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geekhack Community => Other Geeky Stuff => Topic started by: funxion on Sun, 05 August 2012, 19:28:51
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This is my first post in a LONG time, but anyhow - I have an issue with my computer that's REALLY starting to get on my nerves.
I'll be in a game (any game, this isn't game-specific so I've ruled out any software-related issues) and my computer will hiccup. The screen just stays at whatever frame it was at when the hiccup started, it will last about 5-7 seconds, and then it will end and resume like nothing ever happened.
With that being said, I'm not exactly sure what is causing this. My guess is it's either my CPU (i5 750 OC'd to 3.8GHz from 2.67GHz - which I will touch on later in this post) or my HD (Western Digital Caviar Green 500GB). Both have been in use since holiday season 2007. The reason I ruled out my graphics card is due to the fact that my monitor does not go black or artifact during the process. The only other issue that comes up is my mouse stops working, but that would probably be because the image is frozen at that point in time.
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The second thing I need help with is OCing my CPU (i5 750 as stated above).
I'm not familiar with voltages and settings of the like, so it would be nice if someone who has first hand knowledge on all of this to chime in. My motherboard is an EVGA P55.
Thanks in advance for any help.
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Can you list all of your computer components?
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CPU: Intel i5 750 2.67GHz OC'd to 3.8GHz
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS10x
MOBO: EVGA P55
GPU: EVGA GTX 560 Ti Classified 448-Core
RAM: G.SKILL RipJaws 8GB
HD: Western Digital Caviar Green 500GB
PSU: Corsair 750W
Case: Antec 900
Input Devices: Logitech G9x, Logitech G35, Filco MJ2
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My initial thought was maybe you didn't have enough ram or bad ram. Once your ram is all utilized, your computer writes to the HDD Paging file which is much slower and may cause hiccups. But 8GB seems to be enough. Are you running 64bit Windows?
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Yes. One important thing to add is that I hear the sound Windows makes when you unplug and plug in a device. It's the "dun-dun" chime descending and ascending.
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Yes. One important thing to add is that I hear the sound Windows makes when you unplug and plug in a device. It's the "dun-dun" chime descending and ascending.
Either I'm missing the importance of the windows chime or you're just trolling :/
I still think it may be ram related.... But download cpuZ and realtemp and then run prime95. Post a screen shot of cpuz and realtemp during load. If your voltage is passing 1.4V (http://ark.intel.com/products/42915/Intel-Core-i5-750-Processor-(8M-Cache-2_66-GHz) (http://ark.intel.com/products/42915/Intel-Core-i5-750-Processor-(8M-Cache-2_66-GHz))) during load, that's probably your issue. But I'm thinking from your 2.67 to 3.8GHz on that processor you're probably around 1.3V ish. It's also possible you're overheating.
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Not trolling. I think it might have been my speakers not being plugged all the way into the audio jack. Seeing if that is the case now. If not, I'll run Prime95 and all that good stuff.
But just for the record, I idle at 1.25V on my CPU as far as voltage goes...am I maybe under-volting it?
Just kidding, it's still happening...will do Prime95 now.
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hopefully your sound issue fixed it! hard to say at idle. better to test under load..
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Yeah, edited my earlier post. It's still doing it. How long do I run Prime95 and which test should I do?
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well make sure you're running both cpuz and real temp while you run the prime95 test. I can't remember the exact test name, but choose the maximum stress testing. If your voltage get's anywhere near 1.38V stop the test. If you temps reach anything higher than 88C stop the test. But while the test is going on, take a screen shot of what cpuz and realtemp reads.
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Alright. Appreciate the help so far. If it does happen to be something CPU-related, would you be able to help?
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I can do my best. But if I can't, I'm sure there is someone on this forum that can :)
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Running it now on the "maximum" setting. Not sure how many times it's gonna test. It's on it's 9th test now and temps haven't exceeded 70 degrees Celsius. Voltage hasn't exceeded 1.282V either.
(http://[attachimg=1])
(http://[attachimg=2])
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can you also take a screen shot of the memory tab on cpuz while it's testing?
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[attachimg=1]
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Everything from the test looks fine. I don't think it has anything to do with your ram/cpu. When did you buy your hard drive?
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Holiday season of '07.
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When was the last time you did a full clean restore?
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[attachimg=1]
Look at Worker #1 ???
