Problem with newly assembled PC experiencing frequent hard freezes and BSOD occurrences.
Problem with newly assembled PC experiencing frequent hard freezes and BSOD occurrences.
I've just created an account, and I'm hoping my question fits here correctly. The formatting and details are all in place.
We recently assembled a new PC together with my younger brother, but it hasn't been functioning properly yet.
Components used:
- CPU: Intel Core i9-12900k 3,2GHz
- GPU: ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3070 Ti OC
- Power Supply: Sharkoon WPM Gold ZERO 750W
- RAM: 2x 8GB Corsair DDR4-3200
- Motherboard: Gigabyte Z690 Gaming X DDR4 (rev 1.0)
- Hard Drive: Seagate IronWolf 4TB
- SSD:
- CPU-fan: Pure Rock 2 Black
- Case: Be Quiet! Pure Base 500
After completing the build, we powered it on and noticed the VGA display remained active while the monitor failed to receive a signal. Rebooting didn't resolve the issue; the monitor would turn on but then the PC would freeze unexpectedly (only a hard reboot fixed it).
Even when it worked briefly, we updated the BIOS, downloaded drivers, changed RAM, swapped HDD and SSDs, removed the dedicated GPU, reinstalled Windows/BIOS, but nothing changed.
We tried replacing the CPU, updating the BIOS, downloading drivers, and even switching to safe mode, yet the freezes and BSODs persisted.
Eventually, we returned the CPU for inspection, suspecting a minor pin issue, but it didn't fix the problem.
Despite our efforts, we gave up after a year and let the PC sit unused.
Recently, we attempted another build, hoping the problem would vanish or a new update would help. Unfortunately, it didn’t. However, we discovered some patterns:
- During Windows Update (installing Windows 10 22H2), it crashed at exactly 25% of the time, four times.
- Intel Graphics drivers caused repeated crashes in App Centre.
- Safe mode driver installs let Windows 10 22H2 install without errors.
- Leaving the PC idle for hours posed no issues.
- Upgrading to Windows 11 led to crashes at 12% of the time.
- Freezes or crashes during the mentioned scenarios triggered BSODs (WATCHDOG TIMEOUT or WHEA error), followed by a reboot.
After trying Intel's CPU Diagnostics Tool three times, the PC would freeze first, then stop, without an automatic restart.
This leads me to believe the issue might be related to the processor or the motherboard. I'm seeking advice from more experienced users. I've attached the four most recent dumps we found here on Mediafire.
These files come from running the Intel CPU Tool: the first is from the initial crash, the second from a crash immediately after startup following the first incident, and the third and fourth are from subsequent attempts to run the tool using Intel's software.
Thanks for your reply!
I believe it would be the PSU, not the CPU, because the issue persists even when running the Intel CPU software without exceptions. The 750W Sharkoon might seem low, but we also faced problems with the 3070 using its built-in GPU, suggesting power limitations are involved. I thought the CPU's power draw wouldn't be the cause, but my understanding might be off.