New Issues with Previously-Stable 2500k

Sounds pretty similar, how were you noticing he instability? Hard crashes / hangs like mine?

dclapps said:

I haven't ruled the PSU out yet. I wanted to test voltage at the Mobo where it has testing points, then, depending on that, potentially send in to Seasonic. I've needed the PSU so haven't been able to be without it.

Is it worth testing at the Mobo, or should I just send it in when I can?

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Voltage drop would be a good indication of a weak PSU but a handheld DMM might not be the best tool to check that, do you have access to an Oscilloscope ? Maybe a benchtop DMM like the Keysight 34461A but those are expensive for the hobbyist.
You should be able to use a SW inside windows that records the voltage across the rails and analyze after the crashes.

EDIT: Handheld DMM with logging capability should work fine too.

Sending the PSU for RMA for the sake of it isn't the best approach, swapping it first to isolate it would be ideal and from the OEM perspective, if you think it's defective it would be best to be able to explain why you think it.
Did you check to make sure air flow inside the PSU is good ? Some cases have air filters that need to be cleaned now and then and those PSU usually have fans that can fail.

Honestly the best thing to do is take it to a shop that has spares and can test everything individually. Otherwise it can be very difficult to nail down yourself.

Power supply tester - $10-30 on new egg or Amazon.. It is not a hard thing to do to test your power supply.

Wanted to provide an update, I used a PSU tester and it passed, all voltages within range. I've replaced the CMOS battery and have backed the RAM down to 1.5v. So far, it's been a few days without a crash. I've gone this far before (in fact went a month or so between crashes at one point), but still crossing my fingers.

Thanks for all of the help, I'm going to continue to monitor it. I feel that, at this point, if it crashes then it's the Mobo. Everything is at stock. We shall see.

October Update: Crashes never really left. I have tried replacing CMOS, resetting CMOS battery, updating BIOS to newer Beta version, trying to boot to backup BIOS, nada. It got to a point where I had trouble even POST'ing. I took out two of the four ram sticks (I was running 4x4GB), so I am now at 2x4GB and it immediately boots and runs fine. I had lowered the RAM speed from XMP @ 1600 and 1.65v to 1333 or even lower and at 1.5v. Made no difference with the 4 sticks, but it boots fine with 2 sticks.

Looks like what Rvenger posted above, it is having trouble running 4 sticks at 1.5v, let alone 1.65v (although, the higher voltage setting doesn't equate to a faster crash). I am going to try to see if 3 sticks at 1.5v operates decently, but am also tempted to purchase a 2x8GB (1.5v) set to get back to 16GB.

dclapps said:

October Update: Crashes never really left. I have tried replacing CMOS, resetting CMOS battery, updating BIOS to newer Beta version, trying to boot to backup BIOS, nada. It got to a point where I had trouble even POST'ing. I took out two of the four ram sticks (I was running 4x4GB), so I am now at 2x4GB and it immediately boots and runs fine. I had lowered the RAM speed from XMP @ 1600 and 1.65v to 1333 or even lower and at 1.5v. Made no difference with the 4 sticks, but it boots fine with 2 sticks.

Looks like what Rvenger posted above, it is having trouble running 4 sticks at 1.5v, let alone 1.65v (although, the higher voltage setting doesn't equate to a faster crash). I am going to try to see if 3 sticks at 1.5v operates decently, but am also tempted to purchase a 2x8GB (1.5v) set to get back to 16GB.

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Had this exact issue with my old 2500k. OC and IMC degraded after years... Try with just 2 match sticks and try both dimms sets.. IE 1 and 3 and 2 and 4... Test with both pairs.

Chances are it’s the culmination of all the specter/meltdown fixes. More vcore may help but chances are you will have to start from scratch on your oc, since it’s not exactly the same cpu you bought however long ago.