New Build Is Unstable

[Polygon]

I need some help with my new build. First off, here are the specs:

ThermalTake Armor Xaser VA8000B ~ Corsair 620HX
MSI P55-GD80
Intel Core i7 860 2.8GHz ~ Zalman CNPS9900
Mushkin Blackline 4GB (2 x 2GB) PC3 12800 7-7-7-20
VisionTek Radeon HD 4850 512MB ~ Zalman VF1000
Creative Labs X-Fi Platinum
Seagate 320GB, 400GB, 750GB, 1.5TBx2 SATA, 250GB USB
Plextor PX-716SA/SW DVD-RW SATA

The mobo, RAM, and CPU are the only new devices.

Now, here's a description of what's going on:

It all started with hard locks. No BSOD, just a hard lock at which point I would have to hold down the power button and restart. It's very random but is consistent when the system is pushed. However, sometimes it will take some time and sometimes it will happen quickly. Now it is getting to the point were it will reboot as well. It has done this right after logging into Windows as well. Another new development is that I will get static through the speakers occasionally. Also, when messing with the BIOS it would not boot. It would post but Windows failed to load until I went back to fail safe defaults.

So, I got back in and decided to run a stress test with Prime95. Here's what I got.

[Sat Jan 16 23:36:04 2010]
FATAL ERROR: Resulting sum was 3.206511881782796e+016, expected: 4.764133057460626e+016
Hardware failure detected, consult stress.txt file.
FATAL ERROR: Resulting sum was -804318095685795, expected: 1.331283465043802e+016
Hardware failure detected, consult stress.txt file.

When it does this it consistently fails on worker 7 and 8. So, I am assuming that the fourth core is bunk. Once the others just kept on going like nothing ever happened, sometimes it just locks, and sometimes it reboots. Sometimes it doesn't fail at all. I've also run memtest86 three days straight on it with no failures. Here are some other solutions/conjecture I've gotten:

Recently I tried bringing up the voltage of the CPU a little and all failed. I also had trouble getting back into Windows at one point due to corrupt volume information which I fixed with a check disc. I also got a BSOD complaining about a USB driver? I also tried bringing up the memory voltage as well, but I can't bring it to spec because I risk damaging the CPU. Spec for this RAM is 1.85-1.95V. This made me realize that I had gotten the wrong memory. I had been looking at two different sets. One was specifically designed for the P55 chipset and the voltage is 1.5-1.6V. So, just in case I ordered a set, but I still doubt it's the issue as the memory passed the memtest for practically three days at the lower voltage.

Here is some of the suggestions that other people have given me.

1. Reinstall Windows with a slower optical drive. They think my install might be bad. This made me wonder as I had to install DirectX separately. And the OS is Win7 64 Pro. Still, I find this doubtful.

2. Memory is being undervolted, get the right memory.

3. Could be a north bridge issue.

I would be pretty confident that it's a CPU but the static and high pitch squeals through the speakers and the failures to boot after changes to the BIOS have me wondering. Also, I am not over clocking.

So, help me out here. Do you thin it's the memory, CPU or mobo?

 

[Vette Boss]

I think it's down to the memory, which is the wrong voltage. Your computer is like a finely tuned car, any one thing out of specification can throw it out of balance.

Once you get the correct memory in, let it run Memtest86+ overnight. Format and install Windows again, as your install may be corrupt.

 

[freakster_991]

Could it be that the power source may not be sufficient to power the whole system?

 

[Polygon]

I think it's down to the memory, which is the wrong voltage. Your computer is like a finely tuned car, any one thing out of specification can throw it out of balance.

Once you get the correct memory in, let it run Memtest86+ overnight. Format and install Windows again, as your install may be corrupt.

Memory has been ordered. Won't be here until Tuesday though. I'll stress test the system again and see what happens. I just worry as it passed memtest before for three days straight. Here's to hoping the MOBO and CPU are fine. I'll be doing a clean install as well.

Could it be that the power source may not be sufficient to power the whole system?

A 620 watt is plenty for this system. Also, only three of those drives are hooked up. Plus it's only a 65 watt CPU and the old system ran fine with a Q6600. I would not even think twice about the PSU. Still, tested the voltages, all are good and stable.

 

[MadCow809]

I suspect the following :


faulty ram : check it with memtest86 (with the correct voltage and timing), bootup with the cd and run the test for at least 15min.

faulty mobo : BSOD with the usb message could mean that the mobo is faulty.

faulty cpu : pc will bomb out as soon as you run any cpu stress test like orthos, prime95, intel burn test.


I highly doubt that the OS being the culprit, it sounds more like a hardware problem to me.

