Next Update: 🤦 (sorry for another essay)
Well then, I am beginning to suspect a power related issue now. I said earlier in my posts that I had a good quality PSU. I DO have a good quality PSU, A Coolermaster Silent Pro Gold RM1000. What I omitted to add is that this PSU is now over 6 years old. I had forgotten about degradation over time AND I didn't actually take into consideration a much older PCIE and ATX Revision.
How have I come to this conclusion?:
I have disconnected Two 2.5" SSD Drives within the machine that purely serve as workspace areas for video / photography.
I have disconnected an 8TB WD External USB HDD.
This did seem to result in fewer crashes but not a total reduction.
However the most recent change I have done is to completely lower all the graphical detail in BF2042 to Low. Now, if you recall, I stated I have a Sapphire Nitro+ RX 7900XTX video card. This thing could easily run BF2042 in Ultra detail across BOTH of my 32" 4K screens (and I HAVE previously done this to test it out but having the aiming reticle centrally within the bezels was useless 🤣)
I began by lowering the detail (based on using a single monitor) from Ultra down to High. Crashes still occurred. I didn't bother to try medium, I just skipped right down to LOW.
Almost ZERO CRASHES, even on Manifest or Breakaway.
The reason I say "Almost" is because on two occasions, it's locked up optimizing shaders when loading a map (I suspect not power related), and on another occasion, I was actually on Renewal on a 64 man CQ, I drove a Bolte INTO the main building at the C1 base to destroy a Bolte that had gone in there. Some knob C5'd me. The resulting explosion simply shut the game down. I suspect a LOT happened at that time requesting a spike in power draw from the card.
So, like I mentioned, power efficiency degradation over time is one thing that slipped my mind. When I did think about it, I started scouring the Internet for information and came across quite a few Reddit articles discussion crash to desktop for graphic intense games and applications. I regularly use Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop and Davinci Resolve video editor to edit 4K video footage. Interestingly that application doesn't crash but the Adobe ones on occasion do (this is not unusual for Adobe). Many of those discussions all came to a similar conclusion of either a low power / low quality PSU OR an older degraded PSU.
So, I think, my next step is to purchase a new PSU. One to be fair that is a lot more suitable for this PC configuration.
I have based on some research already shortlisted 3 potentials. I have no issue with the cost of these PSU's however I'll put it out to all of you whom have read these essays 😉, and attempted to offer advice. What are your thoughts on these PSU's and are there any others of a similar level of quality and efficiency that you may recommend?
I'm opting for a PSU over 1000w based on a couple of PSU calculators I've used and in relation to the hardware I have in my PC.
BeQuiet DARK POWER PRO 13 1300W
https://www.bequiet.com/en/powersupply/4394 £337. This one is probably really overstating requirements but I've listed it as an option anyway. Their other alternative such as the Straight Power 12 are unavailable at trusted retailers here in the UK or are grossly over-priced at zealous re-sellers.
Corsair RM1200x SHIFT 80 PLUS Gold
https://www.corsair.com/uk/en/p/psu/cp-9020254-uk/rm1200x-shift-80-plus-gold-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-cp-9020254-uk# £220
My concern with this one is the location of the cable ports. They would be oriented underneath the PSU when mounted in the case and would require removal of a HDD cage which I can do I suppose. (Lian-Li O11 Dynamic Evo XL case)
Corsair HX1200i Fully Modular Ultra-Low Noise Platinum
https://www.corsair.com/uk/en/p/psu/cp-9020281-uk/hx1200i-fully-modular-ultra-low-noise-platinum-atx-1200-watt-pc-power-supply-uk-cp-9020281-uk £260
The ports are located in the normal place which is directly on the opposite side to the rear panel
