Hello,
Since a few weeks I've been having a hardware issue that is absolutely driving me crazy. I've registered here as I know there are a lot of knowledgeable people about, and my direct circle of friends and forums couldn't help me out. I hope someone here can.
My system is:
OCZ 520w ModStream PSU
MSI K9N Platinum Motherboard ( 601-7250-020 version)
AMD Athlon 64 3500+
Corsair TWIN2X 1024-5400C4 1024 MB, PC5400, 675 MHz, 4, Non-ECC
HIS X1600XT IceQ Turbo 256 MB, PCI-e 16x
Maxtor 160GB ATA-133 5400 RPM
SB Live! 5.1
Lite-On DVD-RW Lightscribe 8x
The problem is: random reboots and the following sequence occurring: at any given moment (although programs that require a lot more resources, say games, do trigger it more) the screen goes completely black, it comes back frozen with sound sometimes playing on, sometimes freezing as well, and after a few seconds to half a minute, the system reboots. I cannot play any games, and even while being in Windows (or sometimes during the boot sequence) this occurs often, making using the PC a pain.
I've narrowed it down to a hardware error as a full scan on viruses/malware followed by a fresh format resulted in this occuring straight away. It has, as said, happened before booting into Windows so it cannot be a software issue. Also the GPU runs at 45 degrees stable and gets to 55-60 tops when being stressed. The CPU is idle at around 40 degrees and stressed around 45. Both of these are NOT overclocked. I have already tried voltage settings to stabilize as well. The southbridge chip on the motherboard was getting very hot, but I've added sufficient cooling so this cannot be the problem either. There's also a lot of airflow because of case-fans.
With a lot of tries (silly reboots here as well), I've managed to let Memtest86 run for 27 hours with not a single error. This would definately absolve the system memory. I have replaced the Chieftec PSU that came with my case with the OCZ one (+120w and good quality), problem not solved so this absolves the PSU. Prime95 has given errors after different periods of time, ranging from directly to up to 10 hours. SiSoft Sandra hasn't helped me to determine the error either.
I cannot believe the soundcard/harddrive or processor would be the cause of these kind of problems, if I am wrong please say so, but am I? If not that leaves two possible culprits: the motherboard and the VGA. I have reset the CMOS on the motherboard and had a look at flashing the BIOS, however the MSI AMI-BIOS flashing process is just so retardedly retarded (no guide for a massive list of possible commands to be executed), I did not want to go ahead with that in risking to completely blow out the motherboard.
I just cannot determine which of these two it is, and as I'm a student I can't really throw around money replacing both on the fly. Is there anyone here who can give me any pointers as to what the problem is? Thank you in advance!
Regards from Holland,
Geert
Since a few weeks I've been having a hardware issue that is absolutely driving me crazy. I've registered here as I know there are a lot of knowledgeable people about, and my direct circle of friends and forums couldn't help me out. I hope someone here can.
My system is:
OCZ 520w ModStream PSU
MSI K9N Platinum Motherboard ( 601-7250-020 version)
AMD Athlon 64 3500+
Corsair TWIN2X 1024-5400C4 1024 MB, PC5400, 675 MHz, 4, Non-ECC
HIS X1600XT IceQ Turbo 256 MB, PCI-e 16x
Maxtor 160GB ATA-133 5400 RPM
SB Live! 5.1
Lite-On DVD-RW Lightscribe 8x
The problem is: random reboots and the following sequence occurring: at any given moment (although programs that require a lot more resources, say games, do trigger it more) the screen goes completely black, it comes back frozen with sound sometimes playing on, sometimes freezing as well, and after a few seconds to half a minute, the system reboots. I cannot play any games, and even while being in Windows (or sometimes during the boot sequence) this occurs often, making using the PC a pain.
I've narrowed it down to a hardware error as a full scan on viruses/malware followed by a fresh format resulted in this occuring straight away. It has, as said, happened before booting into Windows so it cannot be a software issue. Also the GPU runs at 45 degrees stable and gets to 55-60 tops when being stressed. The CPU is idle at around 40 degrees and stressed around 45. Both of these are NOT overclocked. I have already tried voltage settings to stabilize as well. The southbridge chip on the motherboard was getting very hot, but I've added sufficient cooling so this cannot be the problem either. There's also a lot of airflow because of case-fans.
With a lot of tries (silly reboots here as well), I've managed to let Memtest86 run for 27 hours with not a single error. This would definately absolve the system memory. I have replaced the Chieftec PSU that came with my case with the OCZ one (+120w and good quality), problem not solved so this absolves the PSU. Prime95 has given errors after different periods of time, ranging from directly to up to 10 hours. SiSoft Sandra hasn't helped me to determine the error either.
I cannot believe the soundcard/harddrive or processor would be the cause of these kind of problems, if I am wrong please say so, but am I? If not that leaves two possible culprits: the motherboard and the VGA. I have reset the CMOS on the motherboard and had a look at flashing the BIOS, however the MSI AMI-BIOS flashing process is just so retardedly retarded (no guide for a massive list of possible commands to be executed), I did not want to go ahead with that in risking to completely blow out the motherboard.
I just cannot determine which of these two it is, and as I'm a student I can't really throw around money replacing both on the fly. Is there anyone here who can give me any pointers as to what the problem is? Thank you in advance!
Regards from Holland,
Geert
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