All aboard, I need help with my new RIG!

[BinnZ]

Okay guys, I have this new rig. And I can't get the thing to w0#k properly. I am not expecting you to give me the answer to all my trouble, but I'm pretty damn sure you will give me some clever directions I wouldn't think of myself. That might help me fix the issue, which is the ultimate goal as of now

Let me start with describing what I currently have in my case:

- Motherboard:
MSI MPG Z390 Gaming Pro Carbon
- CPU:
Intel i9 9900K (with Scythe Mugen 5 PCGH Edition cooler)
- RAM:
2x8GB DDR4 @3200MHz, Corsair Vengeance LPX
- GPU:
ASUS ROG STRIX GTX1080 O8G Gaming
- PSU:
CoolerMaster RS750 AFBA G1
- HDD:
Samsung 970 EVO NVMe M.2 1Tb

(2 additional sata SSD's for data storage, both 120Gb)

I also have a DVD drive attached to this system and it's stuffed in an 8 year old CoolerMaster Centurion case.

Mouse:
Corsair M65 PRO RGB
Keyboard:
Logetich G105
Headset:
Corsair VOID Surround (wired)
Sound:
Very old Logitech speaker set
Monitor:
Acer S243HL (24" 60Hz)
Printer:
HP Envy 5640

Everything teal is brand new, the orange (GPU) is almost one year old.

Now you know what's under the hood, I will try to explain my issue. How I first noticed, how it manifests and then what I have done until now to discover what it is and/or fix it.

The problem:
First how would I call my problem? OR better, my RIG's problem... I'll call it a freeze-problem. What basically happens is that, at random moments, my system freezes. I notice in on my screen; everything stops moving. As if looking at a screenshot. Sometimes it freezes for a few seconds, sometimes for up to 30 seconds. A freeze that lasts longer than 10 seconds will make me loose connection to GTA Online. YouTube films however, keep playing while the freeze is 'activated'. I won't see anything move, but in my headset, which is my default playback device, I can hear the talking go on during the freeze, and when the freeze is over the film will continue where the audio is at that moment.
If I'm typing something, in the browser for example while writing a post or an email message, I can keep on typing. After the freeze the letters I typed will appear.
I have noticed certain moments where the audio, and maybe the entire system functionality, also froze, but I'll explain that in the next section: What have I done so far?

These freezes don't happen all the time. It happens randomly, every few days as it seems. For example; it happened yesterday evening when I just got my rig back from a testing period at my hardware vendor. Today I'm freeze-free for now. The day I turned it in, last week on Wednesday, I also had freezes. Before that, it happened on the Friday before the weekend, so 4 freeze-free days in-between.
But when the *bleep* goes down, I'm fucked. It keeps freezing every few minutes, sometimes twice a minute. I restart helped to get rid of the freezes once I tried.

What have I done so far?
The first time I noticed the freezes was when I was playing Fallout 4, just after installing all the new (teal) hardware. I had plugged my old 120Gb SSD with Windows 10 still installed in the new system and miraculously I saw Windows do 'some adjustments to the new hardware' and launch as if nothing ever happened. The only thing that was needed was installing mobo drivers because my network wasn't set.
I downloaded steam, installed Fallout 4 and GTA V on the new HDD and started playing Fallout 4. I noticed the freezes after an hour of playing, maybe two. It started every 2 or 3 minutes, bit became more frequent over time.
Back then I thought it was a Fallout 4 issue, and decided to check game file integrity. After doing that it automatically prompted me 'it had adjusted my game-settings to ultra-high'. After that the freezes were gone. However, I must have restarted the PC in between, which also might have taken the trouble away back then. I can't confirm that.
A day or two later I found out the freezes also happened when I was playing GTA Online. It made my connection to the session get interrupted. Then I noticed I also had freezes when watching YouTube videos. A system check with the program UserBenchMark.exe diagnosed my system as he@lthy and gave it a very high ranking on all tested parts. funny fact: I noticed the system froze once for a few seconds while the benchmark tool was active.

