New Core i7 builds, but big freezing problem on main client! Pls help!

[Teejayv]

So i decided to jump on the core i7 bandwagon a couple weeks ago for multiboxing. I run two machines and 5 accounts between. 3 clients on the i7 machine and 2 clients on my old e8400 c2d.

I'm just going to quickly describe my problem that i've been having on my i7 machine and then i'll list my specs. Hopefully, a kind soul can help me out here.

Background: After I built my i7 Windows 7 machine, i've made a folder on my storage drive (let's call it d:/ for now) called "WoW". Within this one folder, i've got 3 separate folders of the game, one for each client (WoW1, 2, 3). I use keyclone to load up the three clients split across 2 monitors using maximizer.

Each folder has its own interface>addons folder. Each account that i play uses its own set of addons and such. My main client obviously has more mods loaded (recount, omen, atlasloot etc). I use InputDirector to share one mouse and keyboard between the two computers.

Problem: I notice that very very frequently, my main client that i use (mostly pally tank) crashes to the desktop. Sometimes my system even BSOD's intermittently and locks up completely forcing a hard reboot. I don't know what causes this. I'm sure that my system specs are up to par. It happens very often when i'm logging in all the toons to Dalaran, or sometimes when i'm running an instance. It's also crashed on me when i'm on the flight path to the Argent Tournament Grounds, or some other flight paths in northrend.
I haven't observed if this is happening in zones in either Outlands or the Old World though. Mostly Northrend.

So these are my system specs for the i7 Computer:
-Core i7 920 - @2.66
12 GB of Gskill pc 1600 DDR3 RAM
Windows 7 RC
Nvidia 9800GX2
Seagate and WD HDD's (regular SATA drives, 32mb cache, 7200rpm)

The rest is probably not important. I've thought that it might be a problem with the way my hard drive is loading the actual files. I know that i have 3 separate copies of WoW (copy pasted from the original one) on one drive, so it might cause some read/write issues, and the drive might just be buckling from all the stress!

I don't know much about symlinking and such. I've briefly glanced over a couple threads regarding it, but i guess i should delve into it a bit deeper.

Does anyone have experience, or insight as to why this might be happening to me? I thought that building this system would alleviate all my troubles when it came to boxing, but obviously it hasn't. An advance thank you to anyone who can help me with this situation!

[cybernerv]

sounds like a memory problem

did you set or have to set up the memory in the bios? what motherboard do you have?

could also be a video driver issue

[Teejayv]

i've got the triple channel memory set up proper in my bios. all 6 slots in my MSI X58-PRO mobo are used up.
i've also got the latest NVIDIA drivers set up (64 bit of course). I've monitored the memory usage in task manager. When running all clients, along with Windows 7 and all the other processes, the system is using about 6 gigs of the 12 that i have installed in the system. It have over 6 gigs left of free memory space. I don't know why it would be crashing due to memory though :(

As i stated earlier, i thought it might be a problem with the HDD and the way that the programs were installed. Do you think that this could be the problem?

Thanks for the quick reply

[rahven32]

i've got the triple channel memory set up proper in my bios. all 6 slots in my MSI X58-PRO mobo are used up.
i've also got the latest NVIDIA drivers set up (64 bit of course). I've monitored the memory usage in task manager. When running all clients, along with Windows 7 and all the other processes, the system is using about 6 gigs of the 12 that i have installed in the system. It have over 6 gigs left of free memory space. I don't know why it would be crashing due to memory though :(

As i stated earlier, i thought it might be a problem with the HDD and the way that the programs were installed. Do you think that this could be the problem?

Thanks for the quick reply
Did you test the memory? Like memtest or anything? Also have you tried to symlink instead of 3 seperate folders?

[Teejayv]

i haven't run memtest on the RAM yet. Good idea though!
Also, i don't really have a clue on how to symlink the folder(s) yet. I'm gonna have to do a search on the procedure later when i get home from work. I'd love to try that though, it seems that i really takes a load off of the read/write processess on the HDD's.

Thanks again!

