BSOD 124 and cache hirearchy errors

[JBoyd1]

Hi,

This is my first post on this community. I have been having an on-going issue with my self build system for a few weeks now. I built the system a year ago and everything has been fine until recently. I am getting random BSOD WHEA error 124 but I can't find any obviously faulty hard ware. I also have a lot of errors in the event log concerning a WHEA event 19 "cache Hierarchy error". I have ran memtest for 14h with no faults and have stress tested the CPU and GPU with no faults. My temps are all fine (idle 28degrees, 60-65 at full stress). I have tried stripping the system down to bare bone and doing a fresh windows 7 install and I still get the issue. I can stop the issue by only enabling 1 core in the BIOS but this is obviously not ideal. All BIOS settings are on default and my BIOS is on the most stable version (the issue gets worse if I install the latest BIOS). The only hardware I have changed is the PSU, I swapped out a CX750 for a EVGA850 G2 (The CX750 would not respond correctly to C6/C7 states and would cause a crash on wakeup from hibernation) and I installed a SSD to make sure it wasn't my HDD causing the issue.

System Specs:

CPU - i7 4790K

MOBO - MSI Gaming 5 (BIOS V1.7)

RAM - 16Gb (2x8Gb) Corsair Vengeance 2400Mhz 1.65V (running at 1333Mhz 1.5V in BIOS default)

GPU - Palit GTX 970

SU - EVGA Supernova 850 G2

CPU Cooler - Artic Freeze 11i

SSD - Sandisk Ultra 2 128GB

HDD - Seagate 4TB hybrid drive

OS - windows 7 home professional 64 Bit

I am at a loss with this, and other than randomly changing hardware (an expensive option) I don't know where to go next! Any help or thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

[Anonymous]

Hi redvfr750,

Let's try to narrow down the issue. Update the BIOS to version 1.9 then, install the latest Chipset and Intel® Management Engine drivers. Please use MSI website.

http://www.msi.com/product/motherboard/support/Z97-GAMING-5.html# down-bios Motherboard - The world leader in motherboard design

After the BIOS update, verify the processor speed: 4.0GHz and RAM speed: 1333 or 1600MHz at 1.5v. Check the behavior using the embedded graphics of the processor. Also, download and run our stress tool: Intel® Processor Diagnostic Tool (64-bit). Please send me the results of the test.

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/19792/Intel-Processor-Diagnostic-Tool-64-bit https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/19792/Intel-Processor-Diagnostic-Tool-64-bit-

Regards,

Mike C

[JBoyd1]

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the reply, I have carried out the steps you have listed above. Please find the test results as requested. I am still getting the WHEA errors in the event log. I have a copy of the dump files from WhoCrashed and Bluescreenview if you need them. I couldn't really make any use of the info they contained but I'm not very experienced with BSOD decoding!

I have been trying to work through this myself and the only anomaly I could find concerns my memory. The memory I have installed is Vengeance Pro Series — 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3 DRAM 2400MHz C11 Memory Kit (CMY16GX3M2A2400C11R) version 5.20. Looking at the compatibility list on the MSI website it stipulates version 5.29 of this memory for use with the Gaming 5 MoBo (assuming the R just means red?), could this be the issue?

Thanks for you help.

James

Just had a look through the Test Results Zip and I noticed it said "Detected CPU Frequency is --> 5.58895".

[IUman]

According with the report provided, the Expected CPU Frequency is --> 4.00 and this Detected CPU Frequency is --> 5.58895.

The processor frequency is really high on this processor and it is out of the processor specifications, this frequency can cause BSOD and any other errors in your system.

The problem here is that this processor is being overclocked so at this point I strongly recommend not setting your RAM to XMP (Extreme Memory Profile) mode because that will overclock your processor and most likely that is causing the issue in your system.

If this RAM is running in XMP mode it will be probably running at 2400MHz and 1.65V

This is the Memory Types supported by this processor:

[JBoyd1]

Hi,

I have never overclocked my RAM or used XMP profile, I've always had the BIOS settings at default, I just ckecked at its at 1333 and 1.5V . Processor Diagnostic Tool might say my CPU is running at 5.58895 but Intel Extreme Tuning Utility never only ever shows 4.4 max with turbo boost enables 4.0 when turbo boost is disabled. I'd be very surprised if my I7 4790k could even run at over 5.5 let alone run at 5.5 without cooking itself! Anyway, I ran the test again and the only change was (not unexpectedly) was the Detected CPU Frequency is --> 4.2404. which agrees with the values in Intel Extreme Tuning Utility which was running as I ran the test.

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Hi redvfr750,

I am glad your system is working properly now.

Regards,

Mike C