Since there were apparently no hardware issues I decided the problem was likely being caused by something in the old Windows Instalment on my old disc. It was too good to be true that I could just plug in the system disc and play with my new system, without any bugs ore errors. So I decided to do a clean Windows Install on the new disc, the 970 EVO, which was my initial plan.
This went all smooth, until I had to install the mobo drivers. For some reason the network adapter wouldn't get installed. I tried it over and over again, but it kept failing in the last second of the process. It just hung for too long on 99%, then said it was installed but on the DVD menu I could still see it wasn't installed. I tried to get the newest drivers from MSI website which turned out to be the exact same drivers I had on the DVD (it IS a new motherboard ) but that didn't make any difference. I think I must have tried it 7 or 8 times, when all of a sudden, there was internet. For some reason finally it had installed. Good, all set. I let Windows do its show and waited until Windows Updates told me there was nothing left to update. Then I did the rest of the necessary stuff. Graphics drivers, (newest from nVidia site) Steam, programs to run the keyboard, mouse and headset and some monitoring programs for the rest of the hardware.

Everything went smooth, until I noticed the first freeze. I don't remember what I was doing when I noticed; either playing GTA Online or surfing the internet. Anyway, it made me go mad.
Since I already did a complete new instalment of Windows and had all the drivers updated and checked etc. I could only expect hardware failure. I didn't think of a possible conflict with other attached hardware, which later occurred to me that might be the case, since all the hardware had never ever caused issues before. So I wrote to my reseller about the problem and demanded some thoroughly testing. I described as good as I could the problem and what I had done to deal with it and brought my rig to their shop so they could test it. A quick first examine on their end showed a good working system (hardware-wise) and they stated the following: in order to test this problem we need more than just a few minutes. You'll have to leave your rig here and we will demand a payment of €35,- for our w0#k. If things turn out to become more expensive we will contact you first.
I agreed with the payment and left the rig. That was last week on Wednesday. Before I turned in the rig however, I first tested what my CPU and GPU monitors were showing during a freeze. There I found out that the CPU kept running normal as if nothing had happened. No changes to frequency, mem usage, temp, anything. In the GPU monitor I could see a massive drop in both GPU clock speed and Memory clock speed during a freeze. I could only register that when it was operating on load, like when playing a game. I sent that info to the hardware store.

I will save you the time of reading about my rig-less week (it was harder than I expected) and continue the story yesterday, when I got a msg form them.
They had tested my system with several hardware and performance tests and my rig came through clean. They then hooked it on a 4K 144Mhz monitor and it showed very good graphics and performance, no freezes at all. Then they simulated a situation I had described (filling in their customer form online) and told me they had worked for half an hour without any issues or freezes. They ultimately used a special 'malicious hardware test' on my rig, which didn't discover any problem at all.
They could only conclude my hardware was all working in top condition and there was no reason for further testing. If however I insisted on more testing, they would charge me with €17,50 for each 30 minuted of additional testing.
I thanked them for the w0#k done and returned my rig home. That was yesterday.

Yesterday evening, happy as I was I had my system back, I first checked OWG for newest posts etc. Then I checked some news and then I decided to download Black Ops 4, which was a present that came with my i9 processor. I had to fill in a number of web subscriptions and managed to get the download (80Gb or something) to start.
While it was downloading in the background I started watching YouTube films about Trumps crazy weekend briefing about the Emergency. And then it happened again; freezes.

After my first *bleeb* and *bleeb* I decided to think... what is happening? Over there, with intense testing, nothing went wrong. Over here, without even intense gaming, it starts to freeze... what is different?
I decided to first exclude some possible causes, the hardware attached to it. The printer couldn't be the issue. I hadn't turned it on since the rig was back, so that could be scratched off the list. Then I thought of the headset. I unplugged it and put on the old Logitech speakers. Kept watching Trump on the Late night show. Again freezes... but hey? This time the sound also froze. Worse even: often it started producing a buzzing sound of at least 50Hz, as if it was looping a split second of sound. And even weirder; when the freeze was over the film wouldn't continue to play; it got stuck somehow. I had to pause, reinitiate it and even wait a bit until it continued playing.
Okay, headset scratched off the list. Was it maybe these old damn speakers causing all the trouble? I completely unplugged them and checked again with my headset. Freezes again. But this time the sound kept playing as before. Scratched the old Logitech speakers off the list of possible causes.

Now what's left to test is my mouse, my keyboard and my monitor. The monitor also has audio functionality (HDMI and a tiny speaker in the stand). Who knows. It is mainly the image that freezes after all. However, I don't have a spare monitor laying around, and neither have I another mouse and keyboard for the grab. So that testing still needs to be done.
I did write this new experience of the problem and what I had found out during this testing in an email to my reseller, asking them to try to explain to me what is going on.

