computer crashes from new AMD fx 8120 cpu

[ZaroSath]

Hey guys,

i recently got a new motherboard and cpu, i have actually just switched to AMD for their new 8-core fx 8120 model

the components are:

Motherboard: Msi 990XA-GD55
Graphics Card: Nvidia Geforce gts 450
CPU: AMD FX-8120 Zambezi 3.1GHz Socket AM3+ 125W Eight-Core
RAM: Crucial, 2 sticks of 4GB per stick, DDR3 1600 mhz
OS: Windows 7

and of course reinstalled the OS for windows to run with the new board but its been having some problems.. as soon as i get everything running it seems to blue screen within 5-30 minutes depending on how many processes are running, if i have alot open it will crash very soon.. sometimes random programs will stop working, usually important ones but it can be anything such as skype.

after awhile of changing graphic cards, tried older ram and other things, hard drives, bios settings i finally switch out the cpu for a older amd cpu i had laying around, atleast 2-3 years old i'd say.. it works fine, i could leave it on all night with no problems.. as soon as i put the new cpu back in the problems are back right away, i was never able to fix the problem and my parents convinced me to take it back (a local computer shop) for the warranty to get a replacement but they wanted to see my hole box..

Spoiler

probably because i never specifically told them i wanted to use the warranty for a replacement because it was faulty, only that it works fine when i replace it with the old cpu

i got it back this tuesday, they said it was crashing because it wasnt getting enough power from the power box and they also made sure the bios was up to date, charged me aout 60$ for the new one and 40$ for labor while also telling me to reinstall windows because of probable HD curruption from all the bluescreens.. when i get home, i cant even ****ing boot! so i go to reinstall it, it wont even install at all now without the other cpu, i had to put the other cpu in for it to finish the installation so i could at least boot,

Spoiler

were they too busy (OR LAZY?) to plug in a HDD and check if they actually fixed the problem? i'm still unable to fix the problem and i'm back at square one.. if i take it back in i'm not paying ****, they should of checked before sending it out saying it was ready to take away.. thats horrible service!

any help here guys? i've updated the bios, drivers.. is my CPU faulty? i dont believe its a power issue

ALSO i get a different blue screen error code every time.

 

[caddi daddi]

I had run into a few things getting my build up amd running and found that shutting down and resetting my cmos normaly corrects my issues after hardware changes, i now rest my cmos with any major hardware change or opeating system reinstall. I hope this helps.

 

[ZaroSath]

did you read all of the thread? the bios has been updated and i'll add in this post that it has been reset, its also a new board.

thanks for the fast reply

 

[Frakk]

It would help if we knew what your specs are for that PSU, old and new one. Make and model.

I have a funny felling its not the PSU.

 

[caddi daddi]

yes i did read the post, i started out with a new in the box processor amd motherboard, i had to reset the cmos more times than i care to think about on mine and had to take a very small screwdriver and seat all the terminals in the connectorsto get my new in the box stuff up and running. I used a graphing multi meter to trouble shoot a loop of rebooting every time windows started to load

 

[trents]

ZaroSath, what we don't know is what your bios settings are. It could be the the "Auto" bios settings are not assigning correct frequencies or voltages to the 8120. So if you could download and install CPU-z, run the program and then post back with screenshots of these four tabs: "CPU", "Memory", "SPD" and "Motherboard" we would appreciate it. To post screenshots, use Snipping Tool in Windows Accessories to frame, crop, and save the images to disc. Then click on "Advanced Post" and click on the little paperclip tool at the top. That will bring up the attachment tool and the rest will be obvious. CPU-z will tell us a lot about your system and its bios settings.

But before you do any of that go into Windows Control Panel and switch your Power Options fro eco to "High Power". That should disable Cool N Quiet, C1E and other down-throttling technologies that will cause CPU-z to report distorted voltages and frequencies.

Also, what are you cooling this CPU with? The stock OEM cooler or some aftermarket job. If the latter, make and model please. The problems you describe could be do to overheating of the CPU.

 

[ZaroSath]

yes most bios settings are auto by default, also i know its not my Power unit as it crashed on windows installation only when it was completing the installation stage.

as for the overheating, its using the stock heatsink it came with and i know its not overheating because i got the case open and when i put my hand over there, its not at all as hot as it can get while still running.

i also just found out that i've seen the 'irql_not_less_or_equal' more then a few times in the blue screen and windows doesnt crash while in safe mode!

i'm unable to get the screenshot because windows crashes almost as soon as it loads, i was able to see what the voltage was though.. it was bouncing around 1.230-1.380 ish

 

[dli7319]

stock heat sink is horrible

 

[ZaroSath]

i've been going through making sure all my drivers are up to date, its not making a difference

 

[RGone]

Not sure we have all the background information, but it seems like you have bought a pre-assembled rig from a local computer shop? If that is so, then it would be back in their lap until the thing works and with windows installed and working.

