PC crashing @ high CPU load e8400

[caalem]

My PC is randomly crashing at anytimes(possibly not random, just not paying attention as to why.)

A few days ago my PC just crashed without warning, been tearing my hair out trying to figure out why, I reinstalled windows, got a new harddrive, got a new PSU, tested my ram in memtestx86, tried each stick of ram individually, and pretty much deduced it down to either CPU or motherboard.

I ran prime95 and my PC crashed in 3 seconds after being fine for a solid 3-4 hours of web browsing trying to figure out whats wrong with it, so I assume it's crashing due to high CPU load. Is my CPU just bad? Can speedstepping cause this? Low voltage to the CPU?

thanks

e8400 @ stock 3ghz
4gb of DDR2 800 kingston hyperx ram
9800GTX+ stock
samsung spinpoint f3 1tb harddrive
asus p5q SE plus mobo, onboard LAN/audio

CPU isn't overheating either, idles at about 30c, can't really check load temps :lol:

 

[wa1]

30'C idle? Are you sure about that?
get these software to check all the temps:
http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html

After that make sure CPU cooler is properly installed, free from dust and the thermal paste is not dried...
Make sure all BIOS setting is set to default/auto.

 

[Dirtydog123_30]

Take a close look at the capacitors on your mobo,make sure none of them are leaking or bulging.

 

[caalem]

30'C idle? Are you sure about that?
get these software to check all the temps:
http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html

After that make sure CPU cooler is properly installed, free from dust and the thermal paste is not dried...
Make sure all BIOS setting is set to default/auto.

according to that it's 39c

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/8066/34316154.png
also, is it just me or does the CPU voltage seem really low?

 

[wa1]

^+1
good point...

 

[wa1]

Err, yeah, that's just too low.
Double check BIOS setting, make sure VCore option is set to auto, or you can manually adjust it to 1.3V or 1.4V, do not get it higher than 1.5V.

 

[caalem]

Take a close look at the capacitors on your mobo,make sure none of them are leaking or bulging.

I just shut it down to look, I don't see anything wrong with it, this rig is only about a year and a half old also.

 

[caalem]

Err, yeah, that's just too low.
Double check BIOS setting, make sure VCore option is set to auto, or you can manually adjust it to 1.3V or 1.4V, do not get it higher than 1.5V.

everything in bios is set to default/auto

 

[caalem]

also I'd like to note that in the bios it shows the voltage as 1.2v under hardware monitor, instead of the sub 1v

 

[wa1]

now try to set it manually...

 

[caalem]

now try to set it manually...

what should I set it to? I've never OC'd before so I've never needed to adjust this, always left them on auto.

 

[wa1]

there's some kind option like speedstep or something, try turned it On or OFF, see whether your PC still crashes or not...

 

[caalem]

there's some kind option like speedstep or something, try turned it On or OFF, see whether your PC still crashes or not...

I attempted that already, I turned it off in bios and it still stayed on in windows.

 

[caalem]

manually set it to 1.225v(default) and ran prime95, still crashed, no bsod just turned off.

fully disabled speedstep, still crashed instantly. Going to try cleaning out my PC and checking the mobo for bad capacitors, and reseat my CPU. if that fails, guess I'll have to figure out if I need to RMA my mobo or cpu.

 

[caalem]

Which psu you are using?

corsair gs700(only good PSU at bestbuy, didn't feel like waiting for newegg to deliver.), just picked it up earlier because I thought the PSU was my problem.

 

[caalem]

Did you test your pc with a single stick of ram?

yes, I only have one in atm actually. I could try the other out real quick, I ran both through memtest(only one pass at the time because I was going to do more passes later.) and didn't get any errors

 

[caalem]

Try the other out and report back.Did you install any software,hardware before this problem started?Does that mobo has a onboard gpu?If yes take your gpu out and start testing.Also see if there is any serious dust build up in your pc.

will test it out in a moment

no, no new software/hardware
no onboard GPU
I have some dust buildup, would that cause this?

 

[caalem]

I'm at my bare min(graphics card, dvd drive unattached, only 1 mem stick, etc)

tried the other memory stick - nogo.

