It sounds like you're dealing with a frustrating issue, and I get why it’s puzzling, especially since you’ve already taken many of the common troubleshooting steps like updating drivers and running a virus scan. Since you mentioned the freezing happens during gaming or resource-intensive tasks, there are a few other areas we could explore.
Check System Resource Usage: When these freezes occur, try to monitor your system's resource usage with Task Manager. Look at the CPU, GPU, and memory usage to see if there's a specific resource being heavily utilized. Sometimes, a particular process might be consuming too many resources, causing the rest of the system to stall.
Thermal Throttling: Overheating can also cause performance issues like stuttering or freezing. If your CPU or GPU is getting too hot, the system might throttle its performance to cool down. Using a tool like HWMonitor or Core Temp can help you check the temperatures during these high-load scenarios.
Power Supply Unit (PSU) Check: Ensure your PSU is adequate for your system's power needs. An underpowered PSU can lead to stability issues when the system demands more power than the PSU can supply.
RAM Issues: Although it's less common to just randomly be the culprit without another indicator, faulty RAM can cause similar symptoms. Running a tool like Windows Memory Diagnostic or MemTest86+ can help rule out memory issues.
Drive Health: Consider checking your storage drives for errors. SSDs, even though generally reliable, can start experiencing issues that might lead to system freezes. Windows’ built-in CHKDSK tool or a third-party utility can check drive health.
Background Processes: Sometimes, specific applications or services running in the background can cause performance hiccups. Try performing a clean boot to see if the issue persists when non-essential processes are disabled.
BIOS/UEFI Update: If you haven’t already, it might be worth checking if there's a BIOS or UEFI update for your motherboard. Manufacturers often release updates to address stability issues or improve system compatibility.
Lastly, considering these troubleshooting steps, if the problem continues, it might be worth it to look deeper into potential hardware issues, like trying different RAM sticks if possible or testing with another graphics card.
If you're comfortable with some DIY diagnostics and want more detailed insights, tools like HWiNFO can offer a comprehensive breakdown of system health and sensor readings. I'm curious to hear what you find from these steps, and feel free to ask if you have any more questions about specific tests or tools. Hopefully, this helps narrow down the cause of the issue!