 

[trents]

yes most bios settings are auto by default, also i know its not my Power unit as it crashed on windows installation only when it was completing the installation stage.

as for the overheating, its using the stock heatsink it came with and i know its not overheating because i got the case open and when i put my hand over there, its not at all as hot as it can get while still running.

i also just found out that i've seen the 'irql_not_less_or_equal' more then a few times in the blue screen and windows doesnt crash while in safe mode!

i'm unable to get the screenshot because windows crashes almost as soon as it loads, i was able to see what the voltage was though.. it was bouncing around 1.230-1.380 ish

Power unit? I never said anything about your PSU. Power Options is a Windows setting in Control Panel.

 

[ppe1700]

What RAM do you have in your system?
As Rgone says, is it a self build or not?

 

[ZaroSath]

i was referring to frakk, trents i built it myself i just ordered the parts at the computer shop.

sorry i havent replied in awhile but i've got some interesting news: i went into the bios settings and msi has 3 modes i can set it in that change bios settings for me.. eco, standard and OC Genie, i switched it over to OC Genie (which i get 3.3ghz with it on) with only 1 stick of ram in this time and it booted fine! it was running fine for awhile so i decided to reinstall windows on my other drive as i was using the current one for testing purposes.. the installation went normally without a problem, it was running fine for awhile.. got skype installed and running firefox and listening to music on youtube and before i know it, skype crashes on me so i decided to start it back up and it crashed again as soon as it started up! so i leave it closed and soon after adobe flash crashed in firefox.. i refresh the page and it stops again, soon after windows crashes.

i'm on normal windows now with the high power settings, it runs fine until programs start crashing so i've uninstalled skype to see if that will make a difference but it crashes even when skype isnt running. is it normal for programs to randomly stop working when its a cpu issue? thats just weird..

i'm also able to get that cpu-z screenshot and noticed that the voltage isnt jumping around as much, it stays jumping specifically from 1.344 to 1.352 generally, sometimes lower.


(btw i think print screen key on the keyboard is easier)

standard mode usually sets bios settings on auto while OC Genie manually sets a few of them, if this is a bios cpu settings issue could you give me some recommended settings to try for the fx-8120?

 

[trents]

Could you give us pics of these other CPU-z tabs: "Memory" and "SPD"?

 

[ZaroSath]

i've updated the post.

 

[trents]

If you'll look at the CPU-z memory tab you'll see your bios overclocking genie has underclocked your ram it should easily do 666 (which in DDR3 terms is 1333 mhz) and may very well do 1600 which is what its rated at. So, you are losing a lot of memory performance that way.

 

[ZaroSath]

anyone have suggestions? it still blue screens but just not as frequently that i'm able to get on and do stuff :/

 

[RGone]

Deep enough into this thread to need the info without having to go all the way back to the first post or wherever you posted a system configuration.

Sigs are pretty easy.

Be logged in to the forum.

Across the top of the forum is a button shown as 'user cp'. Click that button.

On the page that loads are a list of options down the left side of the page.

Under the Settings & Options menu area is a Edit Signature listing. Click on that listing.

Clicking Edit Signature opens another page. In the middle of that page is where you Edit YOUR signature.

Enter your information there and at bottom of the window you are entering your signature is button for either Preview Signature or Save Signature. Do save and you will have your signature incorporated into the forum in each of your posts. Of course Preview Signature will let you see 'how' your signature would appear in the forum. But in the end the Save Signature must be clicked to save it to the forum.

You can look at my signature for a template of some good stuffz to put in one's own signature when seeking help.

Good luck man.

 

[ChanceCoats123]

The blue screen code you said you were getting often is commonly seen when ram or cpu memory controller is faulty. This would be my plan of attack:

Use the Spd tab of cpu-z to set your ram manually in the bios. Turn off whatever program or tool ridiculously overclocked your computer and set cpu multiplier and base clock (ht ref.) manually as well. Cpu-nb.should also be stock.

Boot up, download prime 95. Begin by running the "small FFTs" test on all cores. More any errors or failure of the test. I would then stop the workers and begin the "blend" test. Small ffts will isolate the cpu cores and check for main core stability. Bland will strain the memory subsystem heavily.

After taking notes of the results, post back here.

 

[trents]

I suspect as well that your have a bad ram module. ChanceCoats123 described one method of checking for this but here is another time-honored method: Download and install the freeware program "memtest86+". It installs to a self-botting CD. Return all your fequency and voltage settings to stock. Place the memtest86+ CD in the drive and restart the computer, if necessary telling it to boot from the drive the CD is in. Let the program run for several hours, at least four "passes". Any errors will show up in red.

http://www.memtest.org/

(Scroll down a little over half way to see the download links)