PC randomly locks up, mostly during gaming.

Hi, looking for some help/advice. I've checked other threads but none seem to match my symptoms. Closest thing I could find on the internet was http://ask.metafilter.com/185666/Computer-freezes-while-playing-games-What-could-be-causing-this
Thread was never solved though, hoping someone here could help me.

Computer randomly locks up, rarely while on desktop, mainly during gaming. It's a 100% lock, no sound, no keyboard function, no mouse function. BIOS is updated with latest update. Memtest showed no errors. Memory is clocked properly. Video card is not over heating, nor is the cpu. Case is clean. HDD has no errors. Running win 7 Professional. One other thing to note that this PC has done since it was built is it hangs at the end of installations of any program or game. Can move the mouse around, but can't open any programs for a good five minutes at the final stage of any installation.

Specs are:

HDD - WD Red 4 TB NAS Hard Drive for 1-5 Bay NAS Environments - 3.5", Sata 6 Gb/s, Intellipower

CPU - AMD FX-9590 Eight-Core 5.0Ghz Processor - 16MB Cache, 1866 Max DDR3 - Socket AM3+ - Unlocked

Case - Cooler Master RR-212E-20PK-R2 Hyper 212 EVO Universal CPU Cooler - 120mm Fan w/ PWM, LGA 1366, 1156, 1155, 775, FM1, AM3+, AM3, AM2+, AM2

Motherboard - Asus Sabertooth 990FX R2.0 AM3+ Motherboard - ATX, Socket AM3+, AMD 990FX/SB950, DDR3 1866 MHz, SATA III (6Gb/s), RAID, 8-CH Audio, Gigabit LAN, USB 3.0, PCIe 2.0, CrossFireX Ready

RAM - Patriot Viper 3 PV316G186C0KRD 16GB Desktop Memory Module Kit - DDR3, 2x8GB, 1866MHz, CL10, PC3-15000, 1.5V, XMP Ready

PSU - Corsair CMPSU-750TXV2 Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 Power Supply - 750 Watts, ATX, 140mm Fan, 80 Plus Bronze, SLI Ready, Active PFC

Video card - MSI GeForce GTX 770 Twin Frozr Video Card - 4GB GDDR5, PCI-Express 3.0 (x16), 1x Dual-Link DVI-D, 1x Dual-Link DVI-I, 1x DisplayPort, 1x HDMI, DirectX 11.1, Dual-Slot, Fan, - N770 TF 4GD5/OC

DVD Drive - Asus DRW-24B1ST 24X Internal DVD Burner - DVD±R 24X, DVD+RW 8X, DVD-RW 6X, DVD±R (DL) 12X, DVD-RAM 12X, CD-R 48X, CD-RW 32X, SATA, 2MB, Black, OEM

I've talked to computer "specialists" and they couldn't give me a straight answer. Only answer they could give is basically "it could be anything" As in replace each component one at a time to see which is the culprit. This is not feasible. There has to be a better way. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for your time,

 

Thank you for your quick reply DavidGP!

I am running Windows 7 64 bit professional with SP1. The following three updates will not install:

Security update kb2532531
Security update kb2835364
Update for windows 7 kb2552343

I get the error code 8024200D. I tried the reset windows update history technique, didn't work. Tried the System Update Readiness Tool, didn't work. I tried the microsoft fixit windows update troubleshooter, it did not detect any problems.
Another thing to note is that each time I installed one of these programs to help solve my windows update problem, my system hangs for a few minutes. Mouse moves, but no programs respond until a few minutes have past while the program installs. And even the smallest programs take at least 5 minutes to install.

1. I haven't tried booting in safemode yet, PC very rarely freezes on desktop. Can you run games in safemode?

2. The file you've asked for is attached.

3. There are no error messages when the computer locks up, it's just a 100% lock up. But in Event viewer, I have about 40 critical errors that seem to coincide with the computer freezing.
Source: Kernel-Power
Event ID: 41
Task Category: (63)
General: The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. This error could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed or lost power unexpectedly.
Details: See attached text.

4. I've seen it lock up while using:

Google Chrome
World of Warcraft
Diablo 3
Xcom: Enemy Unkown
Far cry 3
Battlefield 4
The Witcher 2

I installed SpeedFan as you requested, but I also had AI Suite II installed since day 1, and it notifies me of the temps as well. I also have core temp installed, and CPUID CPU-Z. CPU Does sometimes get hot during Battlefield 4, but I will get a warning from AI Suite II letting me know. All games and drivers are up to date, including graphics and bios.

Again thanks for your quick reply and your help,
Chad

 

If you're CPU is overclocked, or even if it's not, you might want to bump up your core voltage a bit.

 

Thanks Holiday for the response. I'm going to try upgrading my cooling to a Corsair H105 to see if that helps. I did a stress test with OCCT and the temp rocketed to 70C in 1 min. I'm pretty sure the AMD 9590 is just an overclocked 8350. The vcore stayed between 1.44-1.46 throughout the minute. If the problem persists after I get new cooling, I will try messing with the voltages.

 

Thanks plodr, gave it a try but I get the message "The update is not applicable to your computer."