Build Advice Long Term System Instability - What next?

Hi All,

I used to be an active member on the old custom PC forums (long time ago), but this is my first post since the move!

I built a machine around 2yrs ago, which has never been 100% stable. I'd say it was 90%+ stable in the early days, but less so as time goes on.

System Specs:

• ASUS STRIKER II EXTREME 790i
• Intel Q6600 Quadcore CPU (@ stock)
• THERMALRIGHT Ultra-120 eXtreme (+ 2 x 120mm Noctua)
• XFX 1GB GTX280 XT 640MHz (@ factory settings)
• Corsair TwinX 4GB DDR3 1333 (@ stock + auto timings / voltage)
• SAMSUNG SATA2 HD103UJ 32MB
• Pioneer BDC-202BK 5x BluRom
• Silverstone TJ07B
• CORSAIR 1000W CMPSU-1000HX
• TP-Link TL-WN722N
• Logitech S510 Remote, Keyboard, Mouse
• Creative Labe Gigaworks S750
• 2 x Benq G2222HDL

Description of instability:

Scenario 1: Failed boot (estimate 3-5% of boots). Booting doesn’t make it past first screen. No error messages. Usually doesn’t happen second time I try to boot. Often this is the first time I boot after turning power on at wall so might be a red herring.

Scenario 2: System locks during use (estimate 5% of session end this way during videos, 10% of gaming sessions). System just locks, last ¼ of a second of any audio that was playing loops continuously (and unpleasantly) until I hard reset.

Scenario 3: More recently, quite often when I log on (estimate on 25% of sessions) Windows appears to load / logon fine, but locks up the first time I do any of the following:

• Open start menu; menu opens then Windows locks. Mouse still moves around, but can’t interact.
  
• Launch application from taskbar. Icon highlights then windows locks. Mouse still moves around, but can’t interact.
  
• Open file on desktop. Icon highlights then windows locks. Mouse still moves around, but can’t interact.

Today, my PC locked up like this on my first three logon attempts. Fourth attempt I booted into Safe Mode + Network. Firefox loaded fine, so restarted. Windows loaded normally this time. I made no changes in Safe Mode. Bizarre.

What I’ve Tried:

Strategy 1: Memtest64 – ran for a few hours, no errors found. Think I also run a Windows utility which didn’t find any errors.

Strategy 2: Forget over clocking the PC you spent £2k on, run at stock settings (Q6600 was running at 3.0GHz for a few months which should have been a doddle, now back at stock 2.4GHz with needlessly high end H/W). Run PRIME95 (and others) and check for stability. Interesting I never once had a crash during stress testing, only normal use.

Strategy 3: Run with only one stick of RAM (in case one faulty) – no tangible improvement

Strategy 4: Format and start again; I re-build approx every 6 months anyway, so probably on my fourth of fifth build. Always with latest drivers, patches, updates and open source apps.

Strategy 5: Try some older drivers, see if that works. Nope.

Strategy 6: Regular virus scans (AVG) – very rarely finds anything.

Strategy 7: Ignore it, it’s not that bad (hold back tears ).

Strategy 8: Get frustrated after having to log on 5 times to make computer work, seek help from helpful online user community.

What next:

My tolerance for this instability is wearing a little thin after today’s 5 reboots!

Given the history, re-formats etc, I’m leaning towards a hardware fault, however as it was stable under stress testing I‘m still not 100% sure. I was expecting it to be the RAM but assumed Memcheck 64 would have found these faults (in a few hours) if they existed? I’ve always wondered if 790i was a good chipset, and part of me wonders I might not have picked the best hardware combo.

I’m tempted to start replacing components one at a time with cheap new (I usually use Scan) or fleebay items, probably in following order:
1. Motherboard
2. Graphics Card
3. Processor
4. RAM

How I’m hoping you can help:

Before I start spending (and potentially wasting) money on new hardware is there anything else I should try / consider?

