Other Blue Screens - Possibly OC/Cooling/PSU, not sure.

Hey

Im posting here as im certain this is hardware and not a software issue.

So i had an issue here, which i thought was gone....its not.

I got a new HDD/PSU and GPU at the same time, i treated as a new install (so old HDD disconnected) installed windows etc and got up and running.

The new PSU was 650W named unit.

Connections inside comp are

Mobo - 24pin (and the 4 pin CPU one)
GPU - 2*4pins pcie power (MSI GTX 560 1GB Twin Fozr OC edition, i have not pushed any further OC on the GFX card)
HDD 1TB - Sata
HDD 250GB - IDE/Molex
Optical Drive - IDE/Molex

Now a few weeks onwards the Blue Screens are reappearing again. The MOBO sometimes comes up at boot stating that the "OC is causing instability" and goes to factory defaults, this happened on the old build and the Blue Screens stopped (cpu-z shows reduced voltage and CPU speed down 1Gig). When the MOBO does this I go back and reload the OC settings so have not tried with the OC off (as a bought OC build im not doing this).

1. Memtest was peformed on old build had no issues
2. Temps seemed fine on old build
3. It seemed that an insufficent PSU was the issue.

So i have a few questions

1. PSU - Should this be sufficent to power the system including the new GFX? As far as i know it should be more than enough.
2. Is there a software to monitor temps that will survive a Blue Screen (i.e. its running then there is a blue screen i can check logs all way upto blue screen to check temp).
3. What else?

I suspect the PSU again, as i have a powerful OC GFX now and the OC mobo if the PSU is again an issue? But from what i have heard the 650W should be sufficent.

At last resort ill need to get in touch with the Company that i bough MOBO etc from, but if i have to send back etc thats gonna be a pain.

Thanks

p.s. Full system specs click on my sig below.

p.p.s - From a post below -

"Cheers for info, i think i should clarify a few things.

This was a prebuilt OC'd rig (MOBO/RAM/CPU/COOLER) the company (aria.co.uk) apparently stress test for 24hrs to ensure its alright.

I do have a years warranty on it. However im not supposed to touch the OC settings in bios. I just meant that someone sayin "scrap the OC and run stock" was not a viable option as i have paid for the OC.

When the MOBO reset itself to stock speeds, there is the Aria settings saved to the CMOS which are loaded again.

I only mention the memtest as someone on the original post i linked before suggested this, im not using that as overall system stability

The Blue screens themselves are random messages, "PFN_LIST_CORRUPT" is one, problem with "win32k.sys" and a few others, the blue screens are up and system reboots again pretty quick to check.

These are pretty random, in game, in windows, one time after it had been on sleep it blue screened 2 mins later."

 

While things have changed, on average; you loose about 100mhz off the maximum possible Overclock every three months. Overclocked bundles are sold with no warranties for a reason.

It may be possible that it's the overclock becoming unstable. If that's the case; your refusal to unset it for testing purposes will only lead to more problems as the system grows slowly more unstable. Revert the CPU settings to default in Bios, boot, then test the heck out of it. If it's stable; Overclock is the issue. If not; Then it's PSU/Memory (Possibly).

If you can get the time; Record what the Blue Screen reports, as well, that can go a long way towards locating the problem.

 

Memtest is a hopeless indicator of sytstem stability - you need to do a combination of stability tests to ascertain the overall stability of your system. Given that the system is overclocked, I agree with TuNdRa that the OC is likely what's causing the problem.

To test stability, use the following programs:

Core stability (CPU, MEM, BCLK, Uncore):

Prime95 blend test for 8+ hours
Prime95 small FFTs for 8+ hours
LinX, using ALL available memory, 50+ passes

3D stability - test for 2+ hours (looped):

3DMark11, Furmark, MSI Kombustor etc

 

I disagree with Furmark, use a demanding game that allows looping benchmarks instead. That way it's more realistic load you're looking at, rather than the 50 - 100Watt overkill that Furmark Produces.

 

Cheers for info, i think i should clarify a few things.

This was a prebuilt OC'd rig (MOBO/RAM/CPU/COOLER) the company (aria.co.uk) apparently stress test for 24hrs to ensure its alright.

I do have a years warranty on it. However im not supposed to touch the OC settings in bios. I just meant that someone sayin "scrap the OC and run stock" was not a viable option as i have paid for the OC.

