Graphics Cards

[kk10494]

Hello, I'm becoming a bit concerned here as I troubleshoot some issues with my system.

I have an Asus B550-F motherboard, R5 3600, and a 5700XT. Have never had issues until just last week. I started playing Days Gone and it started crashing. So I figured I'd update my GPU drivers. Did that and restarted and my computer started boot looping at the mobo splash. 1 out of 10 times it would make it to windows restore but none of the options ever worked.

Only thing that let me back into windows was a restore point. Did a fresh install of windows, and had the same issue.

Figured it's either the PSU or mobo so bought a new PSU, issue persists. Bought a new mobo, issue is now gone. Go to play Days Gone again today, launch game, it crashes, windows totally frozen. Turn off computer, and get the same issue as before, boot looping and occasionally getting to windows restore but nothing there works but a restore point.

I'm fairly concerned I've fried 2 motherboards in the span of a week, any advice? Or how to troubleshoot further?

[BigAl01]

I doubt you've fried 2 motherboards or even one motherboard, but of course something is unhappy.  Did you do a BIOS update to your motherboard that you forgot to mention?  Assuming not, another suspect is a bad memory stick but having just one game trigger the event makes it seem more like a software issue.  

Stick with the new motherboard and new PSU.  Stay away from Days Gone for a few days and see if your computer is stable.  Play a few other games with your 5700XT video card.  Try updating the video card drivers again after another day or so, maybe looking for a beta version if you already have the latest released version.  I'm assuming you have all the power connectors properly inserted (including the CPU cable to the top of the motherboard), but sometimes things can get loose so it's a good idea to double check them.

[cpurpe91]

Did you try updating the bios? Have you tried resetting CMOS? Have you tried running SFC /scannow in commandprompt as admin any of the times you got to Windows? Do you have another GPU you can use to troubleshoot the motherboards that are not working properly?

In my experience my OS has been corrupted after playing games that, for one reason or another, crash a lot. Did this start when you first played Days Gone? Does this only happen after you play Days Gone, or has it happened after playing other games?  

It is unlikely your GPU is ruining your motherboard. If your GPU did "fry" your motherboard you would have a case to RMA your GPU and possibly get a new motherboard at no charge. I do not know how long it takes for new products or repaired products to be sent back out, but I do know in my case, at the beginning of the pandemic, Gigabyte took two months to get me my motherboard and GTX 1660 Super back to me.  

[kk10494]

"Did you try updating the bios? Have you tried resetting CMOS? Have you tried running SFC /scannow in commandprompt as admin any of the times you got to Windows? Do you have another GPU you can use to troubleshoot the motherboards that are not working properly?"

I did update bios when I was still troubleshooting with the first motherboard.  To no avail.  I did reset CMOS on the first motherboard, also to no avail.  I did not try SFC.  I don't have a spare unfortunately

"In my experience my OS has been corrupted after playing games that, for one reason or another, crash a lot. Did this start when you first played Days Gone? Does this only happen after you play Days Gone, or has it happened after playing other games?  "

I've never had any issues gaming on this rig in the 3 years I've had it.  Days Gone is the first I've had crash like this.

[kk10494]

Hey guys, appreciate the expedient response, will reply to several points made

"I doubt you've fried 2 motherboards or even one motherboard, but of course something is unhappy.  Did you do a BIOS update to your motherboard that you forgot to mention?  Assuming not, another suspect is a bad memory stick but having just one game trigger the event makes it seem more like a software issue. "

The initial problem was totally unprompted by any software or hardware change.  I haven't touched any firmware, bios, drivers, etc. in months.  Have also never experienced crashes really ever on this system for the 3 years I've had it.  That was until I played Day's Gone and had several crashes which prompted me to update my GPU drivers, which then led to the current situation.

"Stick with the new motherboard and new PSU.  Stay away from Days Gone for a few days and see if your computer is stable.  Play a few other games with your 5700XT video card.  Try updating the video card drivers again after another day or so, maybe looking for a beta version if you already have the latest released version.  I'm assuming you have all the power connectors properly inserted (including the CPU cable to the top of the motherboard), but sometimes things can get loose so it's a good idea to double check them."

Sure, after installing the new mobo today on a clean install of windows I installed all up to date drivers across the entire system. I played League of Legends for example, and had no issues.  Ran furtest to stress the GPU to see if I could freeze windows again.  But again no issue with furtest either.  Then I installed Days Gone again, got to the menu, tweaked some settings and it froze entirely.  Restarted my pc and came up against the boot loop again.   Had to use a system restore point

[cpurpe91]

With the information you have given us it seems Days Gone is causing issues. This is not entirely uncommon as Apex Legends causes issues currently with dozens of people if not more. The issue with Apex Legends causes crashes in game that lock up systems and force hard reset while also causing instability even after the game is closed. This is just one example of course. 

Days Gone must have something wrong with it that is causing instability. 

I, personally, would wipe my drives and reinstall Windows as well as report the bug and stop playing the game. No game is worth this kind of hassle in my personal opinion. 

It is also important to note the drivers on the AMD site are different in that 22.5.2 is recommended and has been thoroughly tested while 22.9.1 is optional and is essentially a beta driver. The only time these drivers should be used is to test with new games or if you are well versed in troubleshooting and are willing to risk possible instability. 

[kk10494]

Perhaps it was the driver update that did me in? Because I had played with relatively no issues for 2 hours.  Then had 1 crash, which prompted me to update the drivers to whatever the latest were from the adrenaline software.  Any advice about rolling back?  I may have been over a year out-of-date with my GPU drivers before updating haha

[johnnyenglish]

We've seen situations in the past, just saying.

Can you try a different GPU and running the game without the XMP/DOCP enabled?

Just for troubleshooting.

Good Luck

[kk10494]

Unfortunately no spare GPU on hand