To explain better what happens, anytime I have high CPU load it just reboots. As soon as I hit the torture test button on prime95 and it starts, it instantly forcefully reboots

 

[ko888]

Is your BIOS up to date?

Did you also disable C1E Enhanced Halt State when attempting to overclock?

Safe Vcore for an E8400 is 0.85–1.3625 Volts. It will vary in this voltage range depending on if SpeedStep and/or C1E is enabled.

You can use CPU-Z for checking the CPU's Core Voltage to confirm that you're not exceeding 1.3625 Volts.

 

[caalem]

Is your BIOS up to date?

Did you also disable C1E Enhanced Halt State when attempting to overclock?

Safe Vcore for an E8400 is 0.85–1.3625 Volts. It will vary in this voltage range depending on if SpeedStep and/or C1E is enabled.

You can use CPU-Z for checking the CPU's Core Voltage to confirm that you're not exceeding 1.3625 Volts.

my bios version is the latest version

I never OC'd, just tried to set the voltage to the default preset voltage as said earlier(and yes, I disabled C1E enhanced halt state)

 

[caalem]

Download real temp.And make a note of you max temp befor pc restarts.

there's no time to make note of it, it instantly reboots

 

[ko888]

there's no time to make note of it, it instantly reboots

RealTemp has a Log File feature that you can turn on in the Settings window and specify the number seconds to log.

Once you reboot after a crash you should be able to view the log file to find out what the CPU core temps and work loads were.

 

[caalem]

RealTemp has a Log File feature that you can turn on in the Settings window and specify the number seconds to log.

Once you reboot after a crash you should be able to view the log file to find out what the CPU core temps and work loads were.

realtemp log file of it

DATE TIME MHz C0 C1 LOAD%
12/09/10 12:53:26 2497.54 39 39 1.8
12/09/10 12:53:31 2997.05 39 39 95.9
12/09/10 12:53:32 2997.05 39 39 100.0
12/09/10 12:53:33 2997.05 39 39 100.0
12/09/10 12:53:33 2997.05 39 39 100.0
12/09/10 12:53:34 2997.05 39 39 41.2
12/09/10 12:53:35 2331.04 39 39 0.4
12/09/10 12:53:36 2164.53 39 39 0.7
12/09/10 12:53:37 2497.54 39 39 1.4
12/09/10 12:53:38 2997.05 39 39 11.6
12/09/10 12:53:39 2830.55 39 39 3.6
12/09/10 12:53:40 2997.05 39 39 21.4
12/09/10 12:53:41 2497.54 39 39 2.3
12/09/10 12:53:43 2997.05 39 39 8.6
12/09/10 12:53:44 2164.54 39 39 1.2
12/09/10 12:53:45 2830.55 39 39 4.6
12/09/10 12:53:46 2164.53 39 39 0.8
12/09/10 12:53:47 2164.54 39 39 0.6
12/09/10 12:53:48 2331.04 39 39 0.4
12/09/10 12:53:49 2164.54 39 39 0.3
12/09/10 12:53:50 2830.55 39 39 1.5
12/09/10 12:53:51 2830.54 39 39 4.4
12/09/10 12:53:52 2331.04 39 39 1.1
12/09/10 12:53:53 2830.55 39 39 6.2
12/09/10 12:53:54 2164.53 39 39 0.7
12/09/10 12:53:55 2664.04 39 39 2.1
12/09/10 12:53:56 2664.04 39 39 1.4
12/09/10 12:53:57 2164.54 39 39 0.6
12/09/10 12:53:58 2497.54 39 39 2.0
12/09/10 12:53:59 2664.04 39 39 2.5
12/09/10 12:54:00 2997.05 39 39 7.0

it shut down instantly again, but for some reason it kept logging? When it went from 1.8->95.9 I started prime95, that lasted for about 3 seconds

 

[caalem]

also, I'd like to add that I've crashed while in bios.
Flashed my bios with the latest version(same I had) incase it was corrupted, might try a new mobo.

 

[ko888]

In the log file you can see SpeedStep in action when the CPU speed increases. I thought you had SpeedStep and C1E disabled?

What's really interesting is that the CPU cores' temperature never changes. Are you using Real Temp Version 3.60?

When it's crashing, when you're attempting to do BIOS Setup changes, it's not a good sign.