If swapping components one by one is the best next step, I’ve been out of the scene for so long I don’t know what the best h/w choices would be. Can anyone recommend what order I should start swapping components, and what components I should go for (for testing I think I will be looking for budget and compatible with my other components). I would consider a combined mobo/CPU swap if the community thinks that is wise (although probably basic components to begin with – Don’t want to blow £500 on new mobo and CPU to find I still have problems).

Many thanks in advance for your help (and sorry for long post - I read the sticky and wanted to make sure you have all the info).

 

have got one of the same motherboards as you and it also had this problem. we tried everything and came to the conclusion that it was the memory controller. had another 775 motherboard this week built up for a mate and he has suffered also the same problem. in total have had three instances of this happening and they were all 775 socket motherboards. will try and get the other details of these boards model chipset etc. couldnt tell you much more as always been an amd man until sandybridge so im abit lost on 775 boards

 

Thanks for your contribution. I'm hoping that not all 775's had this problem, maybe we were both unlucky? Would be interesting to know if all three of the boards you used and the Striker 2 had common components.

 

Jw191,

Have you tried measuring CPU/GPU temperatures? (using the likes of MSI Afterburner and CoreTemp). Overly high temperatures can lead to a number of issues (Prime95 stresses the CPU excellently, the GPU not at all). Another approach to test this is to leave the side of your case off and point a desktop fan at your PC's internals - if this makes a difference, then cooling (or lack of it) is the likely cause.

Scenario 2 suggests a GPU problem (since you note video and gaming as triggers) - the next time it occurs, it may be worth leaving your system for a few minutes (if you have not tried so already) with the speakers switched off to see if a blue screen happens. I have seen recent Nvidia drivers go into an infinite loop which results in a blue screen, but only after a minute or so of system hang.

Scenario 3 suggests a problem with software configured to run on startup. Checking Windows' Event Log may provide more information on the cause and using MSConfig to selectively disable startups to isolate the problem would seem the best course of action.

You have provided good details on your hardware setup - could you do the same about the software you have running? (Windows version, Forceware version, etc). That may help others too.

 

Thanks for your input.

I kept a close eye on my CPU Temps (using CoreTemps + others), especially under early overclocking, and they never went much above 50C.

I'll look for a monitor for my GPU temps as may be a contributory factor in gaming hangs, but I think the other symptoms indicate it's not the only problem. I've had several gaming sessions for extended periods of time recently with the GTX280 fan making a lot of racket (some dust in there by now no doubt) without any lock ups, and previous lockup have been early into a gaming session when the fan wasn’t working hard which leads me to believe it's probably not temps, but I'll investigate this more thoroughly. Next time it locks up during use, I’ll leave it a while and see if it blue screens.
Checking event logs is a good suggestion so I will do that too. Presumably there is only likely to be events if a software issue occurs (i.e. not hardware)?

I do regularly check my msconfig and generally run my startup 'lean'; current startup config:

• SoundMAX audio
• F.lux (ran for about 6mths, adjust colour palette based on time of day)
• DisplayFusion (ran for about 6mths, multi monitor utility)
• AVG Free
• SMax4PNP audio

There are about 25 other items I have deselected.

Interestingly when the Windows lock ups happen after logging in, they do seem to be resolved by booting Windows into Safe Mode, making no changes and restarting - any thoughts on why that might be? Can’t recall if that is always the case, but I know it has resolved the problem the last few times.

Software config to follow.

Thanks for your help.

 

MSI Afterburner would be my recommendation for GPU monitoring (though its predecessor RivaTuner may work with GTX280 cards - RivaTuner has more configurable graphs, especially for SLI users while Afterburner is easier to use and provides better fan control). Either program can also monitor GPU memory usage, which may be a factor.

Event logs will report "recognised" hardware problems (i.e. many but not all) and any software issue giving a popup message. I suspect you won't see anything helpful, but it's worth a check.

Looking at your software list - I'd suggest swapping AVG for Avira or Avast! - I may be jumping the gun here but recent versions of AVG have received flack for performance problems and a switch to a "leaner" free AV may pay other benefits too.