[Fizzler]

Although Symlinking is cool I would hope that does not solve your problem. You have a beast of a machine I do not symlink anymore and do not have any issues 5 boxing with my meager machine.

If it pans out that it is not a memory issue I would look at drivers more closely or maybe even heat. Drop all your video to minimum and see what happens

[Teejayv]

i will try these suggestions when i get home tonight. I never really thought about heat. I am just running the stock HSF on the i7 920. i guess it could get pretty hot in there.
Thanks again!

(btw: i tried to search for links on symlinking on this website, but everytime i try to click a link it always takes me back to the general forum page. Not sure if this is an issue with a borked iexplorer at work, or if it's a site thing)

[Fizzler]

When it comes to symlink I can not recommend Link Shell Extension enough. I read about it on a forum post on this site somewhere. It works great with Win7 and really just simplifies the process.

You can download and read up on it here. http://schinagl.priv.at/nt/hardlinkshellext/hardlinkshellext.html

Google Link Shell Extension if that link scares you.

[Teejayv]

Fizzler, thank you for that link. It's quite a read; I will be tackling that first thing in the morning. I'm new to this whole symbolic linking thing and dont' really know much about LSE's. Let's see what i can figure out though :)

[rahven32]

If you get that it's really as simple as cut and paste no lie.

[Fizzler]

Fizzler, thank you for that link. It's quite a read; I will be tackling that first thing in the morning. I'm new to this whole symbolic linking thing and dont' really know much about LSE's. Let's see what i can figure out though :)

It is quite a read. What you want is thesymbolic link section and not the hardlink or junction.


It is a basic right click Pick Link Source and right click Drop as symbolic link.

[jak3676]

While I'd also recommend symlinking for performance reasons - not symlinking shouldn't have anything to do your BSOD issue. It's possible you corrupted something and then copied and pasted that corruption, but I'd still guess it's a memory thing.

Either you have a stick of RAM with an error, or possibly just something that needs to be taken out, blow the dust off and re-set it. I'd also recommend "memtest86" as someone said upscreen. Probably the simplist, cheapest option to make sure you don't have any issues there.

You can also run a "scandsk" on your harddrive to make sure you don't have any bad sectors. Defragging can't hurt either.

If your memory & hard drive test fine after several hours or testing, then I'd start with a fresh install of WoW. If that doesn't do it then I'd reload the OS - assuming the intermittant problem is worse than the solution. If you'd rather just deal with it for a while, that's fine too. I always hate recommending a reload when it may be just a minor nuciance problem, but that's often the only way to take care of some undiagnosed problems.

[rahven32]

When in doubt reformat almost always fixes the problem. As long as it's a software issue. It really sounds like a hardware issue to me though. Either in the bios, heat, or just a piece bad somewhere.

[Phanes]

First off let me apologize I did not read the whole thread so if this is a repeat...

Most I7 problems come from not using RAM that is listed as compatiable with the I7 itself. If you goto the intel website they will list the exact RAM down to the serial number of what you need to use.

Trust me when I say don't use an online matching tool.

Don't beleive what some mobo or firmware says.

Goto the intel site look up the specs on your processor and make sure your ram is on the intel approved list in the configuration they say it needs to be in. Even if it is serial number 21343-A and you have 21343-B this could cause problems. The I7 has no northbridge so it handles RAM without a controller. So if the RAM is not tested as compatiable by intel themselves there is no gurantee it will work.

Trust me when I say I have built about 200 I7s now for vairous clients and the number one issue is them wanting to put in some ram, even good stuff like Corsair etc, that is not on the intel list.

If your RAM is not on the actual intel list gotten from www.intel.com (http://www.intel.com) then get some that is it will probably solve your issues.

[Teejayv]

thank you for all the replies. Since the time that i've posted this, i've tried a couple things like disabling all addons, reducing all details to minimum, running a single WoW client (in this case, just the actual folder that i noticed did all the freezing), running Scandisk and just general computer usage. All of these yielded the same result: Crashing, freezing and sometimes even a weird sort of system hang where the screen goes all green and splotchy and locks up.

