Looking for some help on a computer problem. I have had this setup for maybe past four years. Intel Q 6600 quad Asus p5ne sli Wd 7200 sata hd 8 gb ram 2- 8600 and 1 - 8400 video cards 650 watt ps Windows 7 64 bit Pro I had posted this build here some years ago but since changed the hard dive and OS and power supply after original ps died. This setup has always run great until recently. It is starting to experience complete freeze ups. Once frozen I cannot do anything at all to free it up. Cannot access task manager, c drive, not a thing... completely unable to use keyboard and mouse. Forced to re boot to operate normally again, but then I lose all work that was not saved at the time. Finally decided to just re install the OS and start over thinking this would clear up the problem. Backed up all important files and installed W 7 again. Appeared to run fine for days until today it crashed twice with complete freezing unable to access anything, mouse and keyboard useless. Does anyone have an idea what may cause this problem? Is there something I can look at that may help me to understand or diagnose the problem ? I don't know if it could be a motherboard problem, hard drive, or software but after reinstalling windows I think I can eliminate the OS as the problem. Greatly appreciate any advice. I will be out until tomorrow evening and then I wil respond to feedback posted. Its a real bummer to have all charting and brokers running then suddenly freeze losing most recent work. Thanks so much to any help.
Power supplies age over time and "650W" doesn't say much, it depends on the quality of it. 3 GPUs still cause plenty of strain for the PSU, even if not used in heavy 3D. First you'd need to look at the temperatures - CPU, GPUs and even the HD. Run Memtest86 to check the RAM, it might explain the freezing.
Computer freezes can happen due to overheating of CPU. You said you have been using this computer for 4 years and just re-installed the OS. Have you check the CPU's heat sink and fans to the heat sink and fans to the computer chassis. Especially the CPU's heat sink. If dust accumulated up over the years, as it always will, we need to clean the heat sink + fan grills once in a while. If your BIOS/motherboard supports it, install some CPU temperature monitoring software to keep an eye on the temp.
He probably has a regular case, leaving the side door off means his HD temperature rises by at least 4c - the airflow most likely goes from front to back, because of the PSU fan. I have also the case fan in the back, removing the side panel makes the HD temps go up by a large amount. How does your overclocking correspond with his PC freezing?
All of the usual possible culprits, of course... plus one more... the mobo's battery. When it is "nearly" drained, can cause various problems.
Thanks so much for all the feedback. The computer case is an Antec 900 with all of the fans installed and operating. About 6 months ago when I changed the OS was the last time I gave the inside a thorough cleaning/ vacuuming of all dust, although I should go over and clean again. I installed a Scythe internal case temperature monitor about two years ago. The case temps stay about the same overall but I have seen occasional case temp spikes. Attached is the image of the current internal case temps. *The left most temp is the rear case at the PS temp. *The second from left is the is the hard drive bay temps. *The second from right is the ceiling temps at the area of the 120 mm exhaust fan. *The right most temp is the cpu heatsink temps. I have seen the cpu heatsink temps spike to 101 degrees but that is not common. I will post next an image the cpu temps from the Asus probe ll monitor
I always thought memory could cause those issues. You could reseat the memory. See if that changes anything.
The six monitors are what the computer is running. The monitor on right belongs to the laptop. Not a good pic just to give an idea of setup.