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Need help with baffling problem

N

Nathan_P

[H]ard DCOTM x3
Joined
Mar 2, 2010
Messages
3,522
I have been having trouble with my main rig - Its an x6 1090T on an M4N82 Deluxe M/B with 2GB corsair XMS2 6400C4, 2 WD hard disks, corsair HX1000 and and Corsair 650D case.

A couple of days after moving the system into its new case (the 650D) the machine started randomly crashing, at first it was just application hangs but as time went on the crashes became more severe until the machine would lock up. Sometimes the machine had been on for hours, other times mere minutes. Sometimes when rebooting it wouldn't even post.

I started by changing the PSU - hoping it wasn't this as it had just arrived from Corsair as an RMA. Still the same result.
Changed the ram for another corsair kit - Same problem
Swapped video cards twice - same problem
Used a different hard disk - same problem
Tried a kingston RAM kit - same problem

At this point i took everything out the case as its easier when changing out parts every few minutes.

At this point it was down to the M/B or CPU. I snagged the most basic sempron that i could find that works off the original 0207 BIOS as i was unsure what i had flashed it to last year.

Some other points, My original PSU (TX950) went pop (literally) about 6 weeks ago, could that spike have trashed the CPU?
I run F@H 24/7 so my hardware does get pounded but i am running a GPU now and everything seems OK but i will let it run overnight.

I am currently back up and running on the sempron and so far everything seems OK so could my CPU have gone bad or do I have a dodgy M/B or could I have a problem with my m/b in my case???
 
The problem is most likely either a short in the case, or a motherboard problem. A Sempron isn't going to draw as much power and stress the motherboard as much as a Phenom II x6 1090T does. It's rare that a CPU goes bad by itself. Usually in cases like this where all the usual suspects have been checked, the motherboard is typically the problem, not the CPU.
 
Dan_D said:
The problem is most likely either a short in the case, or a motherboard problem. A Sempron isn't going to draw as much power and stress the motherboard as much as a Phenom II x6 1090T does. It's rare that a CPU goes bad by itself. Usually in cases like this where all the usual suspects have been checked, the motherboard is typically the problem, not the CPU.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that Dan, Given that i can get the board to boot now i'm going to try the 1090T back in and see how i get on. Will be pissed if it is though - this will be my 3rd M/B in 18 months:(

I'm also going to put my spare rig in the 650 and see if that shows up any problems with the case
 
Nathan_P said:
Thanks for that Dan, Given that i can get the board to boot now i'm going to try the 1090T back in and see how i get on. Will be pissed if it is though - this will be my 3rd M/B in 18 months:(

I'm also going to put my spare rig in the 650 and see if that shows up any problems with the case
Click to expand...

You need to check the quality of your installation. Do you have the proper stand offs mounted in the case. Do you have too many? ASUS doesn't use all the holes in the expansion area prefering to use that area for surface components instead. An Intel board however will use all three of those expansion area mounting holes for stand offs every time. Is everything screwed down properly? Do you have the correct size and type of screw in use? I've seen people use screws not meant for computers which have heads that are too large with washers built into them which touched trace paths on the boards creating shorts. Are you running cables behind the motherboard? This is one I've seen a few times in which an IDE or another cable was run behind the motherboard to create a clean installation and the solder points on the back stabbed through the cable creating a short. Also making sure that the I/O shield tabs (if there are any) aren't going inside an RJ-45, or USB port creating a short. Make sure your PSU installation is good and that you didn't accidentally pinch any cables or create a break in them which could have turned into an intermitent short.

Inspect all hardware for leaking capacitors, or damaged surface components. Sometimes when moving a board into a new case, you get careless and damage a small surface mount component or trace path. There are a ton of things to look for here.
 
Dan_D said:
You need to check the quality of your installation. Do you have the proper stand offs mounted in the case. Do you have too many? ASUS doesn't use all the holes in the expansion area prefering to use that area for surface components instead. An Intel board however will use all three of those expansion area mounting holes for stand offs every time. Is everything screwed down properly? Do you have the correct size and type of screw in use? I've seen people use screws not meant for computers which have heads that are too large with washers built into them which touched trace paths on the boards creating shorts. Are you running cables behind the motherboard? This is one I've seen a few times in which an IDE or another cable was run behind the motherboard to create a clean installation and the solder points on the back stabbed through the cable creating a short. Also making sure that the I/O shield tabs (if there are any) aren't going inside an RJ-45, or USB port creating a short. Make sure your PSU installation is good and that you didn't accidentally pinch any cables or create a break in them which could have turned into an intermitent short.

Inspect all hardware for leaking capacitors, or damaged surface components. Sometimes when moving a board into a new case, you get careless and damage a small surface mount component or trace path. There are a ton of things to look for here.
Click to expand...

Thats quite a list but here goes with some of the answers already.

Standoffs - ones that came with the case and i use all 9 mounting holes on the board
Screws - right size and and i was sure they were tight
I don't have cables directly under the board, the case has room behind the motherboard tray.
Didn't get round to even installing the IO shield :eek:
Will recheck the PSU install when i install the spare rig tomorrow, i know the cables on the PSU are good as i installed it in my old case with my spare rig
No visible signs of damage that i can see - i will recheck tomorrow when i swap out the cpu's
 
I'll agree with Dan, it sounds like a short or motherbord issue, you could also check your cpu heatsink,maybe it came slightly lose after moving the system in, check your cpu temps too, if not, the only things left are your mobo and case short :) you've eliminated everything else.
 
Also, check your capacitors and see if any are swollen or leaking. I have found these to be problematic with symptoms you describe in the past. Even one swollen capacitor can do this. Since you mentioned this in the distributed computing forum as well, it is possible you have over stressed them.
 
Quick update, just reinstalled the x6 and fired her back up. I'm going straight for it this time as i've fired up F@H on the cpu to load all 6 cores and the GPU as well. Still running out the case. Whilst this is testing i'm trying my spare rig in the 650 to see if there is a case issue.
 
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