Problem with Q9300

[ObsidianII]

Just built a new pc and I'm having some terrible stability issues. System is as follows:

Intel Q9300 2.5 ghz
Intel DX48BT2 mobo
4gb OCZ DDR3 1600
Sapphire Radeon 4870
Seagate Barracuda 1TB
Windows Vista Ultimate 64

The problem I'm having is with the pc constantly rebooting. I could not install windows because the pc would continually reboot during the second step (expanding files). It was not doing it at the same % everytime, but randomly. I took out 1 stick of ram and that did not solve the problem. I swapped to the other stick of ram and the problem remained. I eventually massively underclocked the cpu (to 6x 200, 1.2 ghz clock) and the problems completely disappeared. I was able to install windows and get everything running. After getting windows running I went back to the default settings (7.5x 333, 2.5 ghz) and the problem immediately appeared again.

I cannot boot into windows with these settings, it begins loading and then the pc reboots. There are no warning sounds or beeps from the mobo and the system will immediately start with no problems at all after the reboot (until it reboots again that is). Does anyone have any idea what the problem could be? I believe the voltage is set to 1.325v, everything is set to automatic. Could this be overheating related? I'm using the retail intel hsf but there is more than enough airflow and nothing obstructing the air coming from or going to the processor. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[amdfangirl]

Overheating problem is my diagnosis. Try posting a picture of your rig's airflow. I think your processor's overheating. Try some thermal paste or a new cooler.

 

[BadTrip]

it doesn't hurt to reseat all the components.

 

[Grimmy]

I'd say the HSF is the problem. You may not have all 4 pins in securely.

You should be able to check the temp in the bios at stock speed. If the temps look okay, the perhaps running memtest to see if there any problems there.

 

[ObsidianII]

This is a picture of my case to show the airflow etc:
http://img440.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image007eb1.jpg
As you can see not only is there an abundance of fans in that immediate area but there is nothing that could potentially cause any airflow issues (sorry about the quality of the image I took it with my phone).

I downloaded CoreTemp and it lists my cores at 70°C, 54°C, 58°C, 59°C at ~0-3% load when I'm underclocked to 7.5x300 (2.25ghz). This seems ridiculously high based on a quick google search, but I might be wrong. Anyone care to chime in if this is way off what it should be?

 

[alexs3d2]

Although it could be overheating, I had very similar problems and the problem was a bad RAM stick. Windows 64 wouldn't install, Windows 32 succeeded installing after 30+ tries.

Therefor I suggest you remove the other stick of Memory as well and see if it helps. Usually only one stick of RAM is bad

Do check it out, because this is the most common problem for random issues. In my experience, even Memtest doesn't always find bad RAM, even if you are actually getting BSODs in Vista. Also Vista reveals bad mem more often than XP.

 

[zipz0p]

Your vcore is way too high. 1.3 V is more than what I'm using to get my Q9450 to 3.2 GHz. Drop the voltage down below 1.25V and try again.

 

[amdfangirl]

^ Heck! I keep mine at 0.9V

 

[random_2]

Fangirl is right. You've underclocked the thing and it's still running 70c on one of the cores???? That should be a bit of a dead giveaway my friend. Having one of the push pins fail to hold properly is very common on these things, so just pull it apart and put it back together....correctly this time

 

[ObsidianII]

I reseated everything several times but the temperatures are staying in the same range. Unfortunately my bios (updated to the latest version) won't even let me select voltages as low as 0.9v. The lowest option I have is 1.2875v. I'll try running with this setting for a while and see if it changes anything (though initial impressions are not good as my pc rebooted about 3 times just trying to get into windows). The most stable it has run has been at 1.35v with 7x250 (1.75ghz). It actually ran for about 6 hours overnight with this setting (idling). If I set the motherboard to default everything the voltage gets set to 1.325v, but the pc will not run for more than 30 seconds with the clock set to default and the voltage set to default.

I've also taken out 1 stick of ram and I'm going to let memtest run for a few hours, if all goes ok I'll try the other stick. It really doesn't seem like a ram problem but I guess it never hurts to be certain!

This is the first non asus motherboard I've ever purchased, the first non amd I've ever built for myself, the first time I've used ram other than corsair and the first time I've ever had any real system instability issues I feel like I should've just spent more cash and gone with the usual (asus + corsair) though I don't think I could justify a phenom purchase right now

Thanks for all the help guys, hopefully I can figure this out!

 

[BadTrip]

and it could well be a faulty power supply. If you have a spare it wouldn't hurt to try that

 

[shadowthor]

Another thing could be that the cpu isn't sitting properly if it keeps rebooting. Either that or PSU.

 

[zipz0p]

What is the VID if you run CoreTemp? That should be the default voltage that the CPU starts with if you don't fiddle with the BIOS at all. It should be cool with that setting... 1.35V is very high for a 45nm Intel - that's over the maximum rated voltage, I think.