 

[Flappy Paddle Gearbox]

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146871

Are these the ones you are referring too? This is indeed strange, because no DDR3 memory module should be spec'd beyond 1.65v. Were you able to manually adjust the voltage of the memory to 1.65v? And did it boot up properly.

Edit: NVM it looks like you found your culprit.

Once the new memory arrives, I suggest running everything at default speeds and settings and do a stress test again before attempting to overclock to your prior settings.

 

[awdrifter]

If you want to keep your current memory, just run them at a slower speed. You can probably run them at DDR3-1333 speeds with 1.65v.

 

[Polygon]

I suspect the following :


faulty ram : check it with memtest86 (with the correct voltage and timing), bootup with the cd and run the test for at least 15min.

faulty mobo : BSOD with the usb message could mean that the mobo is faulty.

faulty cpu : pc will bomb out as soon as you run any cpu stress test like orthos, prime95, intel burn test.


I highly doubt that the OS being the culprit, it sounds more like a hardware problem to me.

That's exactly what I'm thinking. I just hope that the MOBO and CPU are fine. If not they're both brand new and can be RMAed. I'll just be pissed.

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146871

Are these the ones you are referring too? This is indeed strange, because no DDR3 memory module should be spec'd beyond 1.65v. Were you able to manually adjust the voltage of the memory to 1.65v? And did it boot up properly.

Edit: NVM it looks like you found your culprit.

Once the new memory arrives, I suggest running everything at default speeds and settings and do a stress test again before attempting to overclock to your prior settings.

Yeah, those are the ones I have. And I actually didn't even get a chance to overclock. :lol:

If you want to keep your current memory, just run them at a slower speed. You can probably run them at DDR3-1333 speeds with 1.65v.

I already tired that. I underclocked to 1333 and set the timings to 9 instead of 7 and it still has issues. The new memory is DDR3-1333 with the correct voltage. The fact that Mushkin states that it's designed specifically for P55 chipsets says something to me.

It should be here tomorrow. I'll get it in and stress test the computer. If it passes I'll give encoding a video a try. That's what really let me know the system was unstable in the first place. I can't get past 11% encoding a video before it will lock. So, if it passes memtest and Prime95 and get's all the way through encoding a video then I guess I can call it good.

I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

[Polygon]

Well, I got the new memory and let it run Memtest86 overnight. It ran with no errors. Tired to boot and it keeps trying to recover data. I would say that the install was certainly corrupt. So, I did another clean install. Once I got all the updates installed and the correct drivers installed I decided to run something that would be guaranteed to kill it, video encoding.

The furthest I could get before was 11% encoding an episode of the original Star Trek series. I managed to finish this time. I ran two runs of Prime 95 with no errors.

So, the memory seems to have been the issue. Now the only problem is the fact that my HDD is slow. Everything else is rated a mid seven but the HDD is a lowly 5.9. :lol:

Thanks for the help everyone.

 

[thevictor390]

Pretty sure any standard 7200 RPM HDD will score 5.9, you need RAID, a raptor, or an SSD or something to go higher.

 

[Polygon]

Pretty sure any standard 7200 RPM HDD will score 5.9, you need RAID, a raptor, or an SSD or something to go higher.

Yeah, I know.

I'm more or less bitching for fun. It doesn't really bother me. Then again I have been thinking of getting an SSD.

 

[thevictor390]

Yeah, I'm in the same situation Lowest score is 5.9 from the HDD. But at least I have two! (apparently this doesn't matter as my total of 750 GB matches your score)

 

[Mercury]

Yeah, I'm in the same situation Lowest score is 5.9 from the HDD. But at least I have two! (apparently this doesn't matter as my total of 750 GB matches your score)

It matters if you place the pagefile on a different physical hard drive than the OS. Read and write times are better when the system has 2 disks to use. I took it a step further and I place my games on a 3rd disk (yes I have 3 HDDs in my PC ) that way I got 3 disks reading and writing at the same time and load times improve dramatically, I've yet to see anyone load up a certain level faster than I do. I always have to wait for them

 

[thevictor390]

Yup, I have a 250 GB "OS" drive and a 500 GB "just about everything else" drive, and am almost always the first to load in games. I'll have to try that page file trick.

 

[Polygon]

Yeah, I'm in the same situation Lowest score is 5.9 from the HDD. But at least I have two! (apparently this doesn't matter as my total of 750 GB matches your score)

It matters if you place the pagefile on a different physical hard drive than the OS. Read and write times are better when the system has 2 disks to use. I took it a step further and I place my games on a 3rd disk (yes I have 3 HDDs in my PC ) that way I got 3 disks reading and writing at the same time and load times improve dramatically, I've yet to see anyone load up a certain level faster than I do. I always have to wait for them

Yeah, I actually have four in there at any one time.

320GB main drive, 400GB music drive, 1.5TB TV series drive, and a 2TB movie drive.