Strange.. but true! :(

[harjafsormok]

here is a link to an issue I have come up with on the Windows 7 - Hardware forum; unable to find the root of my problem they reccommended Tom's Hardware to me..

"Perhaps the OP should go to a hardware forum, like Tom's, and ask the experts there. They do nothing but build PCs and blow them up thru OCing... they'd know exactly what's going on."

So can you guys help me or what?

Thanks in advance

 

[outlw6669]

Hi all,

Lately I experienced a really wierd computer problem.. and I came to these forums to verify probability of happenings and a solution.

Recently and randomly (i.e. have no idea when or what triggered this) my computer has been abnormally crashing after 2-10mins of 3D gameplay. This happened last night for the first time ever, for even with my previous pre-installed Vista OS, these games were more than sufficiently playable..

The first time round after 15 mins or so in a game of "Company of Heroes" .. the whole system freezes, subsequently forcing me to press the restart button in order to reboot my computer. After 3 attempts to restarting the computer, my system failed to boot and my monitor failed to display any sort of information what so ever.. simultaneously sort-of 'warning' sounds were being transmitted from the computer..

The next morning I managed to switch on the computer.. and had no problems what so ever (as regards to 2D OS management), until the computer crashed on me again (without blue screens as before) and I was forced to restart the system (This time not during gameplay). As I restarted, my peripherals (namely keyboard and mouse) failed to respond after boot and I felt there was only one thing I had left to do.. take the system to a technician.

Prior to taking it to be fixed I checked the tower interior for accumulated dust - as I initially suspected the problem to be graphic oriented - ..barely anything there to clean. I checked if temperatures were too high during the game, according to a temp application I downloaded it read 49(degrees celsius)

After 3 days of (seemingly) analysing, the techs have just informed me that 3 out of 4 of my motherboard's host memory sockets are ruined (possibly due to some over surge or sudden cut in electricity..) My soundcard is also seems to be faulty due to the same reason. My computer is currently without an OS (due to reformat) and Soundcard, and has only 1GB of RAM attached to it as the other slots are damaged (+ that is the only way it will work without crashing on me again.)

I was wondering if such subsequent system happenings are possibly due to the component failures mentioned above, and whether the current motherboard issue can be solved by means of this motherboard replacement.

I am inclined to buying this (AM2+ compatible & 4 memory slot) motherboard, as I was intending to keep using my still functioning - according to the tech staff - "AMD Phenom Quad Core 9550 Processor", "1GB NVIDIA GeForce 9600GT graphics card", "Corsair 6GB DDR2 Memory".

I imagine the above (replacement) motherboard is compatible to all other memory, gfx and cpu components mentioned above..

But still, I would really appreciate your assistance on checking for me if all (replacement) motherboard specs are compatible with my current system and if I can do anything to prevent this issue from reoccurring again with my new motherboard (not as yet put) in place.


As regards to the Soundcard, I have decided to buy another identical relatively cheap “Creative Audigy SE 7.1 Sound Card” in order to replace my current faulty existing one.


My current system specs are as follows:
AMD Phenom Quad Core 9550 Processor
Gigabyte GA-MA69G-S3H (rev. 1.0) ATX DDR2/SATA2/PCI-E motherboard (faulty)
(6xUSB2.0, 10/100 LAN, x16 PCI-Express, TV-Out)
MICROSOFT WINDOWS 7 PROFESSIONAL OEM
1GB NVIDIA GeForce 9600GT graphics card
Corsair 6GB DDR2 Memory
750GB Serial ATA 7200rpm hard drive
Pioneer BDC-202BK Blu-Ray Reader/DVD Writer
Creative Audigy SE 7.1 Sound Card (faulty)
Coolermaster Case/High End 750W PSU
6 in 1memory card reader
Logitech EX100 Cordless Mouse
Logitech 967653-0120 Ultra Flat Wired PS2/USB Keyboard
Creative 5.1 Surround Speakers
AG Neovo 22" TFT Monitor

I excuse myself for such a long post..

Thanks for your extreme patience in advanced

 

[outlw6669]

While the Gigabyte GA-M720-US3 will work with your current hardware, I would not consider it your best option.
Nvidia's chipsets are far from the best on the market and I think you would be better off avoiding them.
I would recommend either this ASUS M4A77D or Gigabyte GA-MA770-UD3 as your replacement motherboard.
Both are reasonably priced at $65-70 and will support your current CPU and RAM.

I would highly recommend against getting another Creative sound card.
Creative has many driver issues, inferior sound quality and uses many shady business practises to force customers to upgrade.
Try your onboard sound first, it will probably sound good enough for you.
If afterwards you are looking to boost sound quality, ASUS' Xonar Ds has vastly superior sound quality and features to many newer Creative cards and, at $50, is reasonably priced to boot.