Something else that is interesting for further testing is the following: I thought of another difference with their testing environment / setup and my home situation. I was doing some intense downloading in the background. Maybe the intensive use of the network adapter is causing my system to freeze. The trouble I had to go through installing the driver for it came to mind again. Maybe... I will have to further test this.
Yesterday, the download had finished, and after writing the reseller about my new experiences I noticed the freezes had stopped. I started downloading another game on steam and during that download I had one or two other freezes while watching more American politics comedy. But just two minor freezes of a few seconds. Nothing overwhelming.

So this is where I am at now. I'm a bit pissed about my reseller, you may understand. But looking at my issue from their point of view I can understand they don't want to grant all the help they might be able to give just for free; how many issues are caused by software after all? And didn't they stresstest the hardware from their shop thoroughly? Anyway, it's annoying as *bleep* and I really want to nail this thing. I have never had such a persistent issue with a new build until now. There was always a solution, either hardware- or software based. But now I'm really puzzled.

I hope you didn't find my story too long and boring and I do hope you have a hunch what to do next, apart from testing with another monitor and testing what intense downloading does. 

[Art Blade]

phew, that was a lot to read but I understand that you had to write it all down

My first thought is: it's a driver issue for the vid card. Try an older version.

My tip for you how to get better info on what's happening:

Open the Event Viewer and check the logs. I know it's looking like an awful lot there but that's where windows leaves traces for you. Just check what might be interesting.

It's important to understand that it is an event viewer. Anything out of the ordinary will cause error codes and warnings, so first of all write down the time the freeze is happening so you can identify matching time stamps, something that occurred just before the freeze or at the time of the freeze.

All you need to do then is to check Google for those error codes or warnings.

Good luck

[Art Blade]

worst case scenario: the vid ram on your vid card somehow went sour.. faulty memory can cause weird problems.

[BinnZ]

Thanks Art for the suggestions. I went right to the Event Viewer to check out what it comes up with, that was a clever idea.
However; no corresponding events with the freezes. Nothing. No error reports that might direct to something going wrong (there are error reports, every day, various, but they seem all to be addressed to failing software, like win updater failed, steam failed, stuff like that. Nothing that happened only yesterday, and during the freezes nothing is actually logged. So, no events at that time.

The video ram; I don't know about that. My guts say it has nothing to do with that. That is exactly the stuff they must have tested. Benchmark tools should show it, I'd say. Plus, it should happen anytime with it is used a lot or under heavy load. Yesterday it wasn't used a lot, and definitely not under heavy load. I haven't even played a game.

Older graphics driver; could be. I will test that soon. The damn problem with testing is that I don't know when it will be happening again. Today everything is fine and even a 33Gb download with Steam didn't cause any hickups or freezes

[Art Blade]

strange, isn't it. Well, faulty memory causes random errors, and that's not necessarily reproducible during one or two tests.

However. From all I know, your system keeps running but the graphics keep failing. So it is likely related to the graphics card alone. No event log hints means windows doesn't know what's happening. If a driver "down-date" ( ) doesn't help, you should somehow try to change the graphics card, to whatever you can get, just so to see whether or not the freezes still occur. If they don't, then you'll know.

[nex]

Is it a new or old graphics cards BinnZ?

[Art Blade]

"the orange (GPU) is almost one year old"

[Art Blade]

maybe just pull it out, clean the contacts and put it back in. Might be just something simple like that..

[fragger]

That is a weird problem you're having, BinnZ. I'm wondering if the cause is actually environmental, something not in the computer but nearby.

What kind of physical internet connection do you have to your house - fibre optic, Wifi? Maybe something has physically come loose somewhere, like inside a wall socket, or if you have a Wifi connection, something interfering with your signal. Anything changed in your surrounding environment - new people move in nearby, construction, road w0#k, anything like that? Is your mobile phone near the computer when this happens? What else is going on in the house when the problem is happening, like is anyone using any other devices or appliances at the same time?

The fact that the freezing is happening at your house but not at the tester's location (and that the testers could find no hardware probs) might be indicative of something in your immediate physical location. It would be a hassle, but is it possible to take the whole rig to another place, like a friend or relative's house, set up there and see what it does? But you said sometimes whole days can go by without hassles, so that's a pretty inconvenient way to test.

