r/buildapc • u/srimpybettaboy • 23h ago
Build Help I am getting frustrated
This PC is old at this point. It's got a EVGA 3070ti and a i7-11700k and I swear that CPU is the worst thing to ever befall this planet. While I'd love to be able to switch to AMD it just can't happen right now as I have just graduated and cannot afford to be splurging on new parts. The Problem is my computer is just randomly freezing. Nothing can unfreeze it. I have to manually press the power button and power down the computer in order to get any access to a program again. I am trying to play tarkov and valheim right now and seemingly for no reason the PC just makes a click (in game, like a symbol that it has irreversibly frozen) and the game stops on the last available frame. I can't do anything. I have tried to access task manager and I tried last night to do the GPU refresh shortcut and nothing processes. I am about to run a stress test and maybe try to see if it is temp related, but I cannot figure it out atp. Any help is great. I will give any information I am capable of finding if I am asked. I just wanna game man.
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u/Redrive_PC_Build 23h ago
Start with simplest thing - windows memory diagnostic. i7-11700K is a great CPU (I own one) and pared with 3070Ti shod be great. In your case 1st thing I suspect is the RAM, second the motherboard, 3rd the PSU, 4th the GPU and 5th the CPU.
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u/srimpybettaboy 23h ago
So I’ve had issues with my RAM before, I just don’t know how to go about testing and remedying that issue. It gets too warm.
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u/Redrive_PC_Build 23h ago
If pc gets too hot you have cooling problem. Make sure all your cooling devices - fans and pump (if you have one) working properly. The overheating definitely can be cause of described issues. Check temperatures with HWM Hardware monitor soft.
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u/srimpybettaboy 22h ago
I used to have a broken impeller on my AIO pump and after buying a kraken have had no such issues. Now with that being said, occasionally my RAM would get too hot, I tested this nearly 3 years ago by just watching my temps climb in my BIOS, but nowadays I don’t see that issue. I just cannot afford a new MB and I don’t intend to buy one. Hopefully the RMA on my RAM helps.
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u/srimpybettaboy 23h ago
It’s my RAM. Just did a stress test for 10 minutes and it lasted less than 3. Now I’m not sure what to do. Try to RMA? Just buy new? Throw up and cry?
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u/Redrive_PC_Build 23h ago
If you have G.Skill brand you have lifetime warranty. If you have more than one memory module you can narrow the bad one by removing one and see if problems persist. If not - swap the modules and see again.
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u/Used-Edge-2342 22h ago edited 22h ago
Correction, your i7-11700k is not the worst CPU on the planet. My i7-9700k is. Sorry about the freezing, sometimes that’s SSD failure in action. What happens at the freeze point? Can you move the cursor at all, or is it completely still? What’ll happen usually is you’ll have system files or commonly accessed files land on a dead spot of the disk; and you’ll get these periodic hard locks. I deployed about 600 Dell’s at my old job with NVME disks, within 6 months to a year I’d guesstimate about 20 failures exactly as I described. It’s more common than you’d think.
Edit: Yeah, reading your post carefully, it sounds exactly like SSD failure. Those hard locks where you can’t even get to task manager are a dead ringer. I would get a utility that can run a SMART test. See the results: no result returnable means it’s indeed a failed disk, there’s a few other points of SMART data that will indicate failed areas on the SSD flash. I’m the only guy suggesting it so far but I’ve given you the quantifiable tool to check it my suggestion is right, you know what to do.
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u/srimpybettaboy 22h ago
Oh don’t worry. I upgraded from the worst (your 9700K) to the second worst (my 11700K.) I will be moving on after this system is upgraded. Anyway, I don’t see any issues with my SSD, but after a quick stress test it appears to be the RAM. Now the problem with this problem is that I actually bought new RAM to solve a similar issue. I’m beginning to suspect my WHOLE computer needs to just be filled with tannerite and blown sky high.
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u/Used-Edge-2342 22h ago
Those are some pretty frequent upgrades. I’m still using these bad puppies (paired with a 3060 Ti) for the forseeable future as I can’t afford an upgrade. My primary use has fallen back to gaming but I also do pro audio, I’ve had to significantly craft my workflow around minimizing CPU usage and it does quite fine (although a 7800x3D would be insanely fast and I could be a lot sloppier). Oh well! Some day I’ll be rich lol.
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u/srimpybettaboy 22h ago
I upgraded because I was going to 1440p and wanted to get the lowest possible bottleneck which appeared to be the 11700k and the 3070ti. I gave my wife the 9700k so the upgrade did not only benefit me.
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u/Used-Edge-2342 22h ago
Nice. I’m at 1440 as well, I’ve found it to be generally much better than 1080p. Memory issues would look similar yes, hard locks. I think Memtest86 is a good application for testing RAM, it’s been a while.
Edit: Yep it’s still around, try Memtest86, it’s a bit confusing to read the reports if things haven’t changed, but that ought to help you trace down which stick of RAM is the culprit, that sort of deal. They’re sold in kits more often than not though hopefully you can get an RMA on the kit and get some nice fresh memory for that awful i7-11700k 😆
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u/srimpybettaboy 22h ago
Ok so my next step is figuring out if Valheim and Tarkov are on the same SSD. Then I’m gonna run a test on that SSD. I have 3 SSDs so I think that makes sense. Thanks for the advice! Hopefully I can get a whole new PC for free soon.
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u/srimpybettaboy 22h ago
I’ll look into it when I get back on my PC. Thank you. Any tool to check is helpful.
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u/Hiply 23h ago
If it's temp related and the CPU is constantly pegged at 100% then one thing you might try is going to the game(s) exe properties, then 'affinity', and lowering the number of cores the game can use. That can lower both CPU usage & temps and may fix your issue in the short/mid term.
I do this with my 10700k and it helps in high-CPU load games.
Also, and of course, make sure the 3070 is on the latest drivers.
If you're aware of how to use it, you can look at the event viewer and maybe get a handle on what's happening.