i7-13700 Crashes

[Riikku]

Hi Intel Support,

I've bought my i7 13700k at the beginning of the year as part of a new setup and it had been running perfectly well up until the last week or two. 

I do not experience any issues in general performance, when just browsing the internet / watching videos etc. However many of my games have started to crash shortly after launching. 

I first experienced this with a couple of Paradox games (Heart of Iron IV and Victoria 3), so assumed the issue was to do with recent patches / expansions from that publisher. However I have also had the same issue with other games (Battlefield V & Path of Exile). 

I haven't made any changes to my setup since I bought the processer at the beginning of the year so I am unsure what could have triggered this change in performance. 

Typically the games are crashing within 5-10minutes of launch and once the load has increased. A month ago, these CPU loads wouldn't have caused a problem.

For the some of the games I have been able to circumvent the crashed by changing the Processor affinity in the task manager to just the first 8 cores. However this hasn't work for all games, and unfortunately this is where I have run out of knowledge in the area.  

Any help would be appreciated, below are my PC specs:

Intel Core i7 13700k

Gigabyte NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti

Gigabyte Z790 AORUS Ax DDR4

Corsair Vengeance DDR4 3600MHz  4x 16GB 

Please let me what additional info you need to help!

[Jocelyn_Intel]

Hello, @Riikku  

Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities.  

I understand that you are having issues with games, I will do my best to assist you. 

1. Are you getting any error messages when the game crashes? 
2. Does this only happen in games and no other apps like Microsoft Word, for example? 
3. Please attach an Intel SSU report to have more information about your system: 

Intel® System Support Utility for Windows. 

Note: Make sure to mark the box that says "everything" before pressing the Scan button. After that, click on "Next>" and select "Save" and then, attach the .txt file. 

Best regards,  

Jocelyn M.   

Intel Customer Support Technician. 

[Riikku]

Hi @Jocelyn_Intel 

Thanks for getting back to me. Responses to your questions below:

1. Are you getting any error messages when the game crashes? 
   1. I don't get any actual message, the games just close to desktop. For the Paradox games I mentioned I get a 'Crash Reporter' but for other games I get no messages. 
2. Does this only happen in games and no other apps like Microsoft Word, for example? 
   1. I only use my PC for games and stream / web browsing, so I haven't experienced crashes with anything else. 
3. Please attach an Intel SSU report to have more information about your system: 
   1. Attached is the SSU report. 

Thanks. 

[Jocelyn_Intel]

Hello, @Riikku  

Thank you for your reply and the report provided. 

Try the following steps to have your system up to date and isolate the issue: 

• Update your BIOS to the latest version F10c. 
• Update your NVIDIA graphics driver to the latest (563.33, release date: 12/12/2023). 
• Update your Intel graphics driver to the latest (31.0.101.5074). 
• Follow the recommendations of the following article, which can help you: Random System Crashes on an Intel® Boxed Processor. 
• Lower your memory speed to 3200 MHz, which is the maximum memory speed supported by the processor as per its specifications. 

I noticed that your current memory speed is 3600 MHz DDR4, however, the maximum supported by the processor is 3200 MHz.  

It is worth mentioning the memory controller is internal to the processor. When an XMP profile is used, the frequencies and possibly the voltages within the CPU are changed. Altering clock frequency or voltage may damage or reduce the useful life of the processor and other system components and may reduce system stability and performance. If the processor is used outside of its specifications, the manufacturer's warranty may be voided. What is XMP? 

If the issue persists after all these steps, please attach a new Intel SSU, which should show all the updates recommended, so we can investigate further. 

Best regards,  

Jocelyn M.   

Intel Customer Support Technician. 

[Riikku]

Hi @Jocelyn_Intel 

I have updated my BIOS, Nvidia graphics driver and Intel graphics driver as requested. 

I have also done the following from the troubleshooting page:

• Set BIOS to default (did this when removing XMP and resetting memory speed)
• Check Windows for updates
• Checked my heatsink and the thermal paste on my CPU
• Started my pc withy a minimal config (1 stick of ram, no graphics card)
• Checked different RAM sticks in different slots

Unfortunately I am still having crashes. Attached is an updated SSU.  

Thanks. 

[Jocelyn_Intel]

Hello, @Riikku  

Thank you for the report. 

In that case, test the processor's health with these utilities, please check on the notes:

Intel® Processor Diagnostic Tool 

Note: Please attach the complete Screenshot or click on "File", select the "View Results File" option, save, and attach the report. 

Intel® Extreme Tuning Utility (Intel® XTU) 

Note: Click on the "Stress Test" tab and "Start Testing" and then, attach a complete screenshot. Please perform all the tests possible. 

I look forward to the test results.

Best regards,  

Jocelyn M.   

Intel Customer Support Technician. 

[Riikku]

Hi @Jocelyn_Intel 

Attached is the diagnostic results and screenshots from XTU. 

Thanks. 

[Jocelyn_Intel]

Hello, @Riikku  

Thank you for the test results. 

Let me do some research on this. As soon as I have any updates or recommendations, I will get back to you. 

Best regards,  

Jocelyn M.   

Intel Customer Support Technician. 

[Jocelyn_Intel]

Hello, @Riikku  

Thank you for your time. 

I've diagnosed the processor and the tests passed, as it happens in several games, there are high probabilities this is related to the graphics. 

I can see that you have both, integrated (Intel) and dedicated (NVIDIA) graphics enabled. Did you make sure switchable graphics are supported in your system? Check: Frequently Asked Questions for Switchable Graphics Feature 

If that's the case, perform a Clean installation of your graphics drivers, using the latest graphics driver from your System Manufacturer. If it doesn't work, please try this step using the latest Intel graphics driver. Please follow the order described and check the notes: 

Note #1: Make sure to check you have all the Windows updates before doing the driver installation. Also, make sure to do this step disconnected from the internet (wi-fi or wired connection) since Microsoft updates drivers automatically and prevents doing the clean installation successfully. 

