First time build

[labasu]

My MSI motherboard is not functioning properly. It will run just fine for a while only to "crash". It will randomly turn off my monitor, mouse, keyboard and sound (or anything via USB port). In addition, in order to get anything back up, I have to pull the plug seeing as my power button in front of my tower does not work when this happens. I didnt OC anything. All drivers are up to date.

Here is my build

MSI 890FXA-GD65 AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
PowerColor AX6850 1GBD5-DH Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor
RAIDMAX HYBRID 2 RX-730SS 730W ATX12V V2.2/ EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Modular LED Power Supply

 

[COLGeek]

You should check your power supply. Your description of the problem indicates that your PSU may be failing. I recommend you swap a known working power supply into your rig to see if its behavior changes.

Good luck!

 

[jednx01]

So, what's the question? If it's still under warranty, I would obviously recommend getting a replacement from the manufacturer.

Go to this website: http://us.msi.com/index.php?func=service

If your motherboard is still under warranty, you should try to replace it. If not, I'd try to reinstall the motherboard drivers. If that doesn't work, I'd try to borrow somebody else's motherboard if you can, but obviously that's not a small thing to borrow... I would also check your power supply if the motherboard fix doesn't work. I've had a power supply go bad and cause major problems with all kinds of random parts. For example, I thought my video card was broken because it kept downclocking itself and crashing. It turned out that it was just because it wasn't getting enough power.

 

[labasu]

This is the 2nd power supply I tired in this PC. Both I tired in my other PC and worked fine.

The MOBO is under warranty. Could Ram be a cause of this problem?

 

[COLGeek]

Yes, memory could be the issue. Is your RAM manually or AUTO/default configured in the BIOS?

 

[labasu]

The only thing I did in the BIOS so far was set the boot drives. I havent touched anything else or even try to OC the system for the maiin reason I dont know much about OC a PC. So if the RAM being on AUTO is a default thing then yes its still on AUTO.

 

[COLGeek]

The only thing I did in the BIOS so far was set the boot drives. I havent touched anything else or even try to OC the system for the maiin reason I dont know much about OC a PC. So if the RAM being on AUTO is a default thing then yes its still on AUTO.

Have you run any sort of memory test (memtest)?

 

[labasu]

No I will do that when I get home in about 2 hours. Should I run Prime95 too?

 

[COLGeek]

No I will do that when I get home in about 2 hours. Should I run Prime95 too?

Sure, that would be fine. Run memtest first.

 

[labasu]

So the default setting for my ram was set as 1333 and the ram i have is 1600. Also the dram volts was set on auto default which was 1.5volts. I changed the volts to 1.65 and changed the 1333 to 1600. could this have been my issue the whole time?

 

[labasu]

Scratch that. still did it just now. I will just do the memtest and prime95 tomorrow when I get home

 

[labasu]

Ran memtest and prime95 and no errors.

 

[COLGeek]

Are you using the stock heatsink/fan? Also, are you monitoring your temps? If so, what are your CPU and GPU idle and loaded temps? If not monitoring you can install the free version of hwmonitor to see how your system is doing.

 

[labasu]

No I am not using the stock CPU cooling fan. When I checked the temps the cpu was at 34c and gpu was at 38c. when running sims or wow the gpu goes up to the max of 45c. I dont think I have a over heating issue. I found out that its only doing these things at random times when i am playing a game. Never has it once locked up in just win7, and it locks up the same way in the sims as it does in wow. Its been two days now since it has crashed and I have been testing it really hard and playing games on it all day.

 

[COLGeek]

What version of Catalyst are you using?

 

[labasu]

10.10

 

[COLGeek]

Try install 11.3 (the current version). Run DriverSweeper first to remove the previous drivers. Restart and then install 11.3.

 

[labasu]

So just uninstall the older cata and load the new one? Or do I still need to delete the old drivers for the GPU?

 

[COLGeek]

Driversweeper will remove the previous install for you. While you can usually just install a newer version over an older one, you are having an issue somewhere and the driversweeper step is just a precaution.

 

[labasu]

Ok I will try it when my girl gets done with what shes doing.

 

[labasu]

Ok so I got the PC to lock up in windows 7 now. Im going to send in a RMA for a new motherboard.

 

[COLGeek]

Good luck on the RMA!

 

[labasu]

Only thing that is going to suck is that I got OEM win 7 so now I have to see if microsoft will unlock the key for me or just go buy the regular win 7...

 

[COLGeek]

You should be fine. Just manually activate afterward, if needed, and tell them you have installed on 1 system. Should not be a problem.

 

[labasu]

Cool. I do have one question, can a GPU cause usb ports to fail? One thing I did notice different was when it did crash in windows I had a green light on for the display like it was connected but just with no picture. I went down to disconnect the cable from the GPU and it wen orange light, then I pluged it back in and it gave me the green light like it connected but still no image. But in games it just goes orange light and cant do anything.