The system crashed after the CPU and RAM were overclocked.
The system crashed after the CPU and RAM were overclocked.
Hello everyone, I’m really hoping someone can help me with this issue—I’m not sure what to do. My PC has been acting up more than usual when trying to run older games that used to work well. I decided to attempt overclocking for the first time to check if it would improve things, and I also looked into CPU overclocking while exploring RAM overclocking options (though I’m not sure if that’s the right path). Now I’m experiencing occasional blue screens and crashes, sometimes more often than once a day. What’s interesting is that these crashes seem to happen more often when my PC is running light tasks like streaming or just idling, rather than during gaming sessions.
I’ve already gone back to the default RAM settings in the BIOS after rolling back the RAM overclock. However, when I tried to do the same with the CPU, my system runs extremely slow—about 3.40Ghz, which is 5 to 10 times slower than before I adjusted the BIOS. It’s not just a feeling of slowness; it’s a real performance drop, making even simple tasks like watching a video with one tab open take a long time (the whole PC lags or becomes unresponsive).
I’m stuck with many blue screens and crashes, and I can’t go back to the CPU overclock settings because it seems to make things worse. I’m wondering if there’s another way to fix this.
Here’s what I’ve tried so far, based on my system specs:
- Rolled back RAM overclock to default.
- Increased CPU voltage to 1.3000v (later reset to default after a crash).
- Ran memtest64—no errors detected.
- Executed chkdsk /f.
- Reinstalled the operating system (because I couldn’t boot fully after a crash, reaching only the login screen).
- Full system details (I’m not sure which parts matter most).
My hardware:
- GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
- AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X
- X399 AORUS Gaming 7
- 16GB DDR4 RAM
- Windows 10 64-bit
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I notice something unusual, even at 3.4Ghz you shouldn't face any issues. Would it help if I reset the CMOS to clear all changes? Also, could you tell me which overclock settings were used for the RAM and CPU?
Sorry, I missed adding that detail earlier.
I now have the CPU configured at 3.70Ghz and the RAM set to 3200 before reverting to the standard setting.
It wasn't a significant overclock, right? Could you tell me the voltage you used for both?
I haven't handled the RAM voltage, so it remains at the standard of 1.2V.
During my first CPU overclock, I didn't change the voltage, keeping it at 1.22500V. At one stage I raised it to 1.30000V, but when crashes persisted I went back to the default above.
I removed the CMOS and now the 3.40Ghz on the CPU really seems to be at 3.40Ghz. I think I'll keep it that way until I can test it more reliably. It's hard to get a consistent BSOD since it was happening intermittently—once it worked for five hours, then it crashed twice in thirty minutes.
I'd say boosting performance isn't worth it if you're already facing issues; an 8% overclock likely won't make a difference. I'm not surprised by the inconsistent results.
Although it's not a brand-new CPU, I'm puzzled why it feels sluggish. If you run into more problems later, it might point to something else. I also wonder if you've considered upgrading your RAM—DDR4 is quite affordable these days.
I think it would be wise to explore that further. At first I was just starting with free options, but since my PC is around six years old, upgrading components seems like a better idea.
The overclock really did improve performance noticeably. My frame rate jumped from 35-40 fps on medium settings to 60 fps on nearly maximum settings. It's a good improvement, though it doesn't guarantee stability if the PC becomes too erratic for smooth play.
Can I believe the PC was okay for normal tasks like browsing before you increased its speed?
What games are you planning to play?