Solved Sudden freezes/ Shutodowns under heavy cpu load

altae

New Member
Power User
Messages
148
I've got a bit of an issue here and I have not found a solution so far. I'll start with my system specs:

- Windows 8.1 Pro
- Mainboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD7 Rev. 3.0
- CPU: AMD FX-8350 (not overclocked)
- PSU: Seasonic X-Series 1050 W
- RAM: Corsair XMS3 CMX16GX3M2A1600C11, command rate 2 T, 1600 Mhz (800 Mhz), timings 11, 11, 11, 30
- GPU: Zotac GTX 770 Amp (not overclocked), 2 GB of V-Ram
- Sound Card: Creative X-Fi Titanium Champion (PCI-E)
- Haupauge Colossus video capturing card
- Promise FastTrak TX2300 SATA-II RAID Controller (2 additional HDD's attached)
- System drive: OCZ-AGILITY3 (111 GB)
- Main storage drives: 2 X WDC WD2002FAEX-007BA0 (1863 GB)

This should be enough for now.

The issue is as follows: Under heavy cpu load (for example when encoding mp3's using dbpoweramp) the pc occasionally shuts itself down. This does not always happen and it only happens when the cpu is really at it's limit (all 8 cores at 100 % load). Very well I thought, let's do a stress test using Prime95. The blend test runs for several hours but suddenly the pc freezes and all I can do is power it off. During the stress test I monitored the temperatures. Cpu 51 - 52 degrees, north bridge between 50 and 55 degrees, motherboard value between 45 - 50 degrees. I got these temps from Aida64. I'm kind of clueless here since none of these temps should be off limit. And the psu certainly delivers enough output. I'm grateful for any advice. If you need more info please let me know.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Update 1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    self built
    CPU
    AMD FX-8350
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD7 Rev. 3
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Zotac GTX 770 Amp 2 GB
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    GDATA Internet Security
2 things to try:

1) open up the case and point a house fan (on high) into the case. See if that stops or decreases the frequency of the shutdowns

2) run the system until it shuts down. Feel around inside the case (without touching anything) to see if anything seems excessively hot. I have received 2nd degree burns doing this - so be very, very careful!!!

Prime 95 Blend test stresses RAM the most - so that's automatically a suspect.
It also stresses the CPU cache and the memory controller (on the CPU in i7, i5, and AMD FX CPU's)
So - in most cases, it's either the RAM or the CPU that's overheating. Presuming that the CPU cooler is properly mounted and functioning, that says to me that the RAM may be overstressed/overheating. If this is the case, then the house fan trick should help cool down the RAM enough to notice a difference.

Good luck!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1Pro - Finally!!!
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Samsung/NP780
    CPU
    Came with the laptop (i7 of some sort)
    Motherboard
    Pretty sure that it has one, but haven't checked inside the case!
    Memory
    upgraded to 12 gB from 8 gB
    Graphics Card(s)
    has switchable - Intel/ATI - Used wrong drivers, now ATI card is inop :( Will have to fix it soon!
    Sound Card
    I'm nearly deaf, so this isn't used often
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Touchscreen on laptop/32" Toshiba on HDMI (laid the Sharp TV on a mouse and cracked the screen!)
    Screen Resolution
    800x600
    Hard Drives
    One Samsung 1tB drive - 5400 rpm. Gonna switch to a 7200/10000 rpm or an SSD (if I can find $500 for a 1tB SSD!)
    - Switched to 500 gB Samsung 840 series SSD - WOW!!!
    PSU
    Why do we ask this for laptops?
    Case
    Silver with a neat Samsung logo
    Cooling
    sub-par, gotta get around to working on it soon Worked on it - still sub-par! :(
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural - the same one I've used since it orignally came out around 1995
    Mouse
    no Mouse - Trackball!!!!
    Internet Speed
    too slow when I'm waiting for a download to finish
    Browser
    Yes, I use this (Firefox mostly, w/IE next most)
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Windows Firewall
    Other Info
    I'm handsome and a snappy dresser :0)
Thanks for your advice. I haven't got a house fan so I will probably try to run Prime95 with the case open. But I kind of doubt that there is an actual thermal problem since I use a big tower case with lots of free space, a front intake fan, a rear exhaust fan and a high quality zalman cpu cooler. Somehow I am suspecting the mainboard of not being able to handle the relatively high power consumption of the FX-8350 cpu. At least for the rev. 1 version of my mainboard there are various reports of stability issues all over the internet.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Update 1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    self built
    CPU
    AMD FX-8350
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD7 Rev. 3
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Zotac GTX 770 Amp 2 GB
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    GDATA Internet Security
Another test run of Prime95 has left me clueless. It ran flawlessly for almost 21 hours until I manually stopped the stress test. Niether had I left the case open nor had I adapted the cooling system. So, what's next? During the test I briefly opened the case to feel for extraordinary heat at certain spots but there did not seem to be any extraordinary hot spots, especially not the two ram modules. Should I measure the psu output? But I doubt that there is aproblem with it. It provides 1050 w while the whole pc at it's absolute peak consumes 450 w (measured it once, components have not changed since). Or should I look for another mainboard? Since there where no errors while running Prime95 I think I can rule out cpu and ram as cause.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Update 1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    self built
    CPU
    AMD FX-8350
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD7 Rev. 3
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Zotac GTX 770 Amp 2 GB
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    GDATA Internet Security
I'd still suggest trying the house fan thing - but if Prime95 isn't crashing/erroring - then it may not do anything

