Desktop SNAFU

[MPRA2]

So, a few days ago, I knocked over a cup of soda onto my $125 razer keyboard because, I'm MPRA2, and just a little bit got on the power button of my desktop, (which is on the top of my computer case) and on the side of the case where only a small bit of the motherboard is open if you take the panel off, so I know nothing got inside the case itself, or at least what I saw at the time..... The case is built pretty "waterproof" to be honest..... So as i was cleaning around the power button, my hand slipped and pressed both the restart and power button a good 7 times.... So, the computer restarts, and a boot screen message comes up saying something about a failed overclock, and giving me options to restore to defaults, load last good configuration, or load a profile. I select "load last good configuration" as I've NEVER touched ANY overclocking anything in the 5 months I've had this computer. Now, however, games like Battlefield 4, GTA V, Unreal Tournament 3 (Renegade X), and Battlefront (those are the only 3 games I've tested so far that have had major issues), Battlefield and Battlefront both have really random freezes and frame-rate drops whereas before, I've never had problems running them on ultra with no drops whatsoever, and UT3 (Ren-X) just has an even worse fps performance than usual, and GTA V is pretty much the same, except with more fps issues.... I kinda wanted to get the community opinion as to what the problem and or solution could be, as I know there are people who are knowledgable with this kind of stuff, before I go and get it repaired for $200-400 by my local computer repair shop.

[Einstein]

Alright then, hopefully its as simple as it sounds.

 

In pressing your power button as many times as you said, you triggered a "feature" if you will, where the PC's bios partially resets some settings that (at its best guess) might be causing the reboots (this would be your OC settings). It does not take into account that you might be pressing the button, or that the power might be blinking rapidly, as these things can both falsely trigger the feature and cause the issue you have described.

 

It sounds like your PC came possibly already "factory overclocked", like if you bought it through some online store pre-built. I know some places do that. All you have to do is determine how the settings were configured when you first got the thing. Tech support at where you purchased might be able to help. Otherwise you're left to guessing or telling us your specs and letting us research optimal settings combinations. Some motherboards have "safe steps" built in though, where the board is able to determine "safe" OC settings and it will apply them, reboot, test, and you can do this again and again until you find one that works. Most boards hit a good safe low OC combo the first attempt. Past that tends to be hit or miss.

 

Alright its your turn to return a wall of text

[MPRA2]

well, i have an MSI Z-97 Class 4 Motherboard that doesnt have a true BIOS, it just has a MSI Boot BIOS which has overclocking options. I tried setting them to factory default, to no avail. I've gone and tried the other 2 custom settings, still to no avail. I'll probably take it into the shop tomorrow because it really irritates me that War Thunder is the only game i can play flawlessly, ON MOVIE QUALITY! While Battlefield and Battlefront struggle on Ultra with freezes and drops. Siege is also starting to have problems too, as it has never given me an FPS below 60 before, unless I'm using super sexy AA MSAA Supersampling MLG god computer texture filtering. GTA V still has a noticable drop every now and again, but its barely a problem. I just played MoW Assault Squad 2 with, relatively no problems, for the exception that it runs like Company of Heroes 2, and lags to shit and back if there are too many particles or units on the field. I refuse to break my heart and try to play Homeworld, as I already know there will be major problems running that and Fallout 4.

Also, yeah, I checked, the 2 "power" buttons are the Shutdown/Turn on button, and the force Restart button.

I dont have any reboot problems, or random restarts... its just loading, game performance, and pretty much overall performance of the computer has drastically dropped ever since that error screen popped up.

Edited August 29, 2016 by MPRA2

[Einstein]

Yeah its definitely the PC just protecting itself unnecessarily then. A PC shop could help for sure (I would hope). But before you take it somewhere, try calling the folks you bought it from. They will be the most familiar with the configuration that it would have shipped with.

 

Oh and also, you might try UNPLUGGING it from wall power and just leaving it off for like 12 hours or something. By some random chance this could help.

[MPRA2]

I'll try contacting Microtel later on today, if I dont hear anything back, or tell me to take it to a shop, I'll do that. I'm probably gonna end up doing that anyways because I cant access most of my original settings because I have my Display hooked up to my 980 TI..... Nothing happens when I hook up my integrated card though....

[Einstein]

Well thats normal man, 99% of the time an integrated adapter will get automatically disabled when there is an added card in a slot. Some newer boards allow for the use of both but that little tidbit is irrelevant here You can get to the same settings no matter how you're hooked up. Its just a matter of getting to them. It sounds like you already have though if you were able to see OC settings. If so then thats the right place.

[MPRA2]

Yeah, I had 3 settings.... default, OC Genie, and XMP.... Tried all 3 to no change whatsoever.

[MPRA2]

Still havent recieved any word from the companysupport desk either, I reset my BIOS by removing and replacing the CMOS battery.... Nothing changed at all.... I'm starting to think ots either 1 of 3 things.

1. Memory issue including VRAM.

2. CPU failure.

3. GPU going bad.

But so far, Siege is fixed for the most part, WarThunder still runs with no problems, Battlefield 4 is still getting issues, the Battlefield 1 beta is iffy at times, Overwatch I can keep 80-170Fps on "Epic" settings, GTA V is still unstable..

