Game causes PC to restart - lets find out why

[Wolfguard]

So i built a bigger better computer with which to play this game with, but for some reason it causes my PC to reboot at random points. sometimes its when i load the game, sometimes its after ive been playing for an hour. this happened with the last Alpha build as well as the current official release.

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS THE ONLY GAME I HAVE THIS ISSUE WITH.

- ive tried verifying files through steam (including uninstall reinstall)
- Ive tried running in exclusive fullscreen

- ive tried running as administrator

- ive tried running on vulkan instead of directx

- ive tried running at absolutely lowest video settings (everything low or off if possible)

- ive verified all drivers are up to date (graphics and windows)

- ive used monitoring programs to verify my PC is not overheating

- screen just goes blank and the PC begins rebooting itself, no crash screen

Here are the specs of my PC, im hoping that with community/dev help i can determine the issue and get back to enjoying this game.

OS - Windows 10 Home
Processor - AMD Ryzen 9 5900X 12-Core Processor 3.70 GHz

RAM - 64.0 GB

Graphics - NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti

 

[Jugginator]

Event viewer would give more of a clue, but that sounds like an unstable ram configuration (xmp, etc). Could be a PSU but unlikely. This game hammers the cpu and ram a ton more than others, which mostly care about the gpu, thus usually finding a breaking point easier than others.

 

[Fox]

Test your ram with Memtest86 and what are your PSU details?

 

[SylenThunder]

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS THE ONLY GAME I HAVE THIS ISSUE WITH.

This is probably the only game you have that significantly uses more of your hardware than just the GPU.

System crash is a system issue. Troubleshoot your BSOD error message. If you aren't getting a BSOD, then it is likely either critical CPU temp, or a bad PSU.

 

[Fox]

If you aren't getting a BSOD, then it is likely either critical CPU temp, or a bad PSU.

Ram failures don't always give a BSOD, they just give random results suddenly. They can work fine one day, then restart the computer the next day, then game crash to desktop another day, then BSOD... You never know what will happen when it comes to ram issues. Great thing about ram though is that you can sometimes just clean the contacts and all is good again, and it's also easy to replace, often for free too since all good brand names for ram come with lifetime warranty. And I don't think CPU temps can cause crashing anymore due to thermal throttling features, unless maybe if you didn't have a heatsink at all, but even then, it theoretically shouldn't crash, though could definitely burn out if you surprise it with a heavy load before it has a chance to throttle down.

 

[Jugginator]

Test your ram with Memtest86 and what are your PSU details?

I honestly don't trust memtest86 anymore. It didn't find an instability in a ram config I had once, so after I figured it out I tested it with a config that was 100% unstable and it reported a clean bill of health 3 times in a row

Ram failures don't always give a BSOD, they just give random results suddenly. .

100% agree here. It's weird but definitely true, I had that same thing going on when I was dialing a ram config that was just slightly unstable, can't remember which timing it was but it was tiny heh. I did get a bsod twice but usually it was a sudden reboot.

 

[Fox]

I honestly don't trust memtest86 anymore. It didn't find an instability in a ram config I had once, so after I figured it out I tested it with a config that was 100% unstable and it reported a clean bill of health 3 times in a row

I agree that it doesn't always catch the errors / instabilities, but what other options do we have for testing ram?

 

[Wolfguard]

Thanks everyone! I'll see about checking my ram, if that doesnt resolve things ill come back here with an update, if it does then hey no news is good news.

 

[Riamus]

And I don't think CPU temps can cause crashing anymore due to thermal throttling features, unless maybe if you didn't have a heatsink at all, but even then, it theoretically shouldn't crash, though could definitely burn out if you surprise it with a heavy load before it has a chance to throttle down.

It may not necessarily be CPU temps, but temps in general can cause a "crash" still.  But as long as things work correctly, it should just turn your computer off and not give a BSOD or restart your computer.  But this depends on combination of hardware, drivers/software, and OS and how they are set to handle overheating.  I've occasionally had overheating cause my computer to turn off on really hot days when playing certain games (including this one) if I forget to turn on a desk fan pointing at the back of the desktop computer.

