GB Rocket Nvme PCIe 4.0 M.2, Samsung 960 PRO Series - 512GB PCIe NVMe - M.2, SAMSUNG 970 PRO M.2 2280 1TB PCIe Gen3. X4, 2x Western Digital 4TB @ RAID-0 Cooling: Custom Loop with 2x PrimoChill 360mm EximoSX Ultra Radiator - Toxic Candy Color, 6x 120mm Corsair QL RGB Fans, EKWB RGB D5 Pump/Res Combo, Waterblock on CPU and GPU Case: Lian Li O11DXL-X O11 Dynamic XL ROG Certified (Black) ATX Full Tower Lighting: 6x RGB LED Strips Keyboard: Whirldwind FX Element Other: 2x WhirldwindFX Vortx, Valve Index, Streamdeck XL Cant even get into windows, nor windows install, just get BSOD over and over, I tried booting into ubuntu studio, but it gave me a super quick error and screen went black
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Sims4fun
10-09-2026, 06:10 PM #5

4GB of RAM is way too much for my system. Right now, I have the exact same problem as you do. I built this whole setup: CPU: AMD Threadripper 3970X Motherboard: ASUS ROG Zenith II Extreme Alpha RAM: 96GB G.Skill 3200Mhz CAS Lat 14 Quad Channel Monitor: SAMSUNG 49-inch Odyssey G9 - QHD, 240hz, 1000R Curved Gaming Monitor, 1ms, NVIDIA G-SYNC & FreeSync, QLED Video Card: MSI Gaming X Trio 2080 Ti Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster AE-9 & Sound Blaster X7 Headphones: Sony MDR-Z7 Storage: Sabrent 2TB Rocket NVMe 4.0 Gen4, Samsung 970 EVO 2TB - NVMe PCIe M.2, Sabrent 500GB Rocket Nvme PCIe 4.0 M.2, Samsung 960 PRO Series - 512GB PCIe NVMe - M.2, SAMSUNG 970 PRO M.2 2280 1TB PCIe Gen3. X4, 2x Western Digital 4TB @ RAID-0 Cooling: Custom Loop with 2x PrimoChill 360mm EximoSX Ultra Radiator - Toxic Candy Color, 6x 120mm Corsair QL RGB Fans, EKWB RGB D5 Pump/Res Combo, Waterblock on CPU and GPU Case: Lian Li O11DXL-X O11 Dynamic XL ROG Certified (Black) ATX Full Tower Lighting: 6x RGB LED Strips Keyboard: Whirldwind FX Element Other: 2x WhirldwindFX Vortx, Valve Index, Streamdeck XL Cant even get into windows, nor windows install, just get BSOD over and over, I tried booting into ubuntu studio, but it gave me a super quick error and screen went black