Feedback about build and problems

[TGLumberjack]

With the help of a few friends I recently built a new PC. I didn't know much about hardware, so I read a few guides, etc. online and took my time shopping around on Newegg.com. I ran my initial build by a few friends (several of who have built their own PCs before) and they made a few suggestions (mostly just finding better and/or cheaper parts). After double and triple checking everything for compatibility, I ordered everything. This is what I got:

CPU - Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz 8MB (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215)

Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-P55-USB3 LGA 1156 Intel P55 USB 3.0 ATX (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128425)

RAM - Corsair XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145218)

GPU - Sapphire 100283-3L Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102873)

HDD - Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148433)

CD/DVD Drive - Samsung DVD Burner (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151188)

PSU - Antec EarthWatts EA750 750W (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371026)

And I've got it all in an Antec 300 case (4 fans total: 2 front, 1 top, 1 back) and I'm running Windows 7 Home Edition.


I assembled my new PC two weeks ago, and, once again, had a friend inspect it to make sure everything was hooked up correctly and he approved of my wiring for airflow and whatnot. It ran fine for a week, but last Saturday I got a BSoD. I can't remember what I was doing at the time, however, it happened again the next day while playing Left 4 Dead 2. When my computer restarted it almost immediately bluescreened again. After a couple more attempts, I started it in Safe Mode where it seemed stable. I shut it down from there and started it back up a while later and everything seemed normal.

Since then, my computer has been bluescreening fairly regularly. Sometimes I can get on and browse around the internet for a while (you know...check email, Facebook, etc.) but eventually it will crash. And usually after it crashes, I can't get back on without it crashing again almost immediately if I'm not in Safe Mode. But it will even crash when I'm in Safe Mode sometimes.

I don't think it has to do with overheating since sometimes it crashes when I'm not really doing much (although that may be a problem...I installed CoreTemp and whenever I play any kind of game my CPU temperature always shoots up to the high 80s or even well into the 90 degC range). I tried to do a system restore, but I could never get one to go all the way through...it would always BSoD in the middle of it. Today, I reinstalled Windows 7 and was successful on the third attempt (once again, BSoD interrupted the other two), but I haven't done anything since then. I plan on reinstalling all my drivers as soon as I get the chance.

Could anyone provide some feedback for what the problem might be? Is there some compatibility issues or known product faults with what I got? Does it sound like a case of bad RAM? Incorrect BIOS settings or some kind of problem with the first installation of Windows? I will post if something new develops or if the second Windows installation seems to make any difference. Thank you for your help!

 

[lothdk]

By the sound of it you need to reseat your heatsink, those temps are way too high.

The memory is rated at 1.6V adjust to this in BIOS, this could very well be the culprit.

 

[geekapproved]

Don't ever let your cpu run that hot. If it ever hit's 80c, shut it down immediately and fix the situation.

I have a feeling your heatsink fan is not attached correctly, or you didn't use thermal paste, or you didn't take the plastic cover off the bottom of the heatsink fan before you atttached it.

Is the fan spinning on the cpu heatsink?

BSOD's are usually memory related, did you manually set the voltage?

 

[binoyski]

Where are your friends, are they not helping you?

 

[TGLumberjack]

I did not manually set the voltage. I will check into the heatsink to see if perhaps I installed it incorrectly. I know there was thermal paste that came on the heatsink, but I don't remember any kind of plastic cover...I will definitely check into that.

As for my friends, they suggested a few of the same things, such as checking the BIOS voltage settings. Also, they aren't local friends...I'm away at college and they are still back home so I can't just have them come over, etc. In fact, it was one of those friends who suggested that I post something here.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Reinstall the heat sink and if ya gonna do that, ... strongly suggested that you remove MoBo from case ...... its worth considering an aftermarket solution.

Cooler - $40 - Scythe Mugen 2 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185142
TIM - $5 Shin Etsu 751 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835150080

Both the CPU and heat sink must be thoroughly cleaned with isoprophyl alcohol before reassembly.

Could anyone provide some feedback for what the problem might be?

Proper installation, care and maintenance are key.

In addition to the above, it would be very helpful for you to conduct some investigation as to the cause of the problem.

1. What is the BSOD message ? Turn off auto restart and read the screen.

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/windows7/ht/automatic-restart-windows-7.htm

Do a Yahoo / Google search on the on screen message.

2. Upload the dmp file to seven forums for analysis

http://www.sevenforums.com/crashes-debugging/96879-blue-screen-death-bsod-posting-instructions.html

3. Upon rebooting, check Event Viewer for error and warning messages. (Use Windows Help if you can't find)

4. Test / monitor your system. OCCT will not only load your PC's GPU / CPU but will monitor temps and voltages and even graph the results.

http://www.ocbase.com/perestroika_en/index.php?Download

 

[geekapproved]

I did not manually set the voltage. I will check into the heatsink to see if perhaps I installed it incorrectly. I know there was thermal paste that came on the heatsink, but I don't remember any kind of plastic cover...I will definitely check into that.

As for my friends, they suggested a few of the same things, such as checking the BIOS voltage settings. Also, they aren't local friends...I'm away at college and they are still back home so I can't just have them come over, etc. In fact, it was one of those friends who suggested that I post something here.

Ok, so you manually set the voltage now right??

 

[TGLumberjack]

Thanks for the tip about disabling the auto reboot JackNaylorPE.

I checked my heatsink and I think GeekApproved was correct in your assessment that it must not have been installed correctly. The thermal paste hadn't really even melted and spread around. So I took a minute to make sure I was putting it in correctly and reinstalled it. After re-installation CPU idled around 28-30C, and I ran an OCCT test for an hour and it stayed at a pretty constant 70C for 100% CPU usage. I have been told that this is great. Perhaps if I do some overclocking in the future I'll look into an aftermarket cooler, but for now I think I'm fine. Do you think it would be prudent to clean off the CPU and the cooler and reapply thermal paste?

As for the RAM voltage, I just checked my BIOS. I think I went to the right place and was looking at the right thing (I had my mobo manual and I explored a few different menus), and it said it was set at 1.5V. I changed that to 1.6V, which is what Newegg says my RAM should be set at.

Here is where I went in the BIOS from the Main Menu:
>MB Intelligent Tweaker (M.I.T.)
>Advanced Voltage Settings
>DRAM Voltage

If anyone thinks that this is incorrect, let me know. I'm not sure if this means anything, but since I adjusted the RAM voltage my CPU seems to be running 3-4 degrees cooler.

So everything seems to be running pretty stable. I haven't had any bluescreens or other error messages since I reinstalled Windows. Thank you for the help...any other advice or comments are welcome!

 

[lothdk]

Happy to see our suggestions hit the mark. When you reseated the heatsink you did remember to clean it and the CPU with rubbing alcohol and then applied a new large rice grain size of thermal paste, right?

You set the voltages for the ram correctly.

Hope it all works out for you now.

 

[TGLumberjack]

I did not do that because I do not have any thermal paste. However, I am ordering some and I will do so as soon as I get it!