Gaming With My Custom Core i5 system!

About a year ago, I rebuilt an old system because I thought the mainboard was dead (only it wasn't).  I ended up buying an MSI MS-7850 mainboard that supported Intel CPUs.  I was coming from an AMD 6-core CPU, but wanted to try Intel's Core i5.  I settled on the Core i5-4690K (which runs at 3.50 GHz and is a 4-core CPU.  This thing is faster than my M17x R3...it should be since it's running later internals.  The system's specs are:

CPU:  Core i5-4690K @ 3.50 GHz (4-core)

Dedicated Video Card:  AMD Radeon HD 5670

Integrated Video Card:  Intel HD 4600

RAM:  8GB

Motherboard:  MSI MS-7850

Hard drive:  C drive - 233 GB; D drive - 500 GB

The video card is a spare that I had in my parts bin...it'll do some gaming but struggles with BF4 in medium settings.  The integrated video card is rather beefy compared to the ones in my other systems (especially my R3).

Anyways, my wife's car went into the shop and needed new front rotors and rear pads...the repair fee was $600 and some change, so I'll have to wait awhile to get my laptop fixed.  I can still use it but can't game with it unless I'm playing a game that is graphics-intensive (like BF4 and others).  I can play War Thunder on the integrated card but I have to dial down the configuration to its very lowest settings.  That takes away the immersion factor quite a bit and the frame rates are very low.

I decided to try War Thunder on my i5 system.  I'm using a Vizio E231-B1 23" monitor with it, connected with an HDMI cable (the video card accepts HDMI connections, which is great).  I can play with the high settings configured and still get 40fps.  It's quick, too.  No, it doesn't have a solid state drive, although I can remove the one that's in my R3 if I'm desperate (it's a Samsung 750GB 840 EVO), but I'm happy with a plated hard drive.  I've another 500GB drive that I use to replace the 233GB drive (that one replaced a bad 1-TB hard disk as a temporary solution).

About that 1-TB drive.  That's what was causing BSODs and shutdowns.  I had the machine open and my kids sat beside it while playing around...someone stepped on the SATA cable while it was plugged into the drive and it cracked the port.  I continued to use it but it must've been short-circuiting.  I misdiagnosed the issue in thinking it was a motherboard issue, only the same thing started happening with the new parts.  That's when I swapped out the hard disk for a small one, to test if it was the issue.  That was the problem.  I told my kids they owe me a big 5.25" drive.  So now I've a spare motherboard and AMD CPU that I can use to build another box (once I get the funds to get more parts -- case, RAM, CD drive, and PSU).

One thing I love about desktop systems is that I can easily replace parts, even major parts such as the mainboard (I can do that with my laptop as well, but it's a bit more complicated in removing such a part).  The reason I got a laptop machine was because I got tired of not having a gaming system when traveling.  I still swear by Alienware laptops, though...most geeks understand why after they've opened one up.  All the major parts are easily accessible and removable.

Alienware M17x R3 - Dedicated Video Card Dead!

So, I've been experiencing blue screens since April, at maybe twice a month in frequency, up until August.  From August until now, I was getting BSODs 3-5 times a month.  I couldn't figure out why because the error messages were obscure.  I've been trying different video card driver version as well, with no good results.

I finally downloaded WinDbg, a debugging tool, and used it to read the minidump files that the system compiles after a BSOD, and saw this:

Problem signature:

  Problem Event Name:        BlueScreen

  OS Version:        6.1.7601.2.1.0.768.3

  Locale ID:        1033

Additional information about the problem:

  BCCode:        116

  BCP1:        FFFFFA800CCFE4E0

  BCP2:        FFFFF88002C1501C

  BCP3:        FFFFFFFFC000009A

  BCP4:        0000000000000004

  OS Version:        6_1_7601

  Service Pack:        1_0

  Product:        768_1

Files that help describe the problem:

  C:\Windows\Minidump\091815-12682-01.dmp

  C:\Users\ron\AppData\Local\Temp\WER-30763-0.sysdata.xml

This error could be generated by a multitude of issues, such as motherboard problems, software problems, operating system problems, or hardware issues.

I opened up my system and cleaned it of dust (there wasn't all that much, considering I've not opened it to clean it -- ever).  I also removed the heat sinks from the CPU and graphics card, cleaned off old thermal paste (Dell just dumped a ton of it on each part without care).  I then re-applied new thermal paste and also added 4GB of RAM since I had it open.

I tried gaming again, after removing all the Nvidia drivers and reinstalling them, but was still getting BSODs.  What's funny is that the drivers disappear and I have to reapply them every time I get a BSOD, but still have to use a driver uninstaller to do it.

In looking at my logs for the month of October, I've experienced 8 BSODs so far and it's only halfway through the month.  Also, the logs say "Video hardware error", specifically:

A problem with your video hardware caused Windows to stop working correctly.

So, I guess my Nvidia GeForce 580M finally died.  Apparently, people have been having problems with them since 2012.  I guess I got lucky...I'm only now experiencing issues, 3 years after people began to notice they fail.  I shouldn't complain, I guess.

Now I need to determine which would be a good replacement card.  I've seen people using 680Ms in their M17x R3s without issue.  Some people have even used 780Ms and 880Ms, but those are pricey...I'm not ready to spend $800 on a video card.  I can either get another 580M and hope it gives me another 3 years or I can get a 680M (can find them new for $320-$360 on eBay, with warranties).  I can't find them as cheaply on Amazon.

For now, I've configured War Thunder (that's the game I'm currently playing) so that I can use the integrated graphics card (an Intel HD 3000).  It works but my frame rate dove down to 30-40fps.  :(  I suppose I can either try to do War Thunder on my iMac or use the desktop system I was using before I bought the Alienware.  I also have a Dell Latitude E5530 that has an Intel HD 4000 that might get better frame rates.  I do have options.

I'll update this blog entry as I decide what to do next.