Can you tie the lockups to specific games? If so, it may be possible to tie things down further.

 

System software specs as promised, highlighting bits that may be of more interest. Not sure how to check forceware version, but it might be detailed somewhere below. System is more or less idle, so temps are representative of that:

Operating System:
Windows 7 Professional (x64) (build 7600)

Applications:
2007 Microsoft Office system Version 12.0.6546.5000
Adobe Reader Version 9.4.0.195
Adobe Systems Inc. - A Version 2.5.1
Adobe Systems, Inc. - Shockwave Flash Version 10,2,153,1
Amazon MP3 Downloader Version 1.0.0.0
Analog Devices, Inc. - SMax4PNP Application Version 6,1,6000,99
Analog Devices, Inc. - SoundMAX Audio Settings (32-bit) Version 6.0.7200.24
Andrea Electronics Corporation - APO Access Service (64-bit) Version 1.0.64.12
Apple Inc. - Bonjour Version 2.0.5.0
Apple Inc. - iTunes Version 10.2.2.14
Apple Inc. - MobileDeviceService Version 3.3.0.0
Apple Inc. - QuickTime QuickTime 7.6.9 (1680.9)
Apple Software Update Version 2.1.2
AVG Internet Security Version 10.0.0.1302
AVG Internet Security Version 10.1.0.1300
Belarc, Inc. - Advisor Version 8.1p
Binary Fortress Software - DisplayFusion Version 3.2.0.0
Capsulated Software - Cue.Play.SetList Version 1.5.1.0
CyberLink Corp. - PDVDLaunchPolicy Application Version 9.00.3003
F.lux
filezilla Version 3, 3, 5, 1
GIMP 2.6.11
Google Inc. - Picasa Photo Viewer Version 3.8.0
Google Inc. - Picasa Version 3.8.0
Google Updater Version 2.0.711.37800.beta
Logitech SetPoint Version 5.20.49
Logitech SetPoint Version 6.20.50
Logitech Touch Mouse Server Version 1.00.1
Logitech, Inc. - Unifying Software Version 2.00.43
Microsoft Clip Organizer Version 12.0.6423.1000
Microsoft Corp. - Windows Live Writer Version 15.4.3508.1109
Microsoft Corporation - Groove Audit Service Version 4.2.2.2803
Microsoft Corporation - Internet Explorer Version 8.00.7600.16385
Microsoft Corporation - Office Diagnostics Service Version 12.0.6413.1000
Microsoft Corporation - Office Diagnostics Version 12.0.6413.1000
Microsoft Corporation - Office Source Engine Version 12.0.4518.1014
Microsoft Corporation - Windows Installer - Unicode Version 5.0.7600.16385
Microsoft Corporation - Windows Live Photo Gallery Version 15.4.3508.1109
Microsoft Corporation - Windows Live? Photo Gallery Version 15.4.3508.1109
Microsoft Corporation - Windows Live™ Movie Maker Version 15.4.3508.1109
Microsoft Corporation - Windows® Search Version 7.00.7600.16385
Microsoft Office Groove Version 4.2.2.2826
Microsoft Office InfoPath Version 12.0.6529.5000
Microsoft Office OneNote Version 12.0.6500.5000
Microsoft Office Outlook Version 12.0.6550.5003
Microsoft Office Picture Manager Version 12.0.6413.1000
Microsoft Xbox 360 Accessories Version 1.2
Microsoft ® Windows Script Host Version 5.8.7600.16385
Microsoft® .NET Framework Version 2.0.50727.4927
Microsoft® .NET Framework Version 3.0.6920.4902
Microsoft® .NET Framework Version 4.0.30319.1
Microsoft® CoReXT Version 7.250.4225.0
Microsoft® Games for Windows® - LIVE Version 3.4.0054.0
Microsoft® Windows® Operating System Version 12.0.7600.16385
MiniTool Partition Wizard Version 5, 0, 0, 1
Movie Player
Mozilla Corporation - Firefox Version 4.0.1
Nitro PDF - PrimoPDF Version 5.1.0.2
Nullsoft, Inc. - Winamp Detect Version 1.0.0.1
Nullsoft, Inc. - Winamp Version 5.6.1.3133
NVIDIA Corporation - Stereo Vision Control Panel API Server Version 7.17.12.6099
NVIDIA Driver Helper Service, Version 260.99 Version 8.17.12.6099
NVIDIA GeForce 3D Vision Version 7.17.12.6099
OLReg Application Version 7.0.0.526
playplus Application Version 1, 0, 0, 1
Producer Application Version 1, 0, 0, 1
Sun Microsystems, Inc. - Java(TM) Platform SE 6 U23 Version 6.0.230.5
The Audacity Team - Audacity® Version 1,3,12,0
the VideoLAN Team - VLC media player Version 1,1,4,0
Trusteer Ltd. - Rapport Version 3.5.1007.41
Valve Corporation - Steam Client Service Version 01.00.00.01
Valve Corporation - Steam Version 1.0.0.0
vscap Application Version 1, 0, 0, 1

