Could use some help with sons PC

[Pallie]

So here's my build- http://pcpartpicker.com/user/ratpacker/saved/#view=7Cmscf This the pc I built back in Feb. for my son's birthday. Mostly a Minecraft and Cities Skylines machine. It all worked just fine up until a few weeks ago when it started crashing to black screens. I would restart it, getting the blue windows "your pc didn't shut down right" or "your pc needs repaired" screens. I went so far as to reinstall w10, but it didn't stop the crashes. I finally started to troubleshoot my gpu (MSI R9 390 LE) by removing it, and connecting the hdmi cable to the motherboard. That ended the crashes and gave me a working pc, sans the gpu of course, which I assumed was the culprit. So I RMA'd it back to MSI, and when I got it back, I reinstalled it, and weird things started to happen.
When the gpu is installed, it will run okay until you try to reboot the pc, then it will crash to a black screen again. The only thing that will make it function again is to uninstall all the AMD/driver/MSI software. Then it boots okay sometimes, and sometimes not. I've made sure all the cabling is securely fastened. I've also tried switching between PCI slots. For some reason the top PCI slot causes the gpu to run hotter than the bottom one. HWM reads 61c at idle on the top, and 41ish on the bottom slot. No gpu software seems to work when I install it, and Afterburner won't even open. I get a "side by side"etc. error message. Does this sound like a hardware or software issue, or some combination of both? Does the temp difference between the PCI slots suggest a motherboard issue? I'm at wit's end, and my son is really frustrated that his pride and joy pc doesn't work right.

 

[master_shake_]

power supply is hooped.

try a different one.

 

[Ketchup]

What video drivers have you tried? Since it's Windows 10, I would try the latest couple from the AMD site.

 

[Pallie]

power supply is hooped.

try a different one.

Is this a common power supply issue? Should I go for a higher wattage model? Would upgrading from bronze to gold make a difference? I know team red has a reputation for their gpu's being a bit power hungry...

 

[UsandThem]

Is this a common power supply issue? Should I go for a higher wattage model? Would upgrading from bronze to gold make a difference? I know team red has a reputation for their gpu's being a bit power hungry...

750w is more than enough for your system.

Like Ketchup suggested, make sure to use the newest drivers from AMD's site.

If you are still experiencing crashes, you could try another PSU to see if it is the issue. The one you have is not the best unit out there, but it also far from the worst.

First thing though, right click on the Start button - Control Panel - Security and Maintenance - Maintenance - View reliability history.

Does it show a bunch of updates were installed, and then a bunch of warnings, crashes?

 

[Pallie]

750w is more than enough for your system.

Like Ketchup suggested, make sure to use the newest drivers from AMD's site.

If you are still experiencing crashes, you could try another PSU to see if it is the issue. The one you have is not the best unit out there, but it also far from the worst.

First thing though, right click on the Start button - Control Panel - Security and Maintenance - Maintenance - View reliability history.

Does it show a bunch of updates were installed, and then a bunch of warnings, crashes?

Thanks for the advice. I checked the reliability history (I didn't even know it existed, tbh) like you suggested, and it was dotted all over with warnings.

I was never able to download the lasted drivers via amd catalyst control center, and Afterburner wouldn't open at all.

The reason I asked about the AMD/power supply thing was that this was the third PC I've built, but the first one I've run into any serious problems with. This is the first computer I've built with an AMD card, and thinking it was the problem made me wonder. I guess I'll rma the power supply and hope that fixes it.

 

[Ketchup]

Why can't you download drivers? Is it not letting you on the internet?

 

[Pallie]

Why can't you download drivers? Is it not letting you on t

​

he internet?

Oh, it's online- it just won't successfully install. I checked the gpu properties box and it says that the drivers are up to date. But the baffling part is MSI Afterburner won't even open after I install it, all I get is an error message. And why in the world does one pci slot run 20 degrees hotter than the other?

 

[UsandThem]

Oh, it's online- it just won't successfully install. I checked the gpu properties box and it says that the drivers are up to date. But the baffling part is MSI Afterburner won't even open after I install it, all I get is an error message. And why in the world does one pci slot run 20 degrees hotter than the other?

Is it closer to a fan (PSU or case) when it is placed in the lower slot?

If I placed my video card in a lower slot, it would get directly hit by my front case fan, and it would run cooler.

Is there enough airflow in your case? The case you listed comes with: 1 rear 120mm, 1 top 140mm, 1 120mm front. Are they being used and how are they configured to run (quiet, performance, etc)? Have you added a fan to the side or another one to the front?

Are the PCI-E power connectors plugged in securely to the card (the 390 uses two 8 pin I believe)? Do your voltages in the BIOS look good and steady (5v, 12v, CPU, etc)?

 

[Pallie]

Is it closer to a fan (PSU or case) when it is placed in the lower slot?

If I placed my video card in a lower slot, it would get directly hit by my front case fan, and it would run cooler.

Is there enough airflow in your case? The case you listed comes with: 1 rear 120mm, 1 top 140mm, 1 120mm front. Are they being used and how are they configured to run (quiet, performance, etc)? Have you added a fan to the side or another one to the front?

Are the PCI-E power connectors plugged in securely to the card (the 390 uses two 8 pin I believe)? Do your voltages in the BIOS look good and steady (5v, 12v, CPU, etc)?