So I really dont know where to start.

[MPRA2]

So after a few weeks of figuring shit out and talking to a computer support tech company, EVGA, and tech savvy friends on the interwebz. I have come up with 3 possible causes to my computer problems.

1. CPU going bad

2. Motherboard failure

3. RAM failure or Opsys corruption.

any other help trying to narrow this down?

[Einstein]

All of those are possibilities man...with possible issues that deep though, unless you feel like learning a LOT, then i would probably just bite the bullet and take it somewhere that does full service. Wish i lived closer man, I would totally help you out. Can't do much without physically examining it though...

[MPRA2]

Ran tests on all my hardware, and it all checks out.... I'll definitely order new sticks of RAM since EVGA told me that the RAM was slow. Once I get a stable income, I might just replace the CPU when the 4790K goes below $200 USD.

[Einstein]

Before ordering RAM, I would do some research on your specific board. I had an issue a while back with a brand new build that "supported" a certain speed....yet failed to mention that until the new BIOS was complete (which it did NOT ship with) that speed was unattainable.....fail. Fail because I ordered RAM that matched the max speed of the board and it ran at about half that. SO! Do your research first to be sure that your board can even make use of faster RAM! Really wish I had in that case.

 

And on the CPU, go for it but be sure that you'll actually benefit from doing it. (in short, more research)

[Jeod]

Sounds like your GPU is faulty. Did you get anything on it? The 980ti can be overclocked just like a CPU. I'd try using a different connector cable if you've got it hooked up externally.

[MPRA2]

Sounds like your GPU is faulty. Did you get anything on it? The 980ti can be overclocked just like a CPU. I'd try using a different connector cable if you've got it hooked up externally.

Its not the GPU.... I contacted the company where I bought it from (EVGA) they had me run a few firestrike tests, which all passed for the exception of "Your RAM is running a bit slow". I also have a GTX 970 (barely used) that is suffering from the same issues when I play games. The graphical glitching like disappearing shadows, texture glitches, etc is getting worse, along with the random freezing/FPS stutters, making it impossible to play Battlefield 4 and 1, along with GTA V, and soon Titanfall. I tested both RAM sticks individually, in all 4 slots. The first RAM stick ran real slow, games barely got over  50FPS and the stuttering was abysmal all while having the same graphical problems.The second stick however, ran just a little bit smoother than the first stick, but still suffered from visual bugs and stuff, along with the freezing and fps drops. Other than that, the only problem could be my CPU is bottlenecking despite it running full clock and even Overclocked sometimes, or the Hard Drive is failing due to the incident listed earlier that could have been listed as a "power failure".

for complete replacement parts and a 1TB SSD, its gonna run me around $762 American..... I'm really riding on the upcoming retirement money I'm getting so I can buy some kind of transportation, fix my computer, and have some money left over for bills/insurance while I continue looking for some form of payable work.

[Einstein]

If the bug persists with all 4 RAM sticks then the issue isn't the RAM at all (aside from a possible additional issue with that one "slow" stick). It sounds like a board issue or CPU possibly when you take it at face value. Humor me though.....I know it seems extremely unlikely but stranger things have happened. Try a different and more powerful power supply and post back the results. Bad hard drives usually don't cause graphical issues like that, which is why the board and CPU come into question. But if there is a power issue of any kind, it can make the other components.....squirreley Also (humor me some more) and move the thing to a totally different room with a completely different wall plug. Just want to cover all the bases....

[MPRA2]

If the bug persists with all 4 RAM sticks then the issue isn't the RAM at all (aside from a possible additional issue with that one "slow" stick). It sounds like a board issue or CPU possibly when you take it at face value. Humor me though.....I know it seems extremely unlikely but stranger things have happened. Try a different and more powerful power supply and post back the results. Bad hard drives usually don't cause graphical issues like that, which is why the board and CPU come into question. But if there is a power issue of any kind, it can make the other components.....squirreley Also (humor me some more) and move the thing to a totally different room with a completely different wall plug. Just want to cover all the bases....

I only have 2 sticks of 8 Gig DDR3 RAM. As for the power supply, its factory brand new. The issues persisted before my original power supply blew out, and still occurs with this new upgraded power supply.

[Einstein]

I should read better. I saw "4 slots" and thought RAM too. As for the power supply, I didn't realize you had already replaced it. Thats not it then! That really points to the board now.....actual CPU issues are not very common when compared to board issues. In your shoes, I would just try replacing the board (may be a good opportunity to get a nicer one if you've got the cash) and see what happens.

[MPRA2]

I should read better. I saw "4 slots" and thought RAM too. As for the power supply, I didn't realize you had already replaced it. Thats not it then! That really points to the board now.....actual CPU issues are not very common when compared to board issues. In your shoes, I would just try replacing the board (may be a good opportunity to get a nicer one if you've got the cash) and see what happens.

I was actually planning on ordering a new MSI LG 1151 board with the 6700k along with the 1TB SSD.... I'm gonna need DDR4 RAM then, so thats all running me around 700 bucks