Note #2: Since this is a laptop, we recommend checking with your System Manufacturer and using the driver software provided by them to avoid potential installation incompatibilities. Intel supplies generic versions of Graphics Drivers for general purposes. Computer manufacturers might have changed the features, incorporated customizations, or made other changes to the graphics driver software or software packaging. 

Note #3: In case you had to use the Intel driver, please find the instructions on how to install the driver in this article: How to Install an Intel® Graphics Driver in Windows® 10 & Windows 11*. 

Please let me know the results and confirm that you tried both versions. 

Best regards,  

Jocelyn M.   

Intel Customer Support Technician. 

[Riikku]

Hi @Jocelyn_Intel 

I've done a clean install of my graphics drivers to no avail. 

I've also played around in my BIOS settings running my systems with 'internal graphics' on 'Auto', 'Enabled' and 'Disabled' and the crashes have continued on each of the settings. 

I also checked the default graphics settings in Windows and all of my games are set to use my graphics card at all times. 

As a sidenote, don't know how important 'Note #2' is, but I am not on a laptop. Either way I have been using drivers from the manufacturers of the relevant parts. 

Thanks. 

[Jose_Intel]

Hello Riikku

Thank you for the information provided.

Please allow us to research about this issue internally. We will post back as soon as we have any updates.

Best regards,

Jose B.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Jocelyn_Intel]

Hello, @Riikku  

Thank you for your time. 

Regarding your last post, can you please confirm if you tried the clean installation of the graphics drivers process using your System Manufacturer's driver? Laptop or Desktop, it is equally recommendable to use their software due to the reasons mentioned previously. 

Also, when you set the graphics card on all your games, what graphics card are referring to? Is Intel® UHD Graphics 770 or the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti? 

If you are referring to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti, do the crashes happen when set the Intel® UHD Graphics 770 only to run all your games? 

Best regards,  

Jocelyn M.   

Intel Customer Support Technician. 

[Riikku]

Hi @Jocelyn_Intel 

Yes I did use the system manufacturer's drivers when updating my graphic drivers.

All of my games are set to use my GeForce RTX 4070 Ti by default. However I have also tested them using just the Intel UHD Graphics 770 and I am still having crashes. 

I'm still inclined to believe the issue is around the processor rather than the graphics as I am able to run games without any crashes when I change the affinity in the task manager. By setting games to only use CPU 0 - 7. Crashes continue if I do not change the affinity. 

Thanks

[Jocelyn_Intel]

Hello, @Riikku  

Thank you for your reply. 

We already tested the processor and it passed the tests. I will investigate more about this. 

I will get back to you once I have updates. 

Best regards,  

Jocelyn M.   

Intel Customer Support Technician. 

[Jocelyn_Intel]

Hello, @Riikku  

Thank you for your time. 

If not done already, please try these steps on your Gigabyte motherboard: 

Solution A): 

1. In BIOS, select "ADVANCED MODE", in the Tweaker tab, locate the CPU Vcore and select "Normal" option, select "Dynamic Vcore(DVID)" option, change it from "Auto" to "+0.005V". 
2. Increase the DVID by +0.005 and reboot OS, until the game crash disappears and the system is running stable.        

Solution B): 

1. In BIOS, select "Tweaker", select "Advanced Voltage Settings", select "CPU/VRAM Settings", adjust "CPU Vcore Loadline Calibration", start from "Low" to "Medium" until the system is stable. 
2. After implementing A or B, run the XTU test again, and if the AVX2 test can pass. 
3. Run games and see if the issue happens again. 

Also, if there is a possibility, please try another processor to isolate the issue. 

Best regards,  

Jocelyn M.   

Intel Customer Support Technician. 

[Jocelyn_Intel]

Hello, @Riikku    

I hope you are great. 

I am checking this thread and I would like to know if you were able to perform the steps of my previous post.   

Best regards,  

Jocelyn M.   

Intel Customer Support Technician. 

[Riikku]

Hi @Jocelyn_Intel 

I've been away for the holidays, but I will try and test your suggestions today or tomorrow and get back to you.

Thanks

[Alberto_R_Intel]

Hi Riikku, Thank you very much for your response.

Perfect, no problem at all, take your time and once you get the chance, please let us know the results.

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Jose_Intel]

Hello Riikku

We hope you are doing fine. 

Were you able to follow the previous suggestions? 

Let us know if you still need assistance. 

Best regards,  

Jose B.   

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[Riikku]

Hi

I've tried solution B and it passed the XTU tests, however the games became even more unstable with some of them not even launching. 

For solution A, I have been slowly increasing the DVID voltage, but so far it hasn't resolved the issue and games are still crashing. I am currently at +0.060v. 

Before I go any further is there any danger to the system if I keep increasing it? 

Thanks

[Jose_Intel]

Hello Riikku

Thanks for your response. We are sorry to hear that the issue persists.

This time we would like to recommend you process the RMA with us, after verifying that your warranty is still active here, directly contact Intel Customer Support to initiate the RMA process (you cannot do this through the forums). Here are the pages where you can look up contact information, including local/country phone numbers, by geography: 

  

U.S. and Canada: Intel Customer Support 

Europe, Middle East, and Africa: Intel Customer Support EMEA  

Asia-Pacific: Intel Customer Support APAC  

Latin America: Intel Customer Support LAR  

We will send some information privately. Please keep in mind that this thread will no longer be monitored by Intel.

Best regards,  

Jose B.   

Intel Customer Support Technician