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And I reformatted about a month or two ago. I just don't know how to reformat without getting that temporary files folder. I want to just wipe out my entire computer and start fresh.
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Don't worry about that. That's a software related issue w/ prime95. Requires a few changes. But you can see that your processor is running fine.
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Alright so I don't need to change any voltages or anything related to the CPU or RAM...
That leaves, what, the HD and motherboard?
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When did this problem start happening?
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Alright so I don't need to change any voltages or anything related to the CPU or RAM...
That leaves, what, the HD and motherboard?
No, you're fine w/ the voltages.
I doubt it's your power supply or your motherboard. I think it's either HD, Video Card, or still even possibly RAM.
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About a week ago. I'm betting it has something to do with my USB ports cause I keep hearing that chime and then my in-game volume will drop drastically and I have to go into my Windows volume options and bring the volume bar back up to 100% again. It's consistent.
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Sounds like it's either software, power supply grounding issues, or a bad connection to the motherboard if you use the front audio connector on the motherboard
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Did you change any components or open the computer case before the issue?
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I use the back audio connector for speakers, but the front is just a USB headset and my iPhone cable (which isn't even plugged in 95% of the time). How would I fix the PSU?
And I haven't changed anything...same crap prior to this happening.
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I use the back audio connector for speakers, but the front is just a USB headset and my iPhone cable (which isn't even plugged in 95% of the time). How would I fix the PSU?
And I haven't changed anything...same crap prior to this happening.
I meant the actual connector used for the front audio. Maybe that connection to the motherboard is loose? You would just have to replace the power supply if it's bad.
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Sorry man, it's tough without actually seeing it in person..
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Yeah the front audio connector isn't even used. I use the back one, so I doubt that's an issue.
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Any way to test my PSU?
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You can get a power supply tester.. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16899887005 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16899887005)
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Oh man...
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It's definitely only while games are running. The only games I play are CoD4, MW3, and CS:GO...it happens in all of them.
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It's not the PSU...all of the symptoms I've seen for failing PSUs are not what I have.
It's one of my input devices, something is up with my motherboard, or I have a virus.
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try doing a reformat/fresh install of windows
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Just reformatted. I think it was one of the USB ports on the front of my case, but I'll let you know if it comes back.
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Alright good luck! Like I said in the earlier post, you should just double check all of the connections on your motherboard.
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Yeah I have the same issue even after a reformat...it's definitely hardware related. I think it's one of my USB ports.
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Since you said you don't use the front USB ports, you should unplug them from your motherboard and see if that's the issue.
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Well I have to use one of them for sound while I'm playing cause I don't play on speakers.
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Just unplug it and see if that's the problem.
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the only thing i can think of is maybe one of your peripherals is causing an issue, the driver you are using is being an a-hole (lol), or your gpu is messed up. its hard not to look at the GPU when you say its only during gaming. download unigine or another GPU bench software, and see if it happens then too. or, buy a cheap $30 card or borrow from a friend to see if switching them out does anthing. if you lived in MA i could help u lol
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If my monitor went black while this was happening, I would attribute it to my GPU. The only thing it could be related to in terms of the GPU is an artifact, which would be a stutter or glitch in the image, which the stutter does happen, but I hear the device connection chimes which leads me to believe it's one of my peripherals or something failing on my motherboard.
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Don't worry about that. That's a software related issue w/ prime95. Requires a few changes. But you can see that your processor is running fine.
This information is overall very false. If a worker fails in Prime it is not a software related error caused by Prime itself, it's a lack of VCore going to your core in most cases.
The device chime sounds like a USB hub being powered and unpowered. What devices do you have plugged in currently to USB slots? I would remove everything but the essentials and try the exact same scenario. I don't think this is power supply related as you are barely taxing a 750W PSU with your current set up. You're probably pulling 400W from the wall at full load. Just as a way to remove one of the possible causes (USB header dying on your motherboard) you could remove the plug for the front headers and move it to another set of USB plugs on your motherboard. Most tend to have 2-3 sets of USB.
Another safe way to test is to go into your BIOS, and save a setting for your current overclock. Then, revert it all to default settings. Go into Windows, fire up a game. See if it gets that same momentary stutter. If the stutter disappears then I'm leaning towards an unstable overclock.
