Motherboards Is my CPU or Mobo about to die?

Hello all,

Started having a intermittent problem with my PC for the past week or so. It started with games crashing randomly to the dekstop. Then all programs started crashing randomly, then the PC started crashing.

At first I thought it was windows 7 (64bit), as I haven't had a fresh install in over 18 months. So I wiped the hard drive and put windows back on. Everything seemed ok at first. I installed the basic programs/games to test it was stable. All seemed fine.

Then I started getting errors during startup from the BIOS telling me overclocking had failed. So I checked all my BIOS settings (not changed since I first overclocked my CPU 2 years ago). However it wouldn't boot.

So I throttled back on the overclocking. Fine, Started doing it again. Throttled back a bit more and now it's been stable for a few days with no random crashes.

Could this be a sign that one of my components is about to give out? Cheers for any advice

CPU: Core2Duo E6300 (stock 1.86Ghz)(was running @2.8)(Now running @2.5 after reducing FSB and Core voltage from 1.4 to 1.375)
Mem: 4GB geil memory (running @800Mhz)
Motherboard: Asus P5B Deluxe
Hard drive: Samsung spinpoint F1 1TB
Graphics: Powercolor Radeom 4890
PSU: 460W HyperX Modular PSU
OS: Windows 7 premium 64bit with SP1

 

For the 3rd time today.... What is your PSU?

 

Sorry just updated it!

 

Can't seem to find one on google, what are the 12v rails rated at?

 

I've just checked the PSU box and the full name is:

Hiper Type R

It also says true Wattage 580W on the box with a X2 12v rails. I've no idea what their rated at. It was a while ago I bought it.

Found a review here:
http://www.extremeoverclocking.com/reviews/cases/Hiper_TypeR_580W_1.html

 

How long ago did you buy it? And has it been used a lot? The capacators in PSU's degrade over time and PSU's can lose their initial wattage output. Antec say 25%-30% for a year of constant use, but saying that 580w is a lot and it does seem like a decent PSU for it's time.

Hopefully this is the problem as it will be much harder to diagnose if the motherboard or CPU is wearing out, i'm about 75% confident that it is the PSU, especially as the 12v rails don't give much headroom.

 

I bought it about 3 and a half years ago. It's defiantly been used at least 8hrs a day since then if not more.

The PC is stable for now. I'll leave it running a little bit longer and see what happens. Or is this a bad thing if the PSU is about to die? Would you have any recommendations on a new PSU? I'd hate to spend money and it end up not being the cause as I don't have a spare PSU to test. Thanks for your quick reponse

 

I don't think it's about to die, but the extra strain from the overclock is most likely the cause of the instability.

If you want to put even less strain on it, play games with Vsync enabled. The GPU doesn't have to work as hard.

I can recommend the PSU i'm using , great value and plenty of headroom for future upgrades. It's the antec trupower New 650, the insides are made by Seasonic so it's very reliable with some of the smallest fluctuations you're ever likely to get from a PSU.

 

Plus the extra power draw for the radeon 4890 which I should have mentioned. I've only had this less than a year (passed down by a friend who upgraded). Before that I had a crappy low end card that only needed power from the PCI express slot. Suppose a combination of that and the overclock of 2+ years has taken it's toll.

I'll throttle back on the CPU overclock a bit more and enable vsync as you've suggested. Hopefully all will be ok until my next upgrade!

 

OK another update.

My has started crashing randomly again. I wasn't doing anything demanding. First couple of times I watch watching videos. PC would freeze and the sound would loop. Restarting didn't work. I had to completely shut it doen before it would boot again.

I've now removed my overclock on the CPU but it still seems to be happening. Any further suggestions? Cheers.

 

Run something like memtest86 to make sure its not your RAM freezing the machine up. Is it 2 x 2Gb sticks or 4 x 1Gb?
Other thing I would check is that the HDD is ok. There is an old bootable CD with HDD diags I use from Seagate which is OK but Spinrite is more comprehensive and will try and fix it should it find anything (if you cang et hold of a copy).
Let us know of any further developments.

 

Thanks for the advice. I'll give both suggestions a go and post an update

 

Once your hear "Für Elise" playing from within your pc you really need to be worried.

On a more serious note and without wanting to unduly alarm you, it's entirely in the realm of possibility that electromigration has set in and your CPU actually is about to die. Considering the fine structures in today's microchips heavy overclocking eventually will take its toll.

 

Ok another update! Hopefully the final one!

I seem to have found my problem. And it's all to do with the new AMD catalyst drivers. Ever since I started using the newish drivers (whichever version first came with the new CCC), that's when my problems started.

I've put my overclock back, removed the drivers and reverted to 9.11. Everything is running rock solid now.

Strange thing is, my PC didn't crash if connected to my monitor through DVI on the newer drivers. It would only start crashing if I was using the HDMI connection. But with the older drivers in place the HMDI connection is fine now.

Hopefully this is the last time I'll need to update.

@AndyCubb thanks again. I ran both tests you suggested and all checked out fine. Phew.

@azrael- thanks for freaking me out!!!!

 

Glad to hear you're up and running again!

And sorry for freaking you out, but many people forget (or don't even know ) about electromigration.

 

No doubt those electros will want to migrate here as well and scrounge off the state!

 

why would ati drives effect your bios on a cold boot?

 

They can't!

 

I think I received the BIOS messages as I was having to physically pull the plug on my PC several times. Obviously it threw a wobbler when I did that.

Still running fine!