Will read the rest of your other thread when I have a chance and post on anything relevant....

 

[harjafsormok]

Thanks a lot for your immediate and helpful recommendations; thing is.. I already bought the Gigabyte GA-M720-US3. As regards to the Gigabyte GA-MA69G-S3H (the one i am replacing), will the GA-M720-US3 improve performance compared to the GA-MA69G-S3H? Or will the upgrade be negligibly recognised..?

Also, as regards to the Windows 7 Hardware thread I posted earlier... the query was this:


stevieray wrote:

"Let me clarify what I am saying...

I think you're on the right track with your motherboard replacement... as far as I can tell it will work with your CPU and memory. So that is all good....

BUT... I would be very wary of simply plugging in a new motherboard until I knew exactly why the old one got fried. A little bit of static electricity can ruin a CPU chip, a RAM card, or a board chip... but a bit of accidental static electricity would NOT destroy memory slots. Something really bad zapped your system, and could zap your new MB as well.

Go ahead and get the new MB, just don't use it until you can guarantee the same thing won't happen all over again."

I wrote:
"..Could it be though..(hypothetically speaking) that the surge protection didn't work and that a sudden electrical cut in the power fried my RAM slots and soundcard? lol wtf are the odds of that!"

followed by posts 14-19 on page 2

Thanks again for your patience and expert advice

 

[outlw6669]

As you have already bought the motherboard, yes it will work just fine.
I would not really consider it an upgrade but it will run your current CPU, RAM and GPU just as good as your old motherboard.

As to the rest regarding any power surges....
Could you please post more information regarding your PSU and any surge protection you are using.
For the PSU, please post the manufacturer, wattage, +12v amperage and aproximate age.
Also, please post any overclocks/overvolts you where using before the system died.

My first thought is that there is either an issue with the PSU or that there was a power surge.
Did you inspect the PCB and electrical connections for any scorch marks or a burnt smell?
If not, please do and let us know what you find (pics a big plus if you locate anything).

 

[geofelt]

1) Test out your ram, one stick at a time using memtest86+ You do not need an OS to do this.
For any failing sticks, contact Corsair, they have a lifetime replacement policy.

2) The cpu chip is vastly more important to performance than the motherboard. You will see NO appreciable difference.

3) I suspect a faulty psu or power surge to be at fault. When 3d gaming, the vga card draws extra power and runs hotter. Unless your "high end" psu is of known quality, replace it. I would return it to the manufacturer for replacement.
Using it again, if defective will cause you no end of grief.

4) If you suspect a power surge, get a decent UPS with power conditioning. A surge suppressor is not sufficient. The battery life need not be long, perhaps only 3-5 minutes. Look to APC for good ones.

5) Try the onboard HD sound first. It is usually very good. You can always add one later.

6) Because you are replacing the chipset, you will have to do at least a repair install of windows. A clean install is much better if you can handle it. Make certain that your chipset drivers and nvidia drivers are current.

6) Go to the corsair web site and access their ram selection configurator. Enter your motherboard and look at the list of compatible parts. Your ram sticks should appear on the list.

 

[harjafsormok]

Hi again,

All RAM sticks have been tested seperately by the techs. No faults were found.

The Power Supply is: HIPER POWER HPU-4M780-PE 780W
As regards to faults in the supply.. :

"Good Morning,

Thank you for your e-mail, and sorry for the delay for our reply.

We have rechecked the PSU for the second time to be sure, and it has worked fine.

Should you need further assistance do not hesitate to contact us."

I bought an 800VA - Centralion Blazer Line Interactive UPS; hope it's decent enough.

The Creative mentioned soundcard is the one I have. The techs offered it to me free.

A reformat has already been made to my computer (according to the techs) and is currently OS-less.. all I have to do is install a fresh clean installation of an OS (7-Professional) now, no?

As regards to the Corsair site RAM config utility. My motherboard (the new one osn't displayed in the list, which is why I have emailed their tech staff:

"(i havn't tried the above system yet.) I was running 3 RAM sticks, 1 of VS2GB800D2 and 2 of VS2GB667D2 on a GA-MA69G-S3H, and now i have ordered the current motherboard selected (due to motherboard malfunction - unable to read more than 1GB of RAM at a time. Would you be so kind as to telling me if the RAM sticks will be compatible with my new GA-M720-US3 motherboard?"

 

[outlw6669]

Well, Hiper PSU's are quite junky but it should be more than enough for your system.
If the shop tested it twice than I would assume it is working...

Same with the RAM, if it has tested good, I would assume it is working for now.
You should have no issues getting it to work on your new motherboard.

It looks like you are prepared as you can get, start installing the OS