I have not tried Memtest yet, but will do so when i get home. I haven't tried a reformat and a reinstallation of either both Windows 7 or WoW. I will take that route if it goes to the extreme though. I also believe that it might be a corrupt file that might've been copied over to the folder, but i haven't seen any results to come to that conclusion as of yet.

I will check the intel site to see whether the Gskill ram that i purchased is indeed compatible with the motherboard. I would hope it is, because i don't think the return policy on open hardware is very forgiving on the store that i bought it at :)

I also figure that it might be the physical harddrive that i installed it to. I notice that compared to my e8400 system, it seems that there is a lot more disk searching and thrashing than compared to what it used to be like before. It often feels like it stutters even in unpopulated areas; not just Dalaran.

I guess i could always just move everything over to a new drive (as there are three physical drives in the system). Will let you guys know what happens with that as well.

[Teejayv]

so i checked out the MSI website (manufacturer for my mobo) and it seems the ram that i bought: specifically ddr pc12800 sticks are NOT compatible with my board. The same brand has a version (pc10666) that is compatible though.. so i think that is a huge cause for what is happening.

Although i do have the original receipts, i threw away the packaging for the RAM. i hope my computer will allow me to do an exchange, or at least charge me a minimal fee for returning it and then getting the proper new ram.

[moosejaw]

I wanted to add to Phanes post about ram. While I am not a system builder, I did use approved ram and had some anomalies. Using the "XMP memory profile" setting in the bios cured my issues and made a marked improvement in gaming performance.

I have corsair 1600 ram running at 1440 on a 180 base clock. Prime 95 (stress test) had problems at stock speeds and mild OC. Prime 95 is very happy now.

I am so pleased with this setup I am assembling another identical MB/cpu/ram (with less ram) to replace my media pc which went tats up last week.

[Hurricane]

Hi guys!

This is really interessting, i have had some problems with my new computer and wow aswell. It kind of feels like my new computer is slower and not as good as my old dual core computer.

my current spec is:

Intel® Desktop Board DX58SO
CORSAIR XMS3 4096M DDR3 Kit 1333MHz, 2x240 DIMM, DHX (TW3X4G1333C9DHX)
WESTERN DIGITAL CAVIAR GP 500GB SATA2 7200RPM 16MB (WD5000AACS)
INTEL CORE I7-920 2.66G 8M LGA1366 BOX (BX80601920)
MSI GF GTX 260 PCIE 896M GDDR3 2X DVI OC (N260GTX-T2D896-OC)

At the moment my i can only use 2Gb of memery, when i put in the other memeory my pc wont boot. Tried last night again after running with 2GB for the last 2-3 months.

On intel site it says:
What is the maximum frequency for DDR3 memory when used with Intel® Core™ i7-900 processor series?

These processors support DDR3 memory with a maximum frequency of 1066 MHz. If faster DDR3 memory is used (such as 1333 MHz or 1600 MHz), it will be down-clocked to operate at 1066 MHz.

I can not find any place on intel.com if my RAM is supported or not?

My motherboard support something like 3 chanel something something, so I think i want to try 3 x 2 GB of RAM and install win 7 64, what do you think?

[jak3676]

The support for RAM faster than 1066 is "unofficial", but it will run at whatever speed the motherboard tells it to run at. Just that Intel doesn't officially support more than that.

Are you still using a 32-bit OS? Have you tried swapping the two sticks around and using different memory slots? I'd say 90% of the "bad RAM" cases I've seen were solved by unsocketing and reseating the RAM stick a few times. But there are some bad ones that make it onto the market as well.

[Phanes]

I know the first I7 box I built I was using 1333 or something like that. The box froze up and crashed all the time. I went to the website and read up about RAM. I discovered that I7 is not officially supported past 1066. From that point on I only built I7 systems with 1066 RAM that was compatible with the MoBos I used and I have not had a problem since then.

Since the northbridge is out the I7 has no physical controller between it and the RAM so any mismatched RAM will cause problems.

