problems.

[cmmenke]

Hey guys, i JUST built a brand new computer, a little less than two weeks ago, it freezes alot in mozilla, and about once a day, it will completely lock up..and i have to reset

RAM - G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9T-6GBNQ

SSD - OCZ Vertex Series OCZSSD2-1VTX60G 2.5" 60GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Graphics card - MSI N460GTX CYCLONE 1GD5/OC GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

HD - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Motherboard - ASUS M4A87TD/USB3 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 AMD Motherboard

Processor - AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX

CD/DVD drive - SAMSUNG CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223C - OEM

 

[dfuze]

Couple quick questions... are you overclocking it? What are your temps? Are you up to date on all drivers? What is your power supply?

 

[cmmenke]

Not OCing, CPU idles at 50C, MB is around 37C, drivers...I think, and it's a thermaltake 600W purepower

 

[dfuze]

CPU idle seems a bit high, especially if you aren't OCing, does your case have good airflow?

I would run something like memtest on your ram to ensure it's not the culprit.

You might also want to check your SSD, take a peak in the Storage forum, I could have sworn there are problems with some OCZ drives, maybe the freezes and lockups are related to that. I'm not sure what kind of specific tests there are for SSDs though.

 

[cmmenke]

any link for a download for memtest?

and the airflow..i think would be good, when i open the case, it doesn't get any colder

and as far as the SSD goes...i have no idea, but ill look

 

[cmmenke]

its locks up completely every 5 minutes now....

 

[electroju]

If you are using three memory modules, use two at a time if you want dual-channel. Three does not work well. You may want to also increase the voltage of the RAM by 0.1 volts if the voltage is at 1.5 volts. You may want to run either memtest86 or memtest86+ to make sure the memory can hold its rated capacity.

Remove all hardware except the video card and the optical drive. Do a test with a LIVE Linux distribution like Sabayon. If it freezes there, then it is hardware problem. If it does not freeze, then it is a software issue in Windows.

I suggest buy a different power supply than Thermaltake. Enermax is a very good power supply brand. Enermax has been consistent on quality through the years. For AMD systems, it is best to find power supplies that have a total combine wattage of 150 watts or more for 5 volts and 3.3 volts, but this is not always a requirement for today's AMD system although it is something to think about.. FSP is another good power supply brand. The following power supplies are what I suggest.

ENERMAX ECO80+ II EES620AWT
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817194082

FSP Group EVEREST 80PLUS 600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817104048

You may need a 700 to 800 watt power supply because of the video card. I do not know the required amperes for the 12 volt rail that the GeForce GT 460 needs. Get a low end video card and see if the freezes stops.

ASUS motherboards are OK, but they do have issues with power supplies. Not all power supplies works well with ASUS motherboards. ASUS has a fancy power supply on their motherboards that could cause problems. That ASUS motherboard only has a 4-pin 12 volt (P4) connnector for the motherboard. That is enough for some setups. For that processor an 8-pin 12 volt connector (EPS) will be better. These days, MSI and Gigabyte are better brands than ASUS.

 

[cmmenke]

thank you ALOT for all that info...that gonna be a task figuring how to do all that lol. how do i change the voltage of the ram...and my CPU runs at 1.42 volts...which i heard is high

 

[dfuze]

any link for a download for memtest?

and the airflow..i think would be good, when i open the case, it doesn't get any colder

and as far as the SSD goes...i have no idea, but ill look

Memtest86

To change the voltage of your memory, you need to enter the BIOS when you start the PC. Check to see what the rating of your memory is supposed to be, then verify it in the BIOS. Example, my DDR2 is for 1.8v so I need to make sure that's what it is.

The voltage you have for the CPU is within the listed range for it, which is 0.875V - 1.5V.

Oh, and one trick for possible heat related problems is to take the side panel off and point a regular fan into your case to blow air directly on the components to see if that helps. Often that can help diagnose heat issues.

 

[cmmenke]

Thank you, I'll do that.