BSOD when system is under stress

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andyconor

Member
Hi all! Just wondered if anyone could give me some help... my custom built gaming pc (about 3 years old now) keeps throwing up a BSOD whenever I run a game for longer than half an hour (for example, it does this a lot with Hitma.

The main code it gives is IRQL NOT LESS OR EQUAL. I am aware this is usually a hardware issue but I’m not sure why it only happens when I run a game?

Im at work at the moment so I can’t post any dumps or anything (I can when I’m home) but I just wondered if anyone had any general advice for me in the mean time?

I’ve tried resetting the pc, re installed and ‘cleaned’ my gpu drivers (NVIDIA 1080) and I’ve ran a memory diagnostic tool with no errors found.

If any more info is required please let me know as this is the first time I’ve ever posted about a computer issue, sorry!

Cheers!
 
Oussebon

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
What's your full spec?

You can copy and paste it from your PCS order history, assuming it's a PCS machine. I think there's a Post to Forum button that will do the formatting too.

When you say cleaned your GPU drivers, do you mean you used DDU to sweep the drivers and then performed a clean install of the latest drivers from the Nvidia site?
 
A

andyconor

Member
Case
COOLERMASTER MASTERCASE PRO 5 GAMING CASE

Overclocked CPU
Overclocked Intel® Core™ i7-7700k Quad Core (4.20GHz @ up to 4.8GHz)

Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX Z270E GAMING: LGA1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GB, WiFi - RGB Ready!

Memory (RAM)
16GB HyperX PREDATOR DDR4 3200MHz X.M.P (2 x 8GB)

Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1080 - DVI, HDMI, 3x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!

1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE

1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SAMSUNG PM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 2800MB/R, 1600MB/W)

DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM

Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET

Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)

Processor Cooling
Corsair H100i V2 Hydro Cooler w/ PCS Liquid Series Ultra Quiet Fans

Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND

Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS 802.11 AC1750 1,300Mbps/5GHz, 450Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD

USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS

Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence

Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language

Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 (64-bit) DVD with paper sleeve

Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)

Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE

Browser
Google Chrome™
Monitor Cables
1 x 2 METRE GOLD PLATED V1.4 HDMI CABLE
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
TIMED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND - MON-FRI (BEFORE 2PM)
Build Time
FAST TRACK 3 WORKING DAY DISPATCH

Here you go. Thanks for the reply.

Yes I did exactly that.
 
Oussebon

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
Have you checked CPU and GPU temperatures? During gaming when the PC is fine, and at the point at which it BSODs?

You could use something like HWinfo to log the temps, or MSI Afterburner to overlay a display on the screen.
 
A

andyconor

Member
I will try that thank you. Didn’t consider it could be overheating due to the nature of the error code, but I could be wrong. I’ll try that and report back. Thank you so much.
 
ubuysa

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL is almost always a driver problem, so the first thing I'd be checking would be all drivers - but especially the graphics driver...

Sent using Tapatalk
 
A

andyconor

Member
ubuysa said:
IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL is almost always a driver problem, so the first thing I'd be checking would be all drivers - but especially the graphics driver...

Sent using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Thanks. Anything else I can do to the graphics driver apart from what I’ve already done? The thing that stands out to me is Windows does boot, whereas for a lot of people who have this issue, Windows doesn’t boot at all.
I don’t know much! But thanks for the suggestion.
 
ubuysa

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
andyconor said:
Thanks. Anything else I can do to the graphics driver apart from what I’ve already done? The thing that stands out to me is Windows does boot, whereas for a lot of people who have this issue, Windows doesn’t boot at all.
I don’t know much! But thanks for the suggestion.
Click to expand...
As mentioned above, use DDU to remove old graphics drivers and then install the latest. Check other drivers too, ANY misbehaving driver can cause that BSOD.
 
Scott

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL happens a lot on OC systems where the OC is no longer stable. It happens over time where the chip lanes basically degrade very slightly and need an extra few mv to run at the current clock or dropped down a little to keep within the same voltages.

You will likely need to go into the BIOS to make these changes. It can be handled via Windows and software but I would always recommend sorting it in the BIOS. Do you have experience with Overclocking?
 
Scott

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
CPU temperature is also indicative of it, so that's definitely somewhere else to focus (Along with the GPU drivers as those are key as well).

I was just throwing in the 3rd next most likely.

Drivers - Conflict in an update or something. Often rectified by DDU and a clean install.

CPU Temp - If the CPU temperature is running a little higher than it was when first bought, very likely as the paste will have degraded, this will make the OC less stable due to the temperature fluctuation on the physical chip. Often rectified by a re-paste.

CPU Degradation - Explained in previous post. Often rectified by lowering the OC or increasing the voltage.

I would recommend all 3 regardless in a 3 year old system.
 
A

andyconor

Member
The_Scotster said:
CPU temperature is also indicative of it, so that's definitely somewhere else to focus (Along with the GPU drivers as those are key as well).

I was just throwing in the 3rd next most likely.

Drivers - Conflict in an update or something. Often rectified by DDU and a clean install.

CPU Temp - If the CPU temperature is running a little higher than it was when first bought, very likely as the paste will have degraded, this will make the OC less stable due to the temperature fluctuation on the physical chip. Often rectified by a re-paste.

CPU Degradation - Explained in previous post. Often rectified by lowering the OC or increasing the voltage.

I would recommend all 3 regardless in a 3 year old system.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for these three suggestions. In reply to your previous post, I don’t have experience with overclocking, no, is reducing the overclock something I could do with a few guides handy? And is re-pasting the chip relatively simple or would I need to have it looked at for a professional to do it?

Thanks again
 
Oussebon

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
It's all easily DIYable, but it's something to look at down the line, after investigating drivers / software and temps.
 
A

andyconor

Member
Thank you for all of your suggestions. I am going through them and testing them. GPU is at 82 Celsius while Hitman is running, is this normal for a GTX 1080?
 
D

Deleted member 88683

Guest
andyconor said:
Thank you for all of your suggestions. I am going through them and testing them. GPU is at 82 Celsius while Hitman is running, is this normal for a GTX 1080?
Click to expand...

Yeh that is fine

Why not load optimized defaults in the BIOS that will clear out the overclock settings then we can rule that out, if it still crashes then its not the oc...
 
A

andyconor

Member
Looks to be working thank you everyone. I just disabled the overclock completely because it was easier and I didn’t really need it.

I really appreciate everyone’s help, I was very sad not being able to be my favourite bald, barcoded assassin! Thanks everyone (someone can now close this thread)
 
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