When the MOBO reset itself to stock speeds, there is the Aria settings saved to the CMOS which are loaded again.

I only mention the memtest as someone on the original post i linked before suggested this, im not using that as overall system stability

The Blue screens themselves are random messages, "PFN_LIST_CORRUPT" is one, problem with "win32k.sys" and a few others, the blue screens are up and system reboots again pretty quick to check.

These are pretty random, in game, in windows, one time after it had been on sleep it blue screened 2 mins later.

It sounds like i may need to do some tests.

@rob the bank -
"If yes then try again with one stick of RAM, does it crash?
If yes try again with the other stick on its own, does it still crash?"

Its Dual channel RAM can i do this?

Ill try all this an keep you posted, i suppose if these tests are failing ill need to goto manufacturer

Not keen on this as who knows when/if ill get it back.

 

Yep, you can run one stick at a time, no worries.

 

Ok so just tried the first test - with prime 95 (Blend test with 4 workers) and the CPU temp got upto 82Degrees before i decided to stop it, was only runnin for about 2mins

With the heaven test it seemed fine, GPU wise the temp got to 71 an that was it, it seemed to do the whole test fine.

I think overheating may be my actual issue now?

 

What heatsink is on the CPU and how long has it been since you've taken a can of compressed air and a vacuum cleaner to it to empty it of dust? Could be something as simple as that.

Plus we're not asking you to touch the Overclock. We're asking you to unset it for the timebeing. If the aria settings are saved to the Bios; use the defaults, test, then reload the Aria stuff. No fiddling needed.

 

CPU cooler - Corsair Cooling Air Series A50 Performance CPU Cooler. Na there is barely any dust on it, as i recently had the system all out i checked.

Yea I know that, at first i thought someone was going to say, "Just forget about the OC and leave it standard." I just meant that is not an option

My case is kinda old an its a little cramped in there with the 560 now, getting a Raven-02 for xmas so that could sort it?

 

The RV02 is a seriously good case, my current PC is transplanted into one and it's very, very good. Albeit somewhat loud if you crank the fans up.

 

Hmm, 1.392V is a little high. And I'm surprised that Aria are selling that bundle at 4.4Ghz again. How long have you had it? If the OC is unstable, then that is covered in the years warranty that comes with it. Give them a ring and get it booked in for RMA.

 

Since about July, thing is im not sure the OC is the issue. 1st it was a PSU issue now its a cooling issue, the 560 has took up a LOT of space, plus with the leads this new PSU has i think its overheating. My case is not ideal for keeping things tidy :S

I may keep the OC off at the moment, then when new case comes and still an issue ill take it up with them.

 

Would anyone say that the temp is pretty high? Im fairly sure it was gonna keep climbing.

I have since ran the test with the OC off and was fine, hovers about the 60 mark.

 

Anyone?

On another note, OC has been off for a good few days now, no blue screen since.

 

So its your OC. You need to back it off a bit. You don't really need 4.4Ghz do you?

 

Possibly, but it could just be a heat issue. Just im not sure what a high temp is? as it was 80+ and climbing, thats why i wanted to ask if this is high?

Kinda scared to let the prime test run longer to check?

Im not backing the OC permanently, see above posts. I paid for an OC'd 4.4GHz system, im not putting it to stock and wasting my cash.

 

Yeah, 80C is too high, personally I don't like things any higher than ~70C in prime, maybe 75C on one core.

I'm not suggesting you put it to stock, but just back it down to 4Ghz or so. Its obviously the OC thats causing the problem, and honestly, unless you are doing 24/7 encoding you won't be able to tell the difference. Unfortunately changing any BIOS settings at all will void your warranty on the OC, so if you aren't happy, you can either return the whole lot, or try and figure out settings will cure your BSOD problems. You may have to add additional voltages elsewhere, but you may also have a chip that just won't do 4.4Ghz stable, no matter what you do.

 

ok thanks.

My plan is the new case may solve the overheating, if the comp still bluescreens and the prime tests show the temp ok, then it will be returned.

If its overheating with the new case....i dunno, maybe try the MOBO out of the case? Run the stress test and see what happens? But i suspect it wont make much difference. I suppose it will need to be returned anyway, i mean if its overheating outside the case with the cooler they provide (and test for 24hrs with) then something is not right.

Not sure when ill get case yet so maybe around the new year or first week in December, but ill keep you guys posted.

Thanks for all the help.

 

Or, instead of that, you could just take the side panel off your current case?