Other Hardware problem - replaced almost everything, still broken!

So I can usually figure out most problems but this one has me absolutely stumped
My housemates machine has
Gigabyte AM3 GA-790XTA
Phenom II 955
GTX 460 768Mb
320GB IDE HD
Bequiet 530W HD
2x2GB Patriot Sector 5 RAM


Now, basically I've almost fully rebuilt this system about 3 times and it still has problems.
At the moment, the current issue is that the screen flashes black, then says that Nvidia display driver has recovered.
It also just randomly hard resets.
Before that it was bluescreening in desktop, and crashing in games.
I've gone through 2 different SSDs (now installed W7 Home Premium on the HD to eliminate that).
I've also already swapped over the PSU (from a corsair one).
I've swapped the motherboard out already (had an Asus one previously)
And swapped the GPU out (from another Gigabyte 460)
And I've swapped out the RAM (from a corsair Vengance set)
The only things that havent changed are the CPU, and the IDE hard drive. Its driving me absolutely mad. It can run for ages on furmark or P95 without any problems, then suddenly just reset itself.
If anyone has any ideas or needs any more info then do let me know. I'm absolutely stumped!

 

You say what the current issue is. What other issues have been encountered and how/after what hardware change were they fixed?

 

You haven't changed the motherboard, have you?

 

i had similar things going on with mine what driver version are you running as ive found 290.53 to be best with my gigabyte 460 soc when i tried newer drivers different graphical issue would arise.
sometimes Nvidia display driver has recovered when idle or web browsing also mine didn't hard reset though
mayb a long shot but worth a try with different drivers

 

First up, GPU crashing all the time, this was partially solved by updating the GPU BIOS. Then happened sporadically, which was then solved by increasing the amount of addressable RAM the game had (though this was under 32bit windows and shouldnt be a problem with the 64 bit version we have on here now).

Then random blue screening which seems to have subsided after replacement of the RAM, GPU and SSD (with a HD).

Current problem is the GPU crashing under any load and resetting itself, and also random rebooting of the entire machine.

Yeah, already changed that out.

 

Using the latest Nvidia drivers. 306.97. You think I should give 290.53 a shot?

 

worth a try m8 don't take 290.53 to be the best but try a few older versions not impressed with newer releases

 

Horrid problem when you have replaced so many parts.

Try picking up a cheap am3 cpu to try out.

 

thread here about display driver not responding
http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=227041
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2238234

 

I know! Do you think it might be the CPU? I've never heard of a CPU breaking? I do have a X2 250 here I could pop in. The thing is, the CPU seems fine as it runs P95 without a problem.

At the moment I'm getting this under Furmark...

 

If you have a x2 there and you haven't swapped it then I would try it for sure, noute to lose its not going to cost you anything.

I take it you have also had this computer sat on a desk outside a case just to cover the shorting angle?

 

Is the computer case and wall plug properly grounded? This is usually the cause of the random shutdown.

As for the GPU crashing, it could be GPU power management that is acting up.
Download Nv GPU Tweak Tool (free), and extract all files The program requires no install, just run it. The program will first scan your system, this may take a minutes. Once done, on the left column, click on Change PowerMizer settings, and click on Completely disable Nvidia PowerMizer technology. If the option is disabled, click on Override disabled option, check the box: Enable PowerMizer settings, and click on Set. Now try again, and the option should no longer be disabled. Once you set it, you need to restart your computer to apply the setting change.

Updating the Nvidia drivers, will reset the tweak and needs to be reapplied. To undo, simply click on Enable Nvidia Powermizer.

 

I replaced my whole system looking for my random shutdown problem, it turned out to be the power supply. Not sure about the nvidia driver problem but my htpc which i recently upgraded to windows 8 has started doing the same thing after the latest drivers were installed.

 

Try the utility tool I provided above, and see if it helps.

 

Also, now, when I install the Nvidia drivers, Windows won't start. The previous GPU did the exact same thing!

Just pulled it out of the case, and swapped over the PSU.

 

Define "Windows won't start". Does it start but no image on the screen? Or does it get stuck somewhere? Or do you get a BSOD? Can you go in Safe Mode?

 

Ok managed to get them installed, was getting stuck at windows logo, and then resetting. Went into safe mode to uninstall and then reinstalled and all good.

Now, basically, it can't handle furmark. Pretty much just reboots.

I'm using a 430W Corsair builder, but the problem is the same with the 530W BeQuiet.

 

So it works in games, but not with furmark?

 

No, not in games either, just resets.

I have a spare 1155 board here. I'm seriously considering hunting down a AMD GPU and then just buying a G530 and getting rid of all the AM3 stuff (ie, total rebuild)

EDIT: Now, won't start windows again (except in safe mode)

 

Hmm yea very strange, I am out of ideas, beside going in the BIOS, and select "load Optimize defaults" (don't forget to set back the SATA controller to what option is was before, else you'll get a BSOD when you start Windows until you put that option back the way it was)