Just built my PC... and it freezes :(

I just finished building my new PC last night. Ill list all the parts...

XFX nFORCE 780i 3-Way SLI mobo 1333fsb
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 @2.66ghz
4gb DDR2 1066mhz memory (2 stick kit of Patriot Memory)
Two EVGA GeForce 9800 GTX 512mb graphics cards SLId
1000w coolmaster power supply
2 Raptor 150gig 10k rpm SATA drives in raid 0
Vista home 64 bit

So... the problem I am encountering. The computer loaded all software fine, updated windows fine.

The computer will totally freeze during use. Ctrl+alt+del does not fix it, I have to physically press the restart button. It has done this 4 times total since I built it last night. Once when running kaspersky antivirus, 3 times while running WoW.

Some other strange things... the memory in the BIOS says its only running at 800mhz even though its rated for 1066. Can I just set the BIOS to 1066? The mobo is rated to 1200...

My main question is about the freezing. Does anyone have any idea what could be causing this? Its extremely frusterating (duh), but especially frusterating because there are SO many components that could be causing this.

Also, one time it looked like it was going to freeze. The screen locked while in WoW, and then it started to flicker / flash for about 10 seconds, then the game jumped ahead to where I should actually be and it was fine. Every other time it has frozen it has just 100% locked up.

It only seems to do this when running a big process like virus scan or WoW, not just browsing the internet or downloading software.

Thanks in advance...

 

Well how about you do some monitoring of your new system. I would highly recommend you DL and install EVEREST:

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=4181

Lets have a look at your system Temps and Volts on the Sensor page (please post these back). Also we will assess your CPU: Multiplier x FSB, try and keep your RAM running at a good ratio with your FSB. It is better to have down clocked RAM speeds than OC (which will definately cause instabilty unless you are very experienced).

Secondly have you gone to your Device Manager and ensured there are no red X or yellow !.......? Lets make sure all the gear has it's appropriate drivers etc and is running good.

Start with this lot and we will see if we can start to identify and resolve issues.

 

try a doing a diagnostic

remove all things so u just have a motherboard(with CPU, RAM & onboard vga) then see if it does it
slowly add extra things in

 

I had some problems with sli and a few games, although wow was not one of them I found that disabling one of the cards fixed the problem. Later I learned that nVidia has some default settings you can choose for certain games. You should look in your nVidia control panel for a way to choose specific settings for WOW. Googling "WOW freezes PC in SLI mode" might get you some interesting information. There are several sli modes to choose, one actually being not sli at all but one card only and then there is a sort of split screen where it draws the top half first then the bottom and another that does the whole screen alternating lines as it works its way down the screen. Different games react differently to the settings so, do some searching.

 

Hi all.. thx for the advice so far.

First off, I just checked device manager, no issues there.

Here is the copied + pasted "sensor" page results...

Sensor Properties:
Sensor Type Winbond W83627DHG (ISA 290h)
GPU Sensor Type Driver (NV-DRV)
Motherboard Name nForce 680i SLI / 680i LT SLI / 780i SLI Reference Board
Chassis Intrusion Detected Yes

Temperatures:
Motherboard 36 °C (97 °F)
CPU 23 °C (73 °F)
CPU #1 / Core #1 44 °C (111 °F)
CPU #1 / Core #2 31 °C (88 °F)
CPU #1 / Core #3 28 °C (82 °F)
CPU #1 / Core #4 28 °C (82 °F)
MCP 53 °C (127 °F)
GPU1: GPU 60 °C (140 °F)
GPU2: GPU 54 °C (129 °F)

Cooling Fans:
CPU 2446 RPM

Voltage Values:
CPU Core 1.21 V
+3.3 V 3.25 V
+5 V 4.99 V
+12 V [ TRIAL VERSION ]
+5 V Standby 4.92 V
VBAT Battery 3.02 V
3.3V Dual 3.25 V
FSB VTT 1.09 V
DIMM 2.11 V
Debug Info F FF 45 FF FF FF
Debug Info T 27 23 36
Debug Info V 95 D4 CB CB 88 C3 E6 (01)

The RAM according to the mfg said its 2.1v, my mobo was originally running it at 1.85 and I adjusted that in hopes of that resolving the issue.

Thanks in advance for the help

 

Hey again...

I have been wrestling with this problem now basically nonstop since I built this comp on the 21st and still am having no luck

Ive totally reformatted the disk and reinstalled vista only to have it do the same thing again. Ive ran Memtest86 v3.4a and the memory is fine. Ive run scandisk and the drive is fine.

