Computer locking up during games

SFozz78 · ‎01-31-2019

I recently purchased this computer, and when playing certain games (Civilization VI and Hearts of Iron IV so far), the computer will suddenly lock up. All sound stops, the monitor says there is no signal and goes into power save mode, but the computer seems to stay running (fan and lights on front are on). The computer does not respond to any input, including pushing the power button. I've tried to just leave the computer as is and see if something happens eventually, but nothing happens even after hours. The only way to get the computer to act normal again is to unplug the power to the computer. After I plug it back in, it starts up normally and is fine. Sometimes, the computer will crash within minutes of starting the game, other times I can play for hours and be fine, and then it suddenly crashes. There doesn't seem to be any specific corolation to what I'm doing at the time of the crash. I've tried updating video drivers and such, but it still crashes. The only thing I've been able to do, and this worked only with Civ VI, was to use DirectX 11 instead of 12. That prevented the hard crashes, but when I would close the game, there are sometimes windows saying that something had happened and that the game needed to close. I've only owned the computer a couple of weeks, and this started happening within a day or two of getting the computer. Help!

Grzwacz · ‎02-01-2019

Greetings,

Welcome to the forum.

I am not a HP employee.

Please provide your PC's product number only and the GPU you are using. I don't know what graphics card or PSU you are using. Some 690 systems ship with a 310 watt PSU.

You have updated the GPU drivers to the latest version; this has not solved the problem.

Possible causes can be heat related or PSU related.

Check GPU temps by downloading Furmark (Link). Install and run Furmark with GPU temp monitoring on, full screen, and default monitor resolution.

The CPU could also be getting hot.

Download: Prime95 (Link), don't join GIMPS, and HWInfo Portable (Link).

Run both programs so you can stress the CPU using Prime95 and monitor temps using HWInfo.

You may have a power delivery problem or a heat problem if the system locks up running either test.

Your PC is new so you should not have corrupt system files. But run the System File Checker (Link) to verify.

Added thought; there is always the possibility you have a hardware problem (GPU?) that only happens when you stress the hardware. intermittent hardware problems are very hard to diagnose.

You would have to contact HP (Link) for warranty service.

Regards

SFozz78 · ‎02-02-2019

Product Number is 3LB47AA#ABA

It has the AMD Ryzen 7 2700 Eight-Core Processor and a Radeon(TM) RX 580 video card.

What temps would be considered too high running these tests?

Grzwacz · ‎02-02-2019

Hi SFozz78,

The 2700 hits the ceiling at about 95 degrees celsius.

I am not sure what the 580 thermal limit is but new Nvidia cards hit the thermal limit at around 90 degrees celsius.

Sustained temps on either component in the mid 70s celsius to mid 80s celsius in acceptable. Higher sustained temps will cause throttling and can lock up the system.

You want lower temps for better reliability.

Regards

Gisagny · ‎11-29-2019

Ok. This is the same exact problem I have. I try running Overwatch and it says same thing. Looking for input on the monitor and then it goes to sleep. I know it is not overheating because I can play world of Warcraft just fine. And I notice it is on certain games. Overwatch being one. And Build-A-Lot which shouldn't use that much graphics. Is there a setting within the graphics menu to diagnose this?