You could also try this to help troubleshoot the hardware problem further: Hardware Stripdown Troubleshooting

Finally, as I'm not real involved in hardware troubleshooting, you may get more expert advice here: Drivers & Hardware - Windows 8 Forums

Good luck!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1Pro - Finally!!!
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Samsung/NP780
    CPU
    Came with the laptop (i7 of some sort)
    Motherboard
    Pretty sure that it has one, but haven't checked inside the case!
    Memory
    upgraded to 12 gB from 8 gB
    Graphics Card(s)
    has switchable - Intel/ATI - Used wrong drivers, now ATI card is inop :( Will have to fix it soon!
    Sound Card
    I'm nearly deaf, so this isn't used often
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Touchscreen on laptop/32" Toshiba on HDMI (laid the Sharp TV on a mouse and cracked the screen!)
    Screen Resolution
    800x600
    Hard Drives
    One Samsung 1tB drive - 5400 rpm. Gonna switch to a 7200/10000 rpm or an SSD (if I can find $500 for a 1tB SSD!)
    - Switched to 500 gB Samsung 840 series SSD - WOW!!!
    PSU
    Why do we ask this for laptops?
    Case
    Silver with a neat Samsung logo
    Cooling
    sub-par, gotta get around to working on it soon Worked on it - still sub-par! :(
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural - the same one I've used since it orignally came out around 1995
    Mouse
    no Mouse - Trackball!!!!
    Internet Speed
    too slow when I'm waiting for a download to finish
    Browser
    Yes, I use this (Firefox mostly, w/IE next most)
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Windows Firewall
    Other Info
    I'm handsome and a snappy dresser :0)
Since there have not been any shutdowns for more than a week I hereby mark the thread as solved. In case the problem occurs again I can easily reopen it. Thanks everybody for your help, much appreciated.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Update 1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    self built
    CPU
    AMD FX-8350
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD7 Rev. 3
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Zotac GTX 770 Amp 2 GB
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    GDATA Internet Security
Thanks for letting us know!
FYI - I am subscribed to this topic. If you post back here, I'll receive an email notification of it and will check it out.
Good luck!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1Pro - Finally!!!
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Samsung/NP780
    CPU
    Came with the laptop (i7 of some sort)
    Motherboard
    Pretty sure that it has one, but haven't checked inside the case!
    Memory
    upgraded to 12 gB from 8 gB
    Graphics Card(s)
    has switchable - Intel/ATI - Used wrong drivers, now ATI card is inop :( Will have to fix it soon!
    Sound Card
    I'm nearly deaf, so this isn't used often
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Touchscreen on laptop/32" Toshiba on HDMI (laid the Sharp TV on a mouse and cracked the screen!)
    Screen Resolution
    800x600
    Hard Drives
    One Samsung 1tB drive - 5400 rpm. Gonna switch to a 7200/10000 rpm or an SSD (if I can find $500 for a 1tB SSD!)
    - Switched to 500 gB Samsung 840 series SSD - WOW!!!
    PSU
    Why do we ask this for laptops?
    Case
    Silver with a neat Samsung logo
    Cooling
    sub-par, gotta get around to working on it soon Worked on it - still sub-par! :(
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural - the same one I've used since it orignally came out around 1995
    Mouse
    no Mouse - Trackball!!!!
    Internet Speed
    too slow when I'm waiting for a download to finish
    Browser
    Yes, I use this (Firefox mostly, w/IE next most)
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Windows Firewall
    Other Info
    I'm handsome and a snappy dresser :0)
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