That's all I've got, sorry.

[mandru]

Your specs show a PSU CoolerMaster RS750 AFBA G1.  Is 750 watts enough power for you rig?

At least that was my first thought but then I'm not a techie.  I don't really understand or fix them.

I just drive them. 

[Art Blade]

Heh, I had the same thought when talking to Binn before this topic came up. He said it was sufficient. I think he's right: if my information is correct, the GPU uses up to 200W and the CPU about 100W, and I don't think that the other components will be using the remaining 450W completely.

[LowPolyOWG]

 

Power management settings might be a thing to check. Ryzens had occasional hiccups due to unoptimized power management. Most likely, Windows is trying to reduce power consumption by parking CPU cores etc. Windows may also turn off HDDs/SSDs after some time. What Windows version are you at? (Just type winver in your searchbar). BIOS update? That might be worth running.

Also, your NVMe drive has it's own driver from Samsung. Might be worth it. Download driver here. I suspect that might hve caused your stutter. Incorrect power managament for your SSD.

BIOS/Driver page. I assume you probably got it bookmarked on your end, but here's the link.

[Dweller_Benthos]

I've had something similar lately, but it was obviously the latest nvidia drivers because after a pause of a few seconds, the screen goes black and then comes back to normal and a little dialog pops up that the video driver stopped responding and was recovered. This has only happened in the last few weeks after the latest nvidia driver update, so maybe a downgrade to the last driver might help. But you would think you'd be getting the same error message I do, but then I'm on windows 7 and windows 10 is notorious for not showing the stupid user scary error dialogs, or they might start complaining.

For the time being, I'm not getting the problem that often, there's also no rhyme or reason to when it happens, so I'm just living with it until the next update from nvidia which will most likely fix the issue.

[BinnZ]

Thanx friends, for your help so far.

I will try to answer your replies in order, forgive me if I fail to do so.

First, there is Art, with the suggestion it might be the video driver. I am pretty sure it is not, because: When I first noticed this problem, I hadn't changed anything to my graphics driver. I was still running my old Windows instalment on my 'old' SSD and it was already giving issues. I think renewing my gfx driver was the first thing I did when I had the problem in Fallout 4. After going to a newer version of gfx drivers I still had the issue.
Plus, it wasn't there before I had my mobo etc. replaced. I used the same gfx card and driver then.
Haven't tested putting in a different GPU. Will do if necessary, I have an old GTX570 to test it, but since testing might take several days it's not the first thing I might do.

Fragger, an interesting approach to the problem. I'll have to think of that. Especially the vicinity of my mobile phone is an interesting idea. Haven't checked that, but I will.
I have a wired connection, so I don't think wifi disturbance is of any influence on this issue. No new neighbours, just a new rig. But who knows what this mobo does pick up from its environment. Like I said, I'll have to think this over.

Mandru, I am pretty sure the power supply can't be the issue. First of all because it is a gold labelled device which stands for maximum security and stability, and second because I'm very sure 750 watt is enough. Plus, the issue occurs even on moderate or low load, like when browsing the internet. The old power supply I had, with 600 watt, was already enough and the freezes were there as well when I still had that PSU operational. I forgot to mention that in my innitial post, but I started with my old be quiet 600watt PSU which didn't have enough CPU connectors for maximum CPU feed. I changed it, but it didn't have any (positive or negative) effect on the issue.

GKID, it can't be the NVMe drive. I started with a system running on a SATA SSD and there it already occurred. Then I switched to the new NVMe drive, which gave the same issue. And in the test environment there was nothing found... my HDD's were there too.

There is one newer BIOS driver, it recently came out. What it fixes are things that don't seem to be related to the problem, however what seems and doesn't seem in this case is totally becoming irrelevant. So yes, I need to get those newest BIOS.

Windows version is 1803 (Build 17134.590)

D_B, I do have indeed win 10. Don't know about any messages. But like I said, it already occurred when I was still using an older version of nVidia's drivers.

Still in contact with the techies of my hardware store. They do their best to tackle my problem, but the fact that it only occurs occasionally and seemingly randomly doesn't make it any easier. 

[LowPolyOWG]

Latest Windows 10 is 1809.