Okay, here's the scenario: I was having some CPU overheating issues a couple of weeks ago - turns out the fan A) wasn't mounted particularly well and B) the heatsink was clogged with dust. I benched my computer, dusted it out, put the fan back in. Major improvement! Temps were idling at around 35C or so, and I was happy. I decided, while I was at it, to wipe my hard drive and install Windows 7 instead, which I've heard is much better than Vista.
Did that, and not 20 minutes after installation, my computer froze. As in, no activity, no mouse, nothing. A complete freeze. I restarted the computer. In 5-10 minutes, the same thing happened. I tried reinstalling Windows, but the same freeze occurred during the installation. I wiped Windows completely and tried on a different hard drive, but same issue. So here's where I am now:
- It's not a hard drive issue, as 2/2 drives suffer the same issue.
- It's not a video card issue, as I've tried switching from my GeForce 9800 GTX to my GeForce 6800 GS, and though the computer is stable a little longer with the older card, it still eventually fails.
- It's not my CPU, or at least, it's not an overheating issue, as temps stay pretty much nominal.
- It's not a RAM issue, as I've tried switching out each stick accordingly to no avail.
Ultimately, it's gotta be either the mobo or the power supply, but, having no replacement parts, I can't test any of these theories.
So, guys, what do you think? Are there any tests I can do to see which is the broken piece of hardware? I would hate to go out and buy a new PSU, only to have it be a mobo issue, as I have not the money to spend on such things...help!
Specs:
Gigabyte mobo (more details if necessary)
Intel Dual-Core 2.8ghz CPU
GeForce 9800 GTX
2 gigs DDR2 ram
500w power supply
Did that, and not 20 minutes after installation, my computer froze. As in, no activity, no mouse, nothing. A complete freeze. I restarted the computer. In 5-10 minutes, the same thing happened. I tried reinstalling Windows, but the same freeze occurred during the installation. I wiped Windows completely and tried on a different hard drive, but same issue. So here's where I am now:
- It's not a hard drive issue, as 2/2 drives suffer the same issue.
- It's not a video card issue, as I've tried switching from my GeForce 9800 GTX to my GeForce 6800 GS, and though the computer is stable a little longer with the older card, it still eventually fails.
- It's not my CPU, or at least, it's not an overheating issue, as temps stay pretty much nominal.
- It's not a RAM issue, as I've tried switching out each stick accordingly to no avail.
Ultimately, it's gotta be either the mobo or the power supply, but, having no replacement parts, I can't test any of these theories.
So, guys, what do you think? Are there any tests I can do to see which is the broken piece of hardware? I would hate to go out and buy a new PSU, only to have it be a mobo issue, as I have not the money to spend on such things...help!
Specs:
Gigabyte mobo (more details if necessary)
Intel Dual-Core 2.8ghz CPU
GeForce 9800 GTX
2 gigs DDR2 ram
500w power supply
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