Hey everyone! I'm diving back into PCs after a while and recently set up a custom build with some solid specs: an MSI PRO z790-A WiFi motherboard, 128GB of Crucial RAM, an Intel Core i7 14700, and an ASUS DUAL GeForce RTX 5070 OC. I'm running it with a 1000W ROG power supply, and I got the system from my brother who had bought it from a research assistant.
Normal tasks run smoothly, and I've been able to fix some installation issues with Nvidia drivers by manually extracting the package. However, I'm facing problems with heavier games. Titles like Hades 2 and Balatro run perfectly, but when I attempt to start games like Cyberpunk or Portal RTX, they either crash or throw errors.
I've been experiencing random BSODs (Blue Screen of Death), and I'm not sure what's causing them since the error messages change every time. Initially, I had a 750W power supply, which was clearly insufficient as I often encountered BSODs even during the Windows login.
I've tried re-seating components, reinstalling Windows, and running diagnostics like memtest86 and file checks with no significant issues found. My GPU benchmarks and stress tests seem fine as well. I even had to explore the BIOS to update it for the card to run properly, and I'm behind a Sophos firewall which might affect driver integrity. Any tips or advice on what could be causing these issues?
3 Answers
It sounds like you're experiencing a mix of driver complications and potentially memory instability. First off, make sure your BIOS is fully updated to support your 14th gen CPU. You might want to test your memory using the OCCT app; it runs a thorough memory test and can help identify any issues. Also, remember to run the memory sticks in slots A2 and B2 with XMP enabled for stability. Oh, and it wouldn’t hurt to open Command Prompt and run 'sfc /scannow' – that can fix some corrupted files that might be causing those crashes.
I noticed in OCCT that it says 'no GPU supporting 3D rendering found' during the GPU stability tests. Could my GPU be acting up?
It's great that you’ve done so much troubleshooting already! Considering the previous power supply issues, if everything else fails, it might be worth testing another PSU just to rule it out completely. I know it sounds redundant, but power issues can be tricky. Also, it's a good idea to double-check your driver version and even consider a clean reinstall of the Nvidia drivers just to be sure everything's right.
That's a good point! I’ll try a different PSU if I can and do a clean driver reinstall. Thanks!
Have you looked at your minidump files? They can provide critical information about what’s causing the BSODs. You can find them in C:WindowsMinidump. If you can access them, zip the folder and upload it to a file-sharing site – those logs could really help narrow down the problem!
Got it, I'll check the BIOS and run the OCCT tests. Thanks for the advice!