Graphics Information:
[Display]
Operating System: Windows 7 Professional, 64-bit
DirectX version: 11.0
GPU processor: GeForce GTX 280
Driver version: 260.99
CUDA Cores: 240
Core clock: 640 MHz
Shader clock: 1404 MHz
Memory clock: 1200 MHz (2400 MHz data rate)
Memory interface: 512-bit
Total available graphics memory: 2815 MB
Dedicated video memory: 1024 MB GDDR3
System video memory: 0 MB
Shared system memory: 1791 MB
Video BIOS version: 62.00.0E.00.73
IRQ: 16
Bus: PCI Express x16 Gen2

More Interesting bits from CPU-Z:

CPU-Z TXT Report
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Binaries
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

CPU-Z version 1.54

Processors
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of processors 1
Number of threads 4

Processors Information
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Processor 1 ID = 0
Number of cores 4 (max 4)
Number of threads 4 (max 4)
Name Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
Codename Kentsfield
Specification Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz
Package (platform ID) Socket 775 LGA (0x4)
CPUID 6.F.B
Extended CPUID 6.F
Core Stepping G0
Technology 65 nm
Core Speed 1600.1 MHz
Multiplier x FSB 6.0 x 266.7 MHz
Rated Bus speed 1066.7 MHz
Stock frequency 2400 MHz
Instructions sets MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, EM64T, VT-x
L1 Data cache 4 x 32 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L1 Instruction cache 4 x 32 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L2 cache 2 x 4096 KBytes, 16-way set associative, 64-byte line size
FID/VID Control yes
FID range 6.0x - 9.0x
Max VID 1.263 V

Chipset
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Northbridge NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra SLI SPP rev. B1
Southbridge NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra SLI MCP rev. A3
Graphic Interface PCI-Express
PCI-E Link Width x16
PCI-E Max Link Width x16
Memory Type DDR3
Memory Size 4096 MBytes
Channels Dual
Memory Frequency 666.7 MHz (4:10)
CAS# latency (CL) 9.0
RAS# to CAS# delay (tRCD) 9
RAS# Precharge (tRP) 9
Cycle Time (tRAS) 24
Bank Cycle Time (tRC) 33
Command Rate (CR) 1T

Memory SPD
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

DIMM # 1
SMBus address 0x50
Memory type DDR3
Module format UDIMM
Manufacturer (ID) Corsair (7F7F9E0000000000)
Size 2048 MBytes
Max bandwidth PC3-10700H (667 MHz)
Part number CM3X2048-1333C9DHX
Number of banks 8
Nominal Voltage 1.50 Volts
EPP no
XMP no
JEDEC timings table CL-tRCD-tRP-tRAS-tRC @ frequency
JEDEC #1 6.0-6-6-16-22 @ 444 MHz
JEDEC #2 8.0-8-8-22-30 @ 592 MHz
JEDEC #3 9.0-9-9-24-33 @ 666 MHz

