Computer Freezing Issue - Sorry to bother everyone :-(

Hey everyone. I'm dealing with a really bad computer freezing issue. No BSOD issue or slow processing issue, just a really annoying freezing issue. First off here are my specs:

SSD: 128GB OCZ Vertex 3
HDDs:1 TB Seagate 7200 SATA 3 (Windows Drive)
2 TB Seagate Green
500 GB Seagate 7200
500 GB Seagate 7200
PSU: 900 W Antec PSU
CPU:i7-960 3.20 GHz
CPU Cooler: Corsair H70 High Performance Hydro CPU Cooler
RAM: (4x 3) 12 GB Corsair Vengeance 1600 MHZ
MOBO: EVGA X58 SLI 3
GPU: 1 EVGA GTX 260
OS: Windows 7 Pro 64 Bit

Drivers are up do date on GPU and SSD and BIOS is up to date. I am not overclocking. Freezing happens at various CPU and RAM usage. Sometimes PC freezes on boot up, right after logging in, and it always freezes while watching a high quality video and/or converting video files. GPU temperature is normally at 60 C and maxes out at 65 C when playing a video and converting files. CPU stays at 29 C and the CPU cores are around 45 C.

History of PC Setup -

1. Tried OCZ Vertex 3 as boot drive. Turns out this SSD is infamous for having BSOD and instability issues especially with the sandforce/SATA 3 controller on my EVGA X58 MOBO.
2. I decided to make my 1 TB my boot drive and use SSD as programs drive. Still having freezing issues
3. Removed SSD from PC and installed programs on 1 TB drive. Still freezes.
4. Removed boot drive from SATA 3 and put it into regualr AHCI mode. Still freezes.
5. Put PC in IDE mode. Still freezes.
6. Updated drivers. Still Freezes
7. Cleaned the registry with Ccleaner. Still freezes.
8. Unplugged all HDDs but boot drive. Still freezes.
9. Set most BIOS settings to default

I'm out of ideas. I don't think this is a GPU issue, an HDD issue, a Windows issue, or an overheating issue with the CPU or GPU. The drivers that I think are crucial are up to date but maybe I'm missing something. I need advice because this is a really tiring issue and like I said, I'm out of ideas other than finding a new mobo.

The only thing I can think of since you have good temps. and used different HD for OS as mentioned are the memory modules and borrowing another PSU. Test out the memory or use pairs just in case.

Removed a stick of RAM (from 12 to 8GB) because BIOS doesn't recognize all 12GB (only 8GB) so I figured this might be the issue. PC still freezes though.

Could it also be a driver problem for your video card or the card itself. Hopefully it is still under warranty.

Ok I think the main culprit is video or maybe audio. I MAXED out the RAM for about 10 minutes by opening a bunch of photos and I MAXED out the CPU for 10 minutes by converting 8 videos at once. No issues, no freezes. Once I play a video the PC freezes after a few minutes. I haven't tried playing a song on itunes yet but playing a video gives me a freeze no matter what. Even just playing a video by itself freezes the system but it ranges from 5 minutes to 30 minutes unless I start converting videos then it only takes a couple minutes to get the system to freeze. This GPU was a generous 2nd hand gift from a friend when he upgraded so I don't have a warranty on it but he didn't have issues with it before giving it to me and I've had issues since the first day I booted up this homebuilt PC. I've updated the GPU drivers multiple times over the months and I still have this issue so I don't think it's the GPU driver. Any advice?

Oh I should ask, does a driver issue cause the system to freeze only? Or is it typically BSOD? I had BSOD issues with a video card that was obviously bad but once I replaced it now I'm only dealing with freezes. Unfortunate considering I have no dump files I can look at.

Please download MiniToolBox , save it to your desktop and run it.

Checkmark the following checkboxes:
List last 10 Event Viewer log
List Installed Programs
List Users, Partitions and Memory size.

Click Go and paste the content into your next post.

Also...please Publish a Snapshot using Speccy - http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic323892.html/page__p__1797792#entry1797792 .

FWIW: Freezing is just a symptom, caused by various types of problems...from malware to overheating to hardware to file damage, etc.

COMPUTER FREEZES - http://www.jrwhipple.com/computer_hangs.html

Louis

Hey guys

Someone told me to download a driver update program. Turns out I have over TWENTY outdated drivers. Sheesh no wonder my PC was freezing. I have drivers that were 6 years old!

Updated those drivers and problem is solved.

For the record I used slimdrive. It's a Free version of a program. I cannot believe I wasted this much time because I thought Device Manager was trustworthy in telling me if a driver was outdated. I appreciate the help offered. I'll refer back to this post in case I have an issue in the future and use your advice Luis.

<<Turns out I have over TWENTY outdated drivers>>

A driver may become impaired...some may become superseded by drivers providing additional functionality or correcting a problem with a previous driver...but "outdated" is not the word to use to describe such.

Any driver working properly...is a good driver. If there is no problem with that particular driver/function, there is no reason at all to "update" drivers for a system working properly.

When a driver becomes damaged...what needs to happen is uninstalling that driver...and then reinstalling it with an undamaged version. This can be the same version, coulc be a newer version.

Louis