I was really hoping for some more advice from Bold Eagle... we have a MAJOR time difference between us and im not sure if you would have even been back at your computer yet, I guess ill send you a PM tomorrow if I havent seen anything back.

Anyone else have any advice? Thanks again...

 

Is the CPU OC'd? What are your FSB and Multiplier at?

Okay lets have a look at a few settings within BIOS.

Look under your advanced settings and under frequency/voltage settings (maybe a little different for yours) lets make sure that:

PCI Express Frequency: 100Mhz

PCI Clock Sycronisation: 33.3Mhz

Also look for a google on your MOBO and BIOS settings for the SLI set-up.

You want your RAM running at a 1:1 Ratio at the moment (to optimise stability) so that means set your RAM to double your FSB Frequency (eg. my FSB is at 333Mhz so RAM is set to 667Mhz).

Have u updated to the latest BIOS from the Manufacturers website? Make you sure you understand hopw to do this with confidence before you undertake this step.

 

A couple of articles on BIOS settings:

http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTQ1NiwyLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==

http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews.php?/cpu_mainboard/xfx_780i_sli_motherboard/4

If the system is OC please take it back to stock settings. Make sure you have the setting for Memory Remapping? enabled so Vista will see and use your 4Gb of RAM.

 

the flickering i think would indicate your graphics card, try using a different graphics card for testing?

 

Thanks for the advice yet again

Today I took the motherboard + RAM back to Frys, where I bought them and returned them.

They didnt have any other similar RAM, and I had some money burning a hole in my pocket so I upgraded to...

EVGA nForce 790i Ultra SLI motherboard
4gb DDR3 1333mhz RAM

Installed it all, it ran nice and smooth for about two hours! I thought everything was all better... NOPE!

Same exact freeze yet again

So right now, I have one of the graphics cards removed from the system. Im going to run it and play my game and see if it freezes. If it does, im going to try the other card. If it STILL freezes, ill put my old 8800 into it and see what happens...

Lucky for me I am not working right now and am a week out from starting school. I have spent every waking moment trying to fix this other than going to Frys and back to get parts and replace them... and eat and such. This is the most frustrating thing I have ever dealt with out of all my previous computers and computer related issues

At least I know its not bad RAM or motherboard, right? Or it STILL could be... lol

 

Hi again...

The multiplier is 7x.

Vista is recognizing my 4gb ram according to the system specs is shows.

PCIex is at 100mhz.

I couldnt find the PCI clock sync

FSB says 1333, mem says 1333.

Im totally lost

 

Have you gone to nVidia's website and DL the latest drivers:

http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

If installing them please DL and use Driver Cleaner Professional (read the help instructions on how to do it properly). Lets rule out driver conflicts and issues.

Also have you updated any and all onboard drivers for the MOBO?

 

Well try the MOBO chipset Drivers first and then the Video Drivers (look for SLI configuration if they have it).

 

Okay here is the important part of this link:

http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTQ1NiwyLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==

"The FSB & Memory Config submenu contains all system settings for memory and CPU FSB speed settings. The speed settings can be configured to work in 2 different modes via the FSB - Memory Clock Mode option - Linked and Unlinked. In Linked mode, there is only a single configurable speed setting for determining both the CPU FSB and memory speeds. The FSB (QDR), MHz option controls the base CPU FSB setting, with a maximum speed of 2500 (which translates to an actual bus speed of 725 MHz). The memory speed in linked mode is determined by multiplying the CPU FSB setting with a selected ratio setting from the FSB - Memory Ratio option. With the Sync Mode option within the FSB - Memory Ratio option, the memory speed is set to half of the selected quad pumped CPU FSB setting. In unlinked mode, the CPU FSB and memory speed can be independently configurable, with the memory speed set to a maximum of 1400 MHz via the Mem (DDR), MHz option. The SLI-Ready Memory option configures the BIOS controlled FSB overclocking settings. Note that this setting only affects the CPU FSB and memory speeds, voltages must be set manually by the end user."

With this being the most important sentence for now:

"With the Sync Mode option within the FSB - Memory Ratio option, the memory speed is set to half of the selected quad pumped CPU FSB setting."

Your BIOS is automatically QUAD pumping the FSB Frequency (Intel CPU's are at QUAD). You need to set your FSB - Memory Ratio to: Sync Mode and it will automatically set a FSBDR Ratio of 1:1.

Lets aim for stable operating ratios and settings for now.