DIMM # 2
SMBus address 0x51
Memory type DDR3
Module format UDIMM
Manufacturer (ID) Corsair (7F7F9E0000000000)
Size 2048 MBytes
Max bandwidth PC3-10700H (667 MHz)
Part number CM3X2048-1333C9DHX
Number of banks 8
Nominal Voltage 1.50 Volts
EPP no
XMP no
JEDEC timings table CL-tRCD-tRP-tRAS-tRC @ frequency
JEDEC #1 6.0-6-6-16-22 @ 444 MHz
JEDEC #2 8.0-8-8-22-30 @ 592 MHz
JEDEC #3 9.0-9-9-24-33 @ 666 MHz

Hardware Monitors
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hardware monitor ITE IT87
Voltage 0 1.30 Volts [0x4C] (CPU VCORE)
Voltage 1 3.33 Volts [0xD0] (+3.3V)
Voltage 3 5.00 Volts [0xBA] (+5V)
Voltage 4 12.03 Volts [0xBC] (+12V)
Voltage 7 5.03 Volts [0xBB] (+5V VCCH)
Voltage 8 3.06 Volts [0xBF] (VBAT)
Temperature 0 28°C (82°F) [0x1C] (TMPIN0)
Temperature 1 42°C (107°F) [0x2A] (TMPIN1)
Temperature 2 7°C (44°F) [0x7] (TMPIN2)
Fan 0 1378 RPM [0x1EA] (FANIN0)
Fan 1 1991 RPM [0x153] (FANIN1)
Fan 2 2045 RPM [0x14A] (FANIN2)


Hardware monitor Analog Device ADP3228
Current 0 37.27 Amps [0x120] (CPU)
Power 0 41.71 W [0x25F8] (CPU)


Hardware monitor Winbond W83791D
Voltage 0 1.30 Volts [0x51] (HT 1.2V)
Voltage 1 1.49 Volts [0x5D] (SB Core)
Voltage 2 1.20 Volts [0x4B] (CPU VTT)
Voltage 4 1.70 Volts [0x35] (DDR)
Voltage 6 1.30 Volts [0x51] (NB Core)


Hardware monitor ACPI
Temperature 0 40°C (104°F) [0xC3C] (THRM)

Hardware monitor Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
Temperature 0 39°C (102°F) [0x3D] (Core #0)
Temperature 1 39°C (102°F) [0x3D] (Core #1)
Temperature 2 33°C (91°F) [0x43] (Core #2)
Temperature 3 37°C (98°F) [0x3F] (Core #3)

Hardware monitor NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280
Temperature 0 50°C (122°F) (GPU Core)

DMI
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

DMI BIOS
vendor Phoenix Technologies, LTD
version ASUS STRIKER II EXTREME ACPI BIOS Revision 1002
date 07/24/2008

DMI Processor
manufacturer Intel
model Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz
clock speed 2400.0 MHz
FSB speed 266.0 MHz
multiplier 9.0x


Graphics
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of adapters 1

Display Adapters
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Display adapter 0
Manuf. API index 0
Display name \\.\DISPLAY1
Name NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280
Revision A2
Codename GT200
Technology 65 nm
Memory size 1024 MB
Memory type GDDR3
Memory bus width 512 bits
PCI device bus 1 (0x1), device 0 (0x0), function 0 (0x0)
Vendor ID 0x10DE (0x1682)
Model ID 0x05E1 (0x2400)
Performance Level Default
Core clock 300.0 MHz
Shader clock 600.0 MHz
Memory clock 100.0 MHz
Performance Level 2D Desktop
Core clock 400.0 MHz
Shader clock 800.0 MHz
Memory clock 300.0 MHz
Performance Level 3D Applications
Core clock 640.0 MHz
Shader clock 1404.0 MHz
Memory clock 1200.0 MHz


Software
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Windows Version Microsoft Windows 7 (6.1) (Build 7600)
DirectX Version 11.0

 

I'll look into the utilities noted and install something to track temps next time I game. I don't game that regularly however that said I have completed Crysis 2 and Portal 2 recently. Both were complete across only 2 or 3 sittings without any freezes which was a little surprising. Crysis 2 did have the GPU working hard (fan noise). I don't really play online so no single game got hammered enough to notice a trend, as most saw less than 10hrs gameplay before being shelved.

