PC Processors

[quame]

Hi guys, recently I selfbuilt a new pc with the new RTX 3070 was super ready to use it. I was able to run Call of Duty the first few days, however it kept crashing my PC afterwards, and all I ever installed was a couple of other games like Valorant and League of Legends. I have also check that Apex Legends could also crash my PC but with a black screen instead.

Specs:
MOBO: ASROCK B550 Steel Legend

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X

RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 2x8gb 3600MHz
GPU: MSI Ventus x3 RTX 3070
PSU: Focus GX-750 750W

I ran BlueScreenView got the following:
IMAGE NAME: ntoskrnl.exe
ERROR CODE:REFERENCE_BY_POINTER

(DUMP FILES ATTACHED)
I have already tried many things to address this issue until i stumbled onto a microsoft forum, blue screen - Microsoft Community , I realised many people facing this issue was running an AMD Ryzen 7 3700X, or at least an AMD CPU, which led me to post this on this forum page.

Things I have tried:

• Ensure all my drivers are updated
• Updated BIOS
• Ran Memtest86 with no errors
• Identified abnormally high CPU and Memory usage (Eg. Hovers about 40% mem usage with chrome using about 1700mb at times, with CPU using about 15-20% with no games running, this could be normal im not sure myself)
• Ran sfc /scannow with no errors found
• Verified my drivers
• Hard Resetting my PC
• Deleting OS completely and reinstalling everything
• Changing RAM speeds

I am honestly out of ideas, please help me check the dump files and maybe give some suggestions, it would be greatly appreciated!

Other than that, the only thing left on my mind is to check my hardware 1 by 1, especially my RAM and CPU!

[elstaci]

To eliminate a 3rd party app or driver boot into a Clean Windows desktop which disables all of the Startup apps except Microsoft and see if it continues to crash with BSODs error you mentioned.

Here is how to boot into a Clean Windows Desktop: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/929135/how-to-perform-a-clean-boot-in-windows 

Also you can run Windows Driver Verifier to see which driver(s) are causing the BSODs: Driver Verifier - Windows drivers | Microsoft Docs 

Since it is happening during Game play it sounds like the Nvidia driver could be at fault.

Have you opened a Thread at Nvidia Forums?

[quame]

Hello, thanks for your response!

I did what you suggested but however it still crashed my PC.
However I have yet to open a thread at Nvidia Forums, will do so! 
Other than that, is there any other suggestions which might help me point whether it could be a driver/software/hardware issue? Because i am having an issue of pin pointing the cause of it, Thank you!

[elstaci]

Yes, go to the Microsoft link I gave you explaining about Driver Versifier. Turn that diagnostic feature on once you become familiar on how to use it.

It should help find out which driver or drivers are causing your problems if it is driver related.

You can also uninstall the Nvidia Driver using DDU with no internet connection and deleting the folder C:\Nvidia from your Root Directory and installing a previous Nvidia driver or installing the latest Nvidia driver.

At Nvidia Forums there are a few Users who are very knowledgeable and will be able to help you troubleshoot your Nvidia GPU and Driver.

You can also download a diagnostic program called OCCT.

Run all 3 tests and see if any of the test causes your computer to crash. Run the CPU Test first, then run the GPU Test, and finally run the PSU Test.

While running all 3 tests keep a close eye on Temperatures & Voltages. Make sure everything is within normal specs. The PSU Voltages 12/5/3.3 volts should be within 5% -/+ tolerances.

Go to Windows Event Viewer and see under the category "Errors" what entries apply to your computer crashing. Check all entries regarding Apps or Windows.

I read that Anti-Virus program can cause that issue also and some website recommend to uninstall it temporarily to see if it fixes the BSOD.

Can you please run DXDIAG.exe and "Save to File" the DXDIAG file and attach it to your next post. I would like to see exactly which files are having issues on your computer.

Also run to make sure your Windows OS is not corrupted by running the following command in a elevated Command Prompt or Powershell - SFC /scannow.

Try all those steps above and  see if anything worthwhile shows up.

[quame]

Sorry for the late reply!!

I will definitely take all ur suggestion into consideration, I dont deserve such support in the first place!! Thank you thank you.

Anyways for the passed week, I have been focussing on testing the hardwares. I have changed everything one by one with support from repair centers, isolated my PSU and GPU with rest of the parts changed showed no issues, so PSU and GPU is off the checklist. 
Afterwards i put it back into my PC to check the rest of the parts.(Made sure to hard reset before testing those out)

Swapped out my SSD(which contained my friends OS system, BSOD. Swapped out my mobo with a CMOS reset,BSOD. Swapped out my RAM,BSOD.

The ONLY thing left to test is the CPU, and that has been the only constant variable so far. I would say 99% I have a defective 3700x(sadly). Tomorrow i will be testing that out with a professional. If it is i will that get that swapped as it is under warranty. And hopefully the issue doesnt persist!

I will update this thread once I have tested out the CPU!! Sadly to admit, it may really be AMD’s issue... 

Once again thanks for your support!

[quame · Accepted solution]

Hi man!

I have just went through 1 week of testing with another CPU, and it has been working well!!
I went to a professional and yea no one could really identify what was wrong, but it was a defect with the chip i had, so i am getting it swapped so I think all will be good!!
Thank you for your support!

[elstaci]

Good troubleshooting!

You are fortunate that you had parts to swap to narrow down the hardware that is causing the BSODs. 

Some Hardware defects are very difficult to spot since it can emulate a driver or Windows OS issue.  RAM is a good example that causes many BSODs that emulates a driver or software or OS issue but is actually defective hardware.

You have a 3 year Warranty if your purchased the AMD Processor from a Retailer. The AMD Warranty starts after the Retailer's Warranty expires.

Here where you can RMA the Processor under AMD warranty if your Retailer's Warranty has expired: https://www.amd.com/en/support/kb/warranty-information/rma-form