Several odd symptoms in new build - related to fans? Please help if you can. Totally lost.

wadefreelance

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Aug 11, 2014
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4,510
(MODS and others: I am sorry if this is a double-post - I can't see my other thread anywhere so am retrying post-confirmation email. Very sorry if it is.)

Hello,

I've spent the last several hours reading this forum/Googling for an answer to no avail. I also read the READ THIS post and made sure all the steps were covered before posting.

I recently built a new machine with the following (relevant) components:

Mobo: Asrock H97 Pro4
CPU: Intel Core i7 I7-4790 Haswell 3.6GHZ
GPU: Sapphire r9 280x
PSU: Corsair CX750M

I had been having a strange issue where, the first time I played any game after install, the computer would crash, restart to a blank (no input) screen, stop. I would have to flip the power switch to bring it back.

Today, the same thing happened, but I couldn't get it to reboot at all. Every fan but the CPU fan (stock - I'm an idiot) spun, so I assumed the piece of garbage died and went to get a new cooling system. Am now using a Corsair H100i.

After I installed, the reverse happened: The CPU fans connected to the radiator would spin, but my chassis/GPU fans were not.

I got it to go after reseating the four-pin power connector (sorry, I'm a newb and don't know the correct term) near the CPU - but the computer took FOREVER too boot after putting my Windows password in.

I rebooted it. The system tried to log in for about three minutes, then blackscreened. When it went black the radiator fans went NUTS - very, very fast - until I flipped the switch again.

I finally got it going again. There were two possible things causing it:

1.) like an idiot, I connected the Corsair Link cable to the bottom row of the USB pins instead of the whole thing.

2.) I reseated the larger-pin (20-pin? Whatever the size is) from the PSU to the mobo.

Now it mostly seems to be working fine, BUT:

1.) It's quite a bit slower to reboot.

2.) For the first few minutes after rebooting, things are pretty slow - not really at all like a brand spanking new build should behave, and

3.) A (limited) test of the game Grid 3 at less-than-max settings showed my poor GPU at full load. That shouldn't be happening, from what I have read: The game is CPU heavy, but doesn't put a ton of reliance on the GPU. That said, it ran flawlessly - just the numbers scared me.


I guess my questions here are twofold:

1.) Do I have a faulty component? If not, is it possible the crap stock CPU fan just died at a bad time and my install mistakes made the liquid cool solution not work properly at first?

2.) Given the slow loads, etc, have I done some sort of lasting damage to my new hardware?


Thanks for your help. I'm at a stage with this stuff where I know just enough to be dangerous... I've successfully completed three builds prior to this, but they were years ago, and things have changed.

I sincerely appreciate any help you fine folks might have.Totally lost here.
 

wadefreelance

Reputable
Aug 11, 2014
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4,510


I'm an idiot - it is 8. Everything is legit there. My bad.

I did have some confusion wiring the GPU, since it has a strange number of pins compared to cards I've used in the past and needs to be plugged directly into the mobo. But my suspicion tells me that's not the issue.

Still, thanks for the catch.