My main frustration at the moment is the Windows lock ups during startup.

 

Forceware 260.99 - upgrade this. It gave me persistent and repeatable "infinite loop" hangs (every time starting a game after resuming my PC from stand-by). 270.61 is the current WHQL version.

50°C is rather high for an idle GPU - it may be worth giving the heatsink a dusting but I suspect you may need an extra fan blowing across it.

 

will let you know in the morning mste

 

Downloading 270.61 now.

I agree 50C seems a bit on the high side for idle, however others do report high temps from these:

http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=208608&highlight=GTX280+idle+temp
http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=115072
http://forums.techarena.in/monitor-video-cards/1022963.htm

It's reckon it's about 22C in my room (warmish) and the PC has been on since anout 17:30 so it probably won't get much cooler. It's also factory overclocked (XT model) by around 6% which probably doesnt help. I should check it for dust at some point as a matter of good practice.

Case has got 8 x 120mm fans, and 2 x 80mm fans (exlcuding PSU). TJ07s are great for water cooling, but air cooling isn't fantastic. I could probably fit another 80mm in pointing directly at the card, as it doesn't get much airflow from below.



I'll check it for dust and see if I can point something at it, however I'm fairly confident it wont be the root cause of my startup lockups.

 

I agree there - I would suspect AVG at this point since online security software nowadays does have to monitor interapplication traffic, and the symptoms you describe sound like interapp interference.

The picture of your system (thanks for including it) does raise a couple of questions - are the fans on the CPU heatsink blowing air up or down? The GPU looks as if it would benefit from an end-mounted fan (on the right-hand side, blowing towards the back of the case) since it is mounted upside down.

 

I’ll remove AVG from start-up for the next couple of weeks and see if that alleviates the start-up problem.

Below is the current airflow design. There are two 120mm fans in the front of the case:



I’ve tried both rear 80mm fans in both directions and to be honest there was no meaningful difference in CPU Temp. I’ve opted to keep the top and back as exhaust and bottom and front as intake.
Image below shows where I think a fan could best be added to cool the graphics card, as it feels like it is expelling air from the end (if it’s not I may need to rethink where to put the fan). I’m not overly concerned about the current GPU temps, although I’m yet to record them at load:

 

Your CPU temperatures seem fine, I was wondering more about possible impact on GPU cooling. With the card mounted upside down, you'll probably have a buildup of warm air just above it (around the sound card) and there doesn't seem to be anything present to shift it out the back.

However it's probably not urgent (and it will likely need some experimentation to find the best option) - it would be interesting to see if the Forceware upgrade and AVG swapout make a more immediate difference.

 

Just a thought. Have you tried using a different Sata cable for your hdd? Or plugged it into one of the other sata ports.

 

I have a similar problem with my Asus striker 2 formula 780i, when i run the memory at its rated speed of 1066Mhz it can take sometimes upto 20 attempts to boot into windows and then after about 1 hour it will crash. I have to run the memory at 800Mhz to get the system stable. Anybody know how to solve it?

 

Thanks for your thoughts AstralWanderer, will let you know if I see any difference over next few weeks.

Lankuzo, I have not. In fact I've not tried hardware rebuilding from scratch which might be worth a go?

Fire Strike, if mine had taken 20 attpts to load windows I think my machine would have gone out the window. From what I've been reading on the forums I'm loosing a little confidence in ASUS. That being said I haven't searched threads on other manufacturers so they might be as bad. Your signature suggests stock speed it 800MHz? Have you run Memcheck?

