Game keeps freezing no matter what I try (so far)

[Gussy.3907]

For the past few weeks, the game has been crashing on me. I've been playing since launch so I'm not sure what has changed. 

I did my first PC build last May (usually play on pre-built systems):

MSI AM4 board, Ryzen 5 5600 CPU, Radeon RX 6700 XT card. 16 GB Corsair Vengeance DDR4 RAM. Windows 11. System had been cruising along fine for almost a year. 

Back in March, I added another 32 GB of the same RAM. The crashes only started to happen in past few weeks. I've done three full factory resets of my OS. Reset my BIOS settings to default. Reinstalled the game twice. 

Finally, this past Friday (May 31st), I even bought a new graphics card: Nvidia RTX 4070 Super. I did another full OS reset when I installed it. I also tried turning off Windows Defender as suggested on a MS support forum. 

Last night, I was able to play at max settings (character limit and detail at medium though) for 3 hours and 15 minutes before the dreaded freeze hit me AGAIN. I was feeling so sure I had finally solved the issue. Now I am at a complete loss. 

Could this have something to do with the size of my DAT file? I might also try setting my fans to max no matter what in case my CPU is heating up. However, when I was running the Radeon card, I had the Adrenaline software up at all times with the CPU and GPU temp in my overlay. Neither got above 50°C ever. Maybe I'll try dialing back the graphics though I can't imagine GW2 is making an RTX 4070 work at 1080p.

ANY suggestions will be greatly appreciated. If the new card failed, I was going to return it and just buy a new pre-built system for the game. Extreme measure perhaps, but I am at my wit's end here. I really wish I could figure out what changed. 

Edited June 2 by Gussy.3907
Typo

[Schimmi.6872]

So the problems happened soon after you added more RAM, have you ever tried to rule out that the RAM is the cause of the problems by either using only the old or the new modules (maybe also running RAM tests)? Especially if you mix different RAM-modules they might be the problem?

[Gussy.3907]

1 hour ago, Schimmi.6872 said:

So the problems happened soon after you added more RAM, have you ever tried to rule out that the RAM is the cause of the problems by either using only the old or the new modules (maybe also running RAM tests)? Especially if you mix different RAM-modules they might be the problem?

I have not yet tried removing the newer sticks of RAM. That is on the list to try. My RAM is all Corsair Vengeance. Two sticks of 8 and two newer sticks of 16. I put the new sticks in months ago though (March) and my issues only began in May. I did run two memory check/tests and no issues were detected. But at this point, I will rule nothing out and am open to all suggestions so thank you. 

[Teknomancer.4895]

Do the RAM modules match parity (ECC/non-ECC) and access speeds?

Also, the power draw for both video cards is roughly equivalent (the NVidia might need a tiny sliver more) but you also added RAM so there's more of an overall power draw on the system. If your PSU is 650W that's the bare minimum required; maybe focus some attention there?

Edited June 2 by Teknomancer.4895
clarity

[Gussy.3907]

55 minutes ago, Teknomancer.4895 said:

Do the RAM modules match parity (ECC/non-ECC) and access speeds?

Also, the power draw for both video cards is roughly equivalent (the NVidia might need a tiny sliver more) but you also added RAM so there's more of an overall power draw on the system. If your PSU is 650W that's the bare minimum required; maybe focus some attention there?

I have a 700W PSU but still removing the new RAM is definitely sounding like what I need to try. As soon as the game is done installing (again - long story). I'll shut down and pull the two of the four sticks I have. It takes a village. 🙂

Edited June 2 by Gussy.3907
clarity

[Teknomancer.4895]

I'd put the new ones in and pull the old first. You might also want to double-check the mobo manual, to verify whether your modules have to be inserted in a particular order.

[Gussy.3907]

So in typical me fashion I tried two things at once. I rolled back to Windows 10 and pulled two sticks of RAM (I pulled the newer sticks). Going on five hours of play with no freezing. Oh and I limited my frames to 60 FPS. I will probably pull the old sticks and put back the new because they have more memory. Graphics are nearly maxed and the game looks gorgeous. Of course I don't know if it was the roll back, pulling out some of the RAM or a combo of both that seemingly fixed things. The Windows 10 move will only be good until next year though. 

[Chaba.5410]

12 hours ago, Gussy.3907 said:

My RAM is all Corsair Vengeance. Two sticks of 8 and two newer sticks of 16.

You say it's same RAM, but probably not really.  What are their model numbers?  What are the timings?  How is the BIOS configured?

I suspect that you're spending a lot of time looking at everything else and not enough time first isolating the RAM issue like Schimmi indicates.

[Teknomancer.4895]

I would still consider upgrading that PSU when you get the chance. Like I said, 650W is bare-minimum for the specs you provided, and 700W doesn't really give you much of a buffer for bursts of extended high demand from the CPU & GPU. If nothing else a higher wattage won't be running at or near maximum output at all times, which might help lower your case internal temperature.

[Gussy.3907]

53 minutes ago, Teknomancer.4895 said:

I would still consider upgrading that PSU when you get the chance. Like I said, 650W is bare-minimum for the specs you provided, and 700W doesn't really give you much of a buffer for bursts of extended high demand from the CPU & GPU. If nothing else a higher wattage won't be running at or near maximum output at all times, which might help lower your case internal temperature.

I am definitely going to do this (higher wattage PSU). Last night on Windows 10 with my two original 8GB sticks, I played for five straight hours on high settings with no freeze up. Maybe it was rolling back the OS but my gut tells me it was a power supply issue. For once I chose to shut my PC down. 

Though I do find it odd it took so long for an issue to show up. I added the extra DRAM back in March and did not experience the freezing until mid-May. Oh well, it appears to be working now and the game looks amazing using the new card. I only bought it as a test (60 days to return it) but I think I'll keep it 🙂

Thanks so much for your help!

[Gussy.3907]

20 hours ago, Chaba.5410 said:

You say it's same RAM, but probably not really.  What are their model numbers?  What are the timings?  How is the BIOS configured?

I suspect that you're spending a lot of time looking at everything else and not enough time first isolating the RAM issue like Schimmi indicates.

1. Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO SL DDR4 (two sticks of 8 and two sticks of 16)
2. Timings? As in clock speed? 3200 MHz
3. BIOS set to auto (recently) I had forced them to run at 3200 but then switched back when I started having issues.

As for spending my time looking at everything else, I was trouble shooting based on what was happening and what was suggested by people who know more than me. That is why I posted here in the first place. Sorry looking at RAM did not occur to me.