Also Memtest and all that stuff would show the RAM being just fine. As soon as I dropped to 1066 stuff the problems would go away.

I am trying to find the link I used before that was on the intel site. It shows you the RAM that has been tested with the I7 right down to the serial number. Soon as I find the link I will post it.

[Phanes]

Link does not work.

[Targ]

These sweeping statements about I7 RAM speeds are not exactly true.
I7-920 (OP's model) doesn't offically support Memory speeds above 1066 and doesn't have internal mulitpilers to get to any faster speeds. You can overclock the processor and get higher effective speeds.

I7-965 does support much faster RAM speeds, it can go faster then any RAM on the market today.

For some interesting Reading on I7 RAM speeds and its effect on the system check out http://techreport.com/articles.x/15967

[Grondir]

Hi guys!

This is really interessting, i have had some problems with my new computer and wow aswell. It kind of feels like my new computer is slower and not as good as my old dual core computer.

my current spec is:

Intel® Desktop Board DX58SO
CORSAIR XMS3 4096M DDR3 Kit 1333MHz, 2x240 DIMM, DHX (TW3X4G1333C9DHX)
WESTERN DIGITAL CAVIAR GP 500GB SATA2 7200RPM 16MB (WD5000AACS)
INTEL CORE I7-920 2.66G 8M LGA1366 BOX (BX80601920)
MSI GF GTX 260 PCIE 896M GDDR3 2X DVI OC (N260GTX-T2D896-OC)

At the moment my i can only use 2Gb of memery, when i put in the other memeory my pc wont boot. Tried last night again after running with 2GB for the last 2-3 months.

On intel site it says:
What is the maximum frequency for DDR3 memory when used with Intel® Core™ i7-900 processor series?

These processors support DDR3 memory with a maximum frequency of 1066 MHz. If faster DDR3 memory is used (such as 1333 MHz or 1600 MHz), it will be down-clocked to operate at 1066 MHz.

I can not find any place on intel.com if my RAM is supported or not?

My motherboard support something like 3 chanel something something, so I think i want to try 3 x 2 GB of RAM and install win 7 64, what do you think?

By the looks of your post, you're only using a dual channel DDR 3 kit, when the i7 uses triple channel kits. Have you only got 2 RAM moddules?

[Redbeard]

Ive had my computer for less than a week now and have already run into a similar problem.

I have an i7 920 as well. I was playing WoW with no issues. Then I ported my main character to Dalaran, and now it freezes if I try to log in to ANY characters, so I am not really sure what the hell that is about.

Currently trying to reinstall WoW, I really hope I dont have a hardware problem...

[Phanes]

Dal is a bitch on multi boxers. All I can say about the I7 is I have built a ton of them for various clients and time and time again when it was random crashes/freezes it was caused by the RAM.

I am not saying you cannot get off list RAM to work. I am just saying you cannot get consistant results with off list RAM. I got no reason to lie about it and can make sweeping statments about RAM and I7s because this is what I do to pay my 4 mortgages and feed my two children.

If you are running an I7 and it randomly freezes then make sure the RAM is

1. compatible with the mobo
2. compatible with the CPU
3. running in triple channel mode

You can run memtest all day long and it will tell you your RAM is fine and it probably is. It is just not fine with the I7. The only way to truly test it is toss the ram in and run Prime95 on it.

The I7 has no off CPU RAM controller that can speed up or slow down RAM or mess around with voltages. It is done all right on the CPU and it has very tight specs. I don't know what else to say to convice people of this.

Also if you are going to Multibox and goto Dal I would say at least 12 gigs. Will it run on less sure it will but it will run like crap. RAM is cheap enough right now that if your mobo can handle it then there is no reason to not have as many gigs as the I7/operating system can handle.

TBH get some good on list like 1033 RAM and your I7 will scream right along. DDR3 is already so fast and if you are only playing WOW you will not notice a difference using faster RAM.

I hope you guys get the problems worked out cause I7s are smoking fast when configured correctly.