Also can anyone advise what voltage the RAM should be running at? It has occurred to me that perhaps auto isn't using the correct voltage.

 

Wow, a problem described so clearly and in such detail I haven't seen in a while. *raises hat*
It deserves a proper answer, so here is mine:

At first glance your problem seems to be driver-related (with video driver being prime suspect). However, since you say you have tried many versions and this is not a new computer and have done several reinstalls in it's lifetime, unless you've been lazy and used the same versions of drivers (those supplied on the cd-s that came with each component) it can't be software related. And by the looks of those cable arrangements you don't seem the lazy type. By the way, nice rig you've got there!

Here are my suggestions of things for you to try:

1. Memtest64 is old and unmaintained. Use Memtest86+.
The first complete run may not uncover any problems. If you want to really rule out memory faults, let it run for 24 hours.

2. Prime95 is ok i guess, but I find LinX to be by far the most brutal test for CPU+Mainboard+(to a lesser degree)Ram. Run it for at least four hours. But do so with your finger on the 'kill button' as it can overheat components very quickly. Use HWmonitor to read system temperatures.

Since we're talking about temperatures, I see from the pictures that your northbridge heatsink is somewhat covered by one of the CPU fans. My guess is there's not a lot of air movement in that area. Are you sure it's not overheating?

3. Antivirus
As AstralWanderer already suggested, it may be a cause for the problems. Have you tried other flavors of such software? Try uninstalling it, or reinstalling Windows and not installing it at all.

4. PSU
Are you sure your power supply is 100% ok? I've read good things about the HX series, but is it possible that you got a slightly faulty one from the beginning?
I also have another concern about your PSU. From the pictures I can't really tell how much clearance you've got between the PS's fan and the side panel (that you removed to take the picture). Does the PS get enough airflow?

5. HDD
It's already been suggested, but have to emphasize it: have you tried replacing your SATA cable? Also, have you tried routing it differently? (it might pick up interference from something)
Have you run a surface scan of your Windows partition lately? If you have, did the drive make any strange noises during the procedure?

6. Have left this as the final suggestion, as it's the hardest to pinpoint and fix: you might have a cold solder. The fact that it happens very often on cold boots suggests that some component or contact needs to warm up to work. It's very hard to find and solutions are few, time consuming and difficult.
Firstly, have you tried running your motherboard out of the case? Is there any chance that you bent it or overtightened the screws?

Actually, here are some more questions/suggestions:
Do you have any friends that you can borrow components from? (like a video card or a PSU)
Any firmware/bios updates available for your hardware?
Have you tried running Linux (from a live cd if you don't fancy installing it on your drive) and doing the stuff you usually do with your computer when it hangs? (except for gaming, of course) Would be interesting to see if it encounters the same problems and what the kernel panics about.

Ok, that's everything that comes to mind for now. Hope it helps.

 

Have had similar issues over the years, generally my problems were related to RAM.

Solutions as follows:

1) RAM undervolted by bios, easy fix - go into bios and give them their rated voltage!

2) RAM timings defaulting too tight, for example i had a set of ballistix that would default to 3-3-3-7 giving me loads of issues, changing them to 3-3-3-8 in the bios sorted it all out. So check if your ram timings are the rated timings or too tight?

Not the easiest issue to fix, dont go changing all the ram settings available. Setting the sticks to SPD mode (if available) can be simpler, and should use the correct values.

You can use CPU-Z to determine the rated timings and the actual timings. Best to do this with no overclock as it can give false readings for your actual timing / frequency when your system is overclocked.

3) Occasionally i found greater stability in a system by moving the dimms themselves from one channel to another. You've probably already tried that.

Good luck, hope this helps!

 

Ive put 800Mhz in my signature because thats what its running at but it is rated to run at 1066Mhz. I don't think that its Asus's fault I think it is the Nvidia chipset because I originally had a reference 780i board from XFX that was wouldn't even post and from what i have read it was the Nvidia chipset.