New Build Computer Shutdown--Most likely culprit?

rsi777

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Dec 22, 2014
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I just put together a new computer and I've had problems with what seems like a short circuit from the very beginning--but I don't know what to blame.
After the build was complete before running for the first time I pushed the power button and absolutely nothing happened except a momentary flash of one of the LED's on the mother board. I tried several times after removing and re-installing various cables and such. I then read the voltages on the mother board (Z97X-UD5H-BK) and all of them were railed at 0. It seemed like a short.

I removed the NOCTUA cooler to see if it was putting some kind of stress on the MB, but it didn't help. Then I removed all cabling and re-added--still same thing. Then I removed the mother board and re-installed it in the same exact way, and re-installed the Noctua, cabling, etc.. This time everything seemed to work. Now a couple days later I have random shutdown of the computer--complete power down, but it instantly re-boots.
The shutdown occurs as a result some simple thing, like moving the mouse to a program that was idle. Or once it died during initial start up.
Is this more likely the MB or the PSU?
Thanks for any suggestions.
MB = Gigabyte Z97X-UD5H-BK
Chip = i7-4790k
PSU = XFX XTR 550W
RAM = Crucial Ballistic 2 x 8G
 

rsi777

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Dec 22, 2014
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I want this computer up and running soon, so I might just go out and buy a new one. I don't want to install an old one that solves this problem, but isn't "Haswell compatible" and all that stuff, so that I have to I have to replace it again anyway. But if an MB problem typically manifests in the same way, I might think twice about just getting a new PSU. That's why I'm questioning this board--all the experience could help me find the most likely source of the problem.
 

rsi777

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Dec 22, 2014
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I left the computer running, and by the time I had returned it had crashed again. This time I received some info when it started up again.
Does anybody know what the following information could mean in terms of the source of my problem?

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: BlueScreen
OS Version: 6.1.7601.2.1.0.256.48
Locale ID: 1033

Additional information about the problem:
BCCode: d1
BCP1: FFFFF88006FA9000
BCP2: 0000000000000002
BCP3: 0000000000000001
BCP4: FFFFF88004EAB6D0
OS Version: 6_1_7601
Service Pack: 1_0
Product: 256_1

Files that help describe the problem:
C:\Windows\Minidump\122214-4726-01.dmp
C:\Users\Music Machine\AppData\Local\Temp\WER-16130-0.sysdata.xml

Read our privacy statement online:
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=104288&clcid=0x0409

If the online privacy statement is not available, please read our privacy statement offline:
C:\Windows\system32\en-US\erofflps.txt
 

rsi777

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Dec 22, 2014
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Further testing: It seems that I can cause the computer to shut down by simply put a large load on the CPU by starting an audio project with a heavy plugin load. The same audio project without the a large plugin load does not seem to bother the the system instantly.

But in some cases it shuts down without much effort, like in the case above.
 

rsi777

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Dec 22, 2014
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Another entry to my blog: The new power supply did NOT help--same problem.
I've switched my RAM
I've switched my Power supply
I've removed my sound card
I can usually boot up just fine. I downloaded "Prime95" stress test--every single time I run it the computer shuts down.
Is this a sign of a bad CPU? There is no indication of high temperature.
Could the MB be bad? Would that give the same result?

From the response I've gotten so far, I guess I'm asking myself these questions...

I'll keep posting in case this helps somebody else down the line.
 

rsi777

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Dec 22, 2014
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Thanks for the reply!
No there is no spare of either. So is there anything I can see in a stress test that would help me differentiate between the two causes you mention?
 

rsi777

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Dec 22, 2014
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Update to blog:
I've discovered that the Gigabyte default overclock settings don't work well with my setup. I found that I was able to run Prime95 for at least an hour by turning DOWN the voltage from 1.25 to 1.20 (using a 44x multiplier), but when I turned the multiplier down to 40 (no OC) the system was very stable with Prime95 and also never exceeded 70C, which seemed to be an ustable temperature for this system. (Lots of power downs occurred when temps exceeded 70C).
When I run my system under ordinary conditions (mixing music), my temperature never exceeds 40C.
I suspect I could overclock to 4.4GHz without an issue since Prime95 is way more intensive than my actual usage, but the computer is fast enough without OC, and I'd rather be sure of the stability.

I still don't know why I couldn't get the thing to even boot up at the beginning, but at least the shutdown problem appears to have been solved.