 

[Wolfguard]

alright, i was able to run memtest86 v11 - no errors or issues detected

also ran the windows built in one, no issues found

also on another persons recommendation i took out and reseated my RAM 

game is still causing the PC to restart, any other thoughts or ideas?

 

[Fox]

alright, i was able to run memtest86 v11 - no errors or issues detected

also ran the windows built in one, no issues found

also on another persons recommendation i took out and reseated my RAM 

game is still causing the PC to restart, any other thoughts or ideas?

Still waiting on Power Supply Unit details. Max wattage, name brand / model, that sort of thing. A bad (or crappy) PSU can cause all kinds of problems, one of which is of course restarting the computer with no BSOD. This game likely requires more power than most games because it isn't just GPU heavy only or CPU heavy only... it's both that and more (aka ram and constant storage use as well).

Another possibility would be overclock instabilities. Not all ram can run at advertised speeds due to lack of support from either motherboard or CPU, but given your CPU gen, it would likely be motherboard in this case. Also, CPU overclocks don't always remain stable for long periods of time, especially if you push them to the limit. There's also GPU overclocks for the same reason.

 

[bdubyah]

I had to replace my PSU a few months ago because 7 Days would shut my PC down anytime I played it for longer than a few minutes. Still running all the same parts other than the PSU and it's been totally fine since I replaced it.

 

[Wolfguard]

Still waiting on Power Supply Unit details. Max wattage, name brand / model, that sort of thing.

PSU

Super Flower Leadex III Gold

HG Series 80+

850W
Model # SF-850F14HG

is this good? or are there any other PSU details that could be useful? 

 

[SylenThunder]

PSU

Super Flower Leadex III Gold

HG Series 80+

850W
Model # SF-850F14HG

is this good? or are there any other PSU details that could be useful? 

Yeah, that PSU is likely your problem. EVGA Chinesium with low-lifetime parts used for the caps, which is one of the most critical components in the device.

It's even marketed as a "high-end" device but has the most minimal specifications. They don't even have a decent warranty program.

For a bit less money, this MSI unit does the same thing and comes with a 10-year warranty. Unlike the Super Flower, it isn't nearly silent because it runs in a passive mode that allows it to kill itself. It's still pretty quiet though. But I suppose you can live with having a quiet fan and a stable system instead of something silently dying inside and causing you trouble.

 

[Jugginator]

I also stand behind Corsair, mine still is running strong as brand new after what... 5 or 6 years now.

You can use a program like HWINFO to monitor all of the PSU details/voltage levels and whatnot, you'll want to look at your voltage levels under the Motherboard section. This may not be much of a tell, normally that would be tested using multimeters/psu testers, you could always see if there's a shop nearby that would test it for a reasonable price.

 

[Fox]

Youtube tech channels like Linus Tech Tips (and myself as I own some too now) all highly recommend Seasonic PSUs as they're the most consistently reliable (and they're usually even better than they advertise). They not only make their own PSUs from scratch, but they also often make the boards for other manufacturers like Corsair, EVGA, etc. Why not just buy from the source rather than taking the risk of buying something that may or may not be good depending on model number? Sure, they cost more, but you at least know what you're getting. If you don't mind doing the research and checking out reviews, then by all means, go with other brand names as there are plenty of cheaper and equally as good options out there... just be careful, that's all. Just remember that the PSU is your front-line defence against power fluctuations / internal damage.

850+ watts is good for your build though.

 

[Beelzybub]

So i built a bigger better computer with which to play this game

Double check your psu cabling as well. Especially the one going to the CPU and the ones going to the GPU.

Another way to check if it's power is to limit your fps using the Nvidia control panel. Turn off vsync and try a limit

of 50 fps (for science) and see if you still reboot.

 

[Vampirenostra]

if it is RAM you'll get bsod and a record in win panel. If it is PSU it shall simply reboot the machine randomly under any considerable load. you can run some benchmarks to push the system to the limit and check if it is hardware issue. The furry donut for gpu test, and something like Cinebench for cpu should do the tick