The final thing you want to consider: Your hard drive is not designed for Operating System and gaming use. You're currently using a WD Caviar Green, which is an eco storage drive. They're designed to stop the disk heads from spinning to reduce wear and tear/power usage and are designed for storing data, such as photos, videos, etc. It's not designed to be a boot/primary drive such as the WD Cav Black.
Post back and let me know how some of these solutions worked out. Remember to try them one at a time or you can't possible begin to get to the root cause.
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This information is overall very false. If a worker fails in Prime it is not a software related error caused by Prime itself, it's a lack of VCore going to your core in most cases.
The device chime sounds like a USB hub being powered and unpowered. What devices do you have plugged in currently to USB slots? I would remove everything but the essentials and try the exact same scenario. I don't think this is power supply related as you are barely taxing a 750W PSU with your current set up. You're probably pulling 400W from the wall at full load. Just as a way to remove one of the possible causes (USB header dying on your motherboard) you could remove the plug for the front headers and move it to another set of USB plugs on your motherboard. Most tend to have 2-3 sets of USB.
Another safe way to test is to go into your BIOS, and save a setting for your current overclock. Then, revert it all to default settings. Go into Windows, fire up a game. See if it gets that same momentary stutter. If the stutter disappears then I'm leaning towards an unstable overclock.
The final thing you want to consider: Your hard drive is not designed for Operating System and gaming use. You're currently using a WD Caviar Green, which is an eco storage drive. They're designed to stop the disk heads from spinning to reduce wear and tear/power usage and are designed for storing data, such as photos, videos, etc. It's not designed to be a boot/primary drive such as the WD Cav Black.
Post back and let me know how some of these solutions worked out. Remember to try them one at a time or you can't possible begin to get to the root cause.
I agree with all of this post and also offer my help pm me if interested.
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Alright so the problem was my old mouse. Something must have been messed up with the wiring, but I now have a SteelSeries Sensei RAW and am loving it.
The FPS lag and stutter also went away...but I'd still like to make sure my OC is stable, so I'm going to PM you (Profosist) after this post.
I'll probably be upgrading to a XFX Double D Radeon HD 7970 Black Edition 3GB from my GTX 560 Ti Classified 448-Core this holiday season along with a new HD and a SSD hopefully.
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Alright so the problem was my old mouse. Something must have been messed up with the wiring, but I now have a SteelSeries Sensei RAW and am loving it.
The FPS lag and stutter also went away...but I'd still like to make sure my OC is stable, so I'm going to PM you (Profosist) after this post.
I'll probably be upgrading to a XFX Double D Radeon HD 7970 Black Edition 3GB from my GTX 560 Ti Classified 448-Core this holiday season along with a new HD and a SSD hopefully.
did i ever get your pm?
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I just joined the community because I found this thread and have EXACTLY the same problem.
The only difference is that the "dun-dun" was happening in game or out of game, sporadically every 5-10 seconds or so. Yeah, hickuping every few seconds is really annoying. It was even happening in safe mode - thus figured it was a hardware issue.
In my case it was ALSO my mouse - a Logitech MX518. Just installed an MS wireless I have for my laptop and problem solved.
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Also, strangely my system is very similar to the OP:
CPU: Intel i5 750 2.67GHz OC'd to 3.0 GHz (if I go higher than 3.04 [19 x 160Mhz] I reach the 72 degree limit suggested by Intel)
CPU Cooler: Arctic Freezer 7 Pro Rev 2 (some buyer's remorse, here)
MOBO: Ga-P55A-UD3
GPU: EVGA GTX 560 Ti
RAM: G.SKILL Eco 1.35V @1.4V, 1600MHz rated but running @1500MHz, 4GB
HD: Western Digital Caviar Black 650GB
PSU: Antec EA650 650W
Case: LianLi PC-K62
Input Devices: Logitech Illuminated Keyboard, Logitech MX518 (the culprit), USB2.0 WLAN
Edit: Forgot to mention I have a Creative Soundcard, been so long since I got it I don't remember which one it is.
Also, I'm running my CPU voltage at 1.26V for a 3.0GHz OC. .... Is this too high?
I just went with what GIGABYTE autoclock recommended, and while I ran Prime95 fine, I did have 2 system reboots over a 2.5 year span where the bios claimed it reset due to overclocking failure. Since it happend so rarely, I let it go.
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After some deeper digging, I've found that it is in fact the USB port the mouse was in, not the mouse itself. The OP should check that.
Does a bad USB port spell coming doom for my MB?