Hello, I’ll try to be as descriptive as possible. First let’s start with my system specs…
- i7-9700K CPU (Stock, no OC)
- NZXT Kraken X52 Rev 2 CPU Cooler (Water Cooler)
- ASUS ROG STRIX Z390-I Gaming Mini-ITX Motherboard
- Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB DDR4-3000 Memory
- ASUS RTX 2070 8GB TURBO GPU (Stock, no OC)
- Corsair SF600W 80+ Platinum Certified SFX PSU
- Samsung 970 Evo 500GB M.2. (Windows/System Apps)
- Samsung 860 Evo 500GB SSD (Software/Games)
- Seagate Barracude 2TB HDD (Backup, Storage)
- Acer GN246HL Monitor (Connected using HDMI cable)
- Windows 10 (Latest and up to date)
Link to my system here: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/b/zJHhP6
I built this system myself specifically to play BF5 which makes it even more frustrating that I’m having problems doing so.
The Problem
When I play BF5 I can go for either 15 minutes or as much as a couple of hours before the system crashes. This can happen in any game mode and on any map. Specifically what happens…
- The frame will freeze.
- Whatever sound was playing continues to play on repeat - For example, if I was firing a gun it would go “bang bang bang bannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn……”
- Freezing/Looping sound continues for about 10 seconds before the computer automatically reboots itself
- Can happen on any map at any time with either lots of action (explosions etc) or absolutely nothing going on.
I never get a BSOD or Memdump/Crashdump of any type which can offer any clues. When the system reboots and I get back into Windows everything is fine and I can continue as if nothing happened.
This happens ONLY in BF5. All other games run great and never crash (PUBG, Wreckfest, Rainbow Six Seige, Solitaire lol). That being said I think you could make a strong argument that BF5 is more demanding than any other game right now especially with the RTX rendering so I think it’s a false equivalence to compare BF5 with any other titles as BF5 will likely put the system under more stress (at high/ultra settings) than any other game at the moment and I can’t even begin to imagine the sorts of calculations going on to be able to effectively real-time raytrace.
Important to note. When the game is running it runs butter-smooth, solid 60fps at everything but ULTRA settings and shows no signs of “struggling”. Feels like I have enough horsepower to comfortably run the game. There is no slowdown or stutter before the crash it can literally go from 60fps to crashing at the drop of a hat.
The System Environment
I’m reasonably mindful of the potential causes for such a problem so here is a step by step guide of the shape of my system in which BF5 is being run currently. This setup is to try and rule out as many potential problems as possible by running the system in a way which should be as stable as possible…
- BIOS set to “Optimised defaults”
- BIOS is latest version (1201)
- Fresh Install of Windows 10 onto M.2. Drive (C: Drive)
- Allow Windows to download latest updates
- Install prescribed motherboard drivers from ASUS from here;
https://www.asus.com/uk/Motherboards/ROG-STRIX-Z390-I-GAMING/HelpDesk_Download/
(Audio, LAN, WiFi, Chipset, SATA etc)
- Install latest GeForce Driver + GeForce Experience (417.71 WHQL)
- Download HWMonitor to keep eye on Temps
- Download Origin onto SSD (D: Drive, not my M.2. Drive)
- Download BF5 onto SSD (D: Drive, not my M.2. Drive)
Key points…
- Literally nothing else but Windows, HWMonitor, Origin and BF5 installed
- HWMonitor displays temperatures as being well within tolerances for all hardware. GPU never exceeds 60 degrees Celsius, CPU never exceeds 50 degrees Celsius. Thermals are fine.
- Made a point not to download software which could interfere with hardware (ASUS AI Suite, NZXT CAM, GPU Tweak II etc) I just want a “vanilla” setup with no complications.
- I have tried playing BF5 with DX11, DX12, Ultra Settings, Lowest Settings, RTX ON/OFF, Every combination you can imagine to try and overcome this problem.
No matter what I try BF5 will crash given enough time – sometimes after 15 minutes, sometimes after a couple of hours – always the same thing which requires a system reboot.
Things I’ve Tried
Here is a list of things I’ve tried already...
- Reinstalled Windows 10
- Ran FurMark for 6+ Hours (No Problems)
- Ran MemTest86 for 8+Hours (No Problems)
- Ran 3D Mark “Port Royal” Stress Test for 4+ Hours (No Problems)
- Ran Intel XTU CPU Stress Test for 3 Hours (No Problems)
- Tried Older GeForce Drivers (after uninstalling old ones with DDU)
- Tried using “Driver Easy” to ensure my system is running most upto date drivers
- Tried installing all of the “hardware interfering” software like AI Suite, GPU Tweak, NZXT CAM (thought process was “maybe you actually need this stuff for the hardware to function properly – result = BF5 crashes faster)
- Run Cinebench (No Problems)
- Run RealBench (No Problems)
- Run Unigine Superposition Benchmark (No Problems)
- Forced myself to play PUBG for literally 9 hours straight to prove stability in other games (Ultra setting – No problems)
- Made sure my Power Profile in Windows/nVidia Control Panel was set to “Maximum Power”
- Set RAM to XMP Profile so they run at full 3000Mhz
- Tried using my Motherboards Overclocking features to OC my CPU to 5Ghz in some weird tortured logic that perhaps overclocking my CPU might make the system more stable because I’m desperate.
- Bought a Power Meter to monitor how much wattage the computer draws from the wall thinking the PSU may not be quite supplying enough power. Power Meter has never exceeded 400w
- Reseated RAM and GPU and quadruple checked everything is 100% plugged tightly in. It is.
- **RMA’D MY GPU AND GOT A REPLACEMENT THINKING SURELY IT MUST BE A BAD GPU BUT THE REPLACEMENT ALSO DOES THE SAME BLOODY THING!!**
- Prayed to all the various Gods
- Stopped trying and just went to the Pub
Conclusion
I’m utterly stumped at this point, I have no idea what else to try. I thought for sure it must be a bad GPU but the replacement exhibits exactly the same issue. Perhaps a new VBIOS could help?
It’s weird that more stressful synthetic tests like 3D Mark and XTU run fine as well as other demanding games (albeit non as demanding as BF5). My gut feeling is that something is going wrong at a software level or perhaps the PSU isn’t delivering power reliably but then again this is a premium platinum rated PSU.
Could somebody please help me. I’ve been a Battlefield fan all the way back to BF1942 and I’ve been looking forward to this game for months and when it works I have an absolute blast (even though I suck at it). I spent the last 8 months saving up to buy this computer to enjoy BF5 but I’m left feeling stressed, anxious and disappointed.
