Keep getting BSODs at random intervals while playing GTA V and Asetto Corsa (high CPU usage). - Hardware & Software

Specs: [b]MOBO[/b] ASUSTeK Computer INC. M5A78L-M/USB3 (AM3R2) [b]CPU Type[/b] AMD Phenom(tm) II X4 970 Processor [b]Core Clock[/b] 1242 MHz [b]System Memory[/b] 8 GB [b]Graphics Chipset[/b] Radeon (TM) RX 470 Graphics [b]Memory Type[/b] GDDR5 [b]Memory Size[/b] 4096 MB [b]RAM[/b] 8.00GB Single-Channel DDR3 @ 803MHz (10-10-10-30) I was having problems with an FX processor I had before, so I bought a Phenom II used from a family friend for $50. Supposedly I have to reinstall Windows everytime a new CPU is added, so I got to that only yesterday after someone told me this. It didn't fix the problem. Ran WhoCrashed and here are the digested dumps: [quote]On Wed 1/17/2018 3:31:50 PM your computer crashed or a problem was reported crash dump file: C:\WINDOWS\Minidump\011718-55078-01.dmp This was probably caused by the following module: ntoskrnl.exe (nt+0x1756E0) Bugcheck code: 0xA (0x0, 0x2, 0x1, 0xFFFFF802F13361F4) Error: IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL file path: C:\WINDOWS\system32\ntoskrnl.exe product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System company: Microsoft Corporation description: NT Kernel & System Bug check description: This indicates that Microsoft Windows or a kernel-mode driver accessed paged memory at DISPATCH_LEVEL or above. This is a software bug. This bug check belongs to the crash dump test that you have performed with WhoCrashed or other software. It means that a crash dump file was properly written out. The crash took place in the Windows kernel. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver that cannot be identified at this time. [/quote] [quote]On Wed 1/17/2018 3:31:50 PM your computer crashed or a problem was reported crash dump file: C:\WINDOWS\MEMORY.DMP This was probably caused by the following module: ntkrnlmp.exe (nt!setjmpex+0x94E9) Bugcheck code: 0xA (0x0, 0x2, 0x1, 0xFFFFF802F13361F4) Error: IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL Bug check description: This indicates that Microsoft Windows or a kernel-mode driver accessed paged memory at DISPATCH_LEVEL or above. This is a software bug. This bug check belongs to the crash dump test that you have performed with WhoCrashed or other software. It means that a crash dump file was properly written out. The crash took place in the Windows kernel. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver that cannot be identified at this time. [/quote] It's probably the processor, but I need full confirmation before shelling out $185.80 for the replacement components (I'm upgrading to a AMD Ryzen 3 1200).

If this is the same problem you were having with with the FAX, you've just ruled out the CPU as the source.

[QUOTE=Adelle Zhu;53060352]If this is the same problem you were having with with the FAX, you've just ruled out the CPU as the source.[/QUOTE] The FX and it's respective MOBO died on it's own, didn't have the symptoms of the Phenom.

I've had that IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL BSOD a few times but it's completely random for me. My CPU is also different (AMD 1090T overclocked) but it seems to happen doing the same things as you. From what I remember of my research before - it's a Windows kernel thing (ntoskrnl.exe being the Windows kernel process) as in a driver or program is trying to access and change something in kernel memory, which is making the kernel panic as a result. A lot of sites I see talking about it suggest making sure all your drivers are up to date and to run a memtest to make sure your RAM isn't faulty (an old PSU kept surging and it ended up wrecking numerous sticks of RAM for me which didn't help). I ended up reinstalling Windows to make sure no old drivers were left over as I found some drivers keep old backups of themselves which tends to conflict (like nVidia) with newer versions and so far after updating all my drivers etc - it hasn't appeared in a few months so it might be the same story for you.

[QUOTE=Zenamez;53060602]I've had that IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL BSOD a few times but it's completely random for me. My CPU is also different (AMD 1090T overclocked) but it seems to happen doing the same things as you. From what I remember of my research before - it's a Windows kernel thing (ntoskrnl.exe being the Windows kernel process) as in a driver or program is trying to access and change something in kernel memory, which is making the kernel panic as a result. A lot of sites I see talking about it suggest making sure all your drivers are up to date and to run a memtest to make sure your RAM isn't faulty (an old PSU kept surging and it ended up wrecking numerous sticks of RAM for me which didn't help). I ended up reinstalling Windows to make sure no old drivers were left over as I found some drivers keep old backups of themselves which tends to conflict (like nVidia) with newer versions and so far after updating all my drivers etc - it hasn't appeared in a few months so it might be the same story for you.[/QUOTE] I ran DriversCloud to update all of my drivers. Seems to have done the trick. However, after 2 hours of playing GTA V I still got a BSOD, different code now though. This may be just be an overheating problem now. [quote]On Wed 1/17/2018 7:02:11 PM your computer crashed or a problem was reported crash dump file: C:\WINDOWS\MEMORY.DMP This was probably caused by the following module: hal.dll (hal!HalBugCheckSystem+0xCF) Bugcheck code: 0x124 (0x0, 0xFFFFB20A30D0C028, 0xF6602000, 0xC0000135) Error: [b]WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR[/b] file path: C:\WINDOWS\system32\hal.dll product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System company: Microsoft Corporation description: Hardware Abstraction Layer DLL Bug check description: This bug check indicates that a fatal hardware error has occurred. This bug check uses the error data that is provided by the Windows Hardware Error Architecture (WHEA). This is likely to be caused by a hardware problem. The crash took place in the Windows kernel. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver that cannot be identified at this time. [/quote] Already got a new fan and a vacuum cleaner, just got to drill a few holes on the case door.

[QUOTE=GhillieBacca;53060734]I ran DriversCloud to update all of my drivers. Seems to have done the trick. However, after 2 hours of playing GTA V I still got a BSOD, different code now though. This may be just be an overheating problem now. Already got a new fan and a vacuum cleaner, just got to drill a few holes on the case door.[/QUOTE] If your 970 is like my 1090T - that CPU architecture (Phenom) runs bloody hot so overheating is likely. I had to get a Corsair AIO to cool mine because it was frequently going into the 80c area (max working temp is 62) on a beefy fan.

Bit of a stab in the dark, but try underclocking your GPU slightly If I'm playing anything that absolutely pegs my GTX 780 (GTAV, Hitman, Forza Horizon) it'll BSOD anywhere from 5 minutes to 3 hours in. Knocking 100mhz off the core and memory clock with Afterburner fixes it without any noticeable drop in performance