Trust me, airflow is not the problem. As soon as I plug it in to the top pci slot it ramps up to 60 degrees and is hot to the touch. I plug it into the bottom slot it sits there at 40 degrees warm to the touch. As I said, this machine worked just fine for the first 3 months. I just can't understand how something that would seem to be an obvious hardware issue would cause so many issues software side (driver issues/programs not installing correctly, etc.)

 

[UsandThem]

Trust me, airflow is not the problem. As soon as I plug it in to the top pci slot it ramps up to 60 degrees and is hot to the touch. I plug it into the bottom slot it sits there at 40 degrees warm to the touch. As I said, this machine worked just fine for the first 3 months. I just can't understand how something that would seem to be an obvious hardware issue would cause so many issues software side (driver issues/programs not installing correctly, etc.)

That problem will either the motherboard or the PSU.

Maybe it is your motherboard if the case airflow is good, and the card still heats dramatically more in different slots. I just was clarifying the heat issue to rule it out.

If I had to guess what your issue is, I would say it is probably the motherboard.
If it were the power supply causing the problem, the card would be hot in both locations (too much voltage). Maybe your top PCI-E slot is defective and is over-volting the card.

Does having the card in the bottom PCI-E slot cause crashes as well, or is that limited only to your top PCI-E slot?

 

[nerp]

Does sound like wonky PSU or flaking out mobo.

 

[Pallie]

That problem will either the motherboard or the PSU.

Maybe it is your motherboard if the case airflow is good, and the card still heats dramatically more in different slots. I just was clarifying the heat issue to rule it out.

If I had to guess what your issue is, I would say it is probably the motherboard.
If it were the power supply causing the problem, the card would be hot in both locations (too much voltage). Maybe your top PCI-E slot is defective and is over-volting the card.

Does having the card in the bottom PCI-E slot cause crashes as well, or is that limited only to your top PCI-E slot?

Yep, it crashes in both slots.

 

[UsandThem]

Yep, it crashes in both slots.

Did you take a look in your BIOS at your voltages that I mentioned earlier? If so, were they steady or fluctuating? What does your 12v, 5v readings show?

Lastly, when MSI sent you the card back from RMA, was it a new card or did they send back the same one (you would have to look at the serial #).

 

[Pallie]

Did you take a look in your BIOS at your voltages that I mentioned earlier? If so, were they steady or fluctuating? What does your 12v, 5v readings show?

Lastly, when MSI sent you the card back from RMA, was it a new card or did they send back the same one (you would have to look at the serial #).

Okay- I just got a chance to check the BIOS, and the voltages looked normal. The 3.3v read 3.344
The 5v read 5.160
The 12v read 12.384

Btw, the card MSI sent back is a different SN than the one returned.

 

[UsandThem]

Okay- I just got a chance to check the BIOS, and the voltages looked normal. The 3.3v read 3.344
The 5v read 5.160
The 12v read 12.384

Btw, the card MSI sent back is a different SN than the one returned.

They look good for idle voltages. Try the friend's card, and if there are still issues, it will either come down to the PSU or motherboard. Maybe if he's a really good friend, you could also use his PSU if his video card doesn't work in your computer as well.

That way you could figure out exactly which component is flaky.

 

[Pallie]

They look good for idle voltages. Try the friend's card, and if there are still issues, it will either come down to the PSU or motherboard. Maybe if he's a really good friend, you could also use his PSU if his video card doesn't work in your computer as well.

That way you could figure out exactly which component is flaky.

Yeah...I think I'll just RMA both the mb and psu. If that doesn't fix it, I'm at wits end.
It still irritates me to no end that I can't get Afterburner to open because of that "application has failed to start+side-by-side configuration is incorrect" business. I've googled the problem and so far nothing has worked. It would be nice to see if I could use it to maybe diagnose the problem a little better.

 

[Pallie]

Well.....I had it working for a little while. I even managed to install steam and played a bit of Cities Skylines. But when the pc went into sleep mode, it wouldn't work again after trying to wake it. Every time I have to disconnect the gpu in order for the pc to boot.

 

[sm625]

Buy a 6700k 970. Two strike rule.

 

[UsandThem]

Well.....I had it working for a little while. I even managed to install steam and played a bit of Cities Skylines. But when the pc went into sleep mode, it wouldn't work again after trying to wake it. Every time I have to disconnect the gpu in order for the pc to boot.

Do you have the latest BIOS installed? Most current version is A7, but on A6 there was some kind of VGA compatibility fix.

 

[Pallie]

Buy a 6700k 970. Two strike rule.

Not quite sure I follow.....

 

[Pallie]

Do you have the latest BIOS installed? Most current version is A7, but on A6 there was some kind of VGA compatibility fix.

Is it okay to download via windows, or is it better to do it while in the actual mb bios? That's starting to get a little over my head...

 

[UsandThem]

I usually do it in Windows, but the safest way is to download the file and do it within the BIOS. If Windows crashes while it is updating it, you will likely corrupt your BIOS.

Usually you just download it and unzip it on a USB drive. It's been a long time since I used a MSI motherboard, but it should be pretty much like other boards. Just take a look at the manual, there should be a section on updating the BIOS.

 

[Ketchup]

The Live Update utility should be all you need. Very easy to use.

https://us.msi.com/Motherboard/support/Z97S-SLI-Krait-Edition.html#down-utility&Win10 64

 

[Burpo]

For some reason the top PCI slot causes the gpu to run hotter than the bottom one. HWM reads 61c at idle on the top, and 41ish on the bottom slot.

Pretty sure the bottom slot is 4x (unlike the others), & would explain temp drop..