Need help with issues on my first build

[Barlisk]

To start things off, this is my current build. I know some of the parts are not an ideal brand but I've never had problems with any of these companies in the past when upgrading my other computers. And... I had a limit of roughly $1000 (after shipping) to build this rig.

Mobo - Asus P8P67 LE B3 Rev 3.0
CPU - i5-2500k
GPU - Zotac GeForce GTX 560 ti
RAM - 2x4GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600Mhz
PSU - Ultra LSP 750W
OS - Windows 7 Home Premi OEM

All drivers are up to date
No Overclocking done

Now that THAT is out of the way. I will start at the beginning. When I Powered on the PC for the first time, it did not power on at all. After a "paperclip trick" and a new PSU cord, it powered on. I quickly discovered that the ram was being clocked at 1333Mhz and not 1600Mhz. I manually went in and fixed the Ram clocking issue in the Bios, switching it from Auto to 1600Mhz. After a reboot, It showed it being clocked at 1600Mhz, I switched it back to Auto and from then on it always clocks it at 1600Mhz like it should (not sure what that problem was or if it was even a real fix, but it is "fixed")

Anyhow, The next issue I had (and still having), is that the Bios boot info screen says that I have no HDD, Yet the Bios config shows it plan as day... as well as windows. I gave up on fixing that issue and continued with Installing Windows 7. Everything went fine. I set it all up, I got all my programs and games downloaded and set up... and then the real problem started. Any demanding game that I play (Star Wars: The Old Republic, Battlefield 3, Rift, Skyrim, ect) will run fine and flawless for about 15 minutes and then my PC will power down, as if someone unplugged it. Sometimes it will reboot but I would say that 65% of the time it shuts off with out a reboot. It does not shut off with less demanding games such as (Wakfu, League of Legends, World of Warcraft). I even ran a FurMark Burn In Test successfully for an hour with out any issues. Everyone says the same thing, that it is either the GPU or CPU over heating, well it is not. The CPU never gets higher than 79 on load, and the GPU never gets higher than about 77 on load.
My PSU is placed on the bottom of my case with the fan facing down into the base vent, I thought it could be over heating due to lack of air flow into the PSU as the case "feet" do not sit the case very high off the desk, So I flipped it over for more air flow and I get the same results. So assuming I replaced the PSU, What would be the next suggestion? I'm at my limit of computer knowledge to be able to even guess as to what it could be, beyond a crappy PSU. Could it be a safety setting set too low in the Bios? Ive heard of people having that issue as well, but I have no clue as to what the voltage on everything should be, and don't believe shutting off the UVP/OVP would be a smart move.

Thank you in advance to anyone and everyone that could shed some light onto this issue.

 

[zolton33]

What did you apply on your cou between it and the heat sink? Most of what i've heard on the i5 at stock it runs alot cooler then that.

 

[Barlisk]

What did you apply on your cou between it and the heat sink? Most of what i've heard on the i5 at stock it runs alot cooler then that.

Reading up on the i5-2500k before my purchase, I also saw that it runs fairly well and stays pretty cool with the standard CPU fan/sink that comes with it. So that's what I stuck with for now, I bought thermal just in case it did not come with some already applied to it. But it did, and I stuck with it. And I did move it around a little bit to spread the grease before pinning it down.

Those temps are based on a 99% load using the Furmark Burn In test. At idle and common tasks it stays right around 30 to 40.

 

[zolton33]

How long have you let it run for? some compounds recomend letting it run for a certain amount of time before it settles. It does sound like over heating. Are all your wires pulled away from the cpu fan? (silly i know but i've seen people have wires hanging in the path of the heat sink) And what are your gpu temps? The cpu temp added to your gpu temp could also cause a high temp knocking out the system. Also what case do you have? And does it have extra fans?

 

[Barlisk]

How long have you let it run for? some compounds recomend letting it run for a certain amount of time before it settles. It does sound like over heating. Are all your wires pulled away from the cpu fan? (silly i know but i've seen people have wires hanging in the path of the heat sink) And what are your gpu temps? The cpu temp added to your gpu temp could also cause a high temp knocking out the system. Also what case do you have? And does it have extra fans?

Its been running about 3 days now for about 8 to 9 hours at a time. The case I have is well vented with Two fans on top, one in the back (not counting the PSU exhaust), and an LED up front. As far as wires... I've got what the doctors call OCD lol, so my case is very organized and stays very clean. Nothing is blocking any of the fans in my case, including the CPU.

Also, I did mention that the GPU temps are roughly the same as the CPU temps, maybe 2 or 3 degrees off, but never over 80 at full load.

 

[e56imfg]

Intel doesn't recommend you having RAM over 1333 and voltages over 1.5. try reverting the RAM back to its default settings. the reason why the memory was clocked at 1333 in the first place was so that your system wouldn't be unstable... You'll find minimal gains from faster RAM.

That PSU is not in the recommended PSU brand list... Get another PSU, going for cheap PSUs on your first build is a common mistake (and usually the most fatal).
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/322966-28-list-recommended-psus

There is a list of recommended PSUs.

 

[Barlisk]

1600Mhz is not recommended but it is supported with this setup. I reverted it back to 1333 just for giggles and it has no effect. I am returning the PSU today and I have another one on the way, OCZ ZT Series 750W. I'll let yall know what happens in about 2 days, when it gets here.

 

[Barlisk]

Intel doesn't recommend you having RAM over 1333 and voltages over 1.5. try reverting the RAM back to its default settings. the reason why the memory was clocked at 1333 in the first place was so that your system wouldn't be unstable... You'll find minimal gains from faster RAM.

That PSU is not in the recommended PSU brand list... Get another PSU, going for cheap PSUs on your first build is a common mistake (and usually the most fatal).
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/322966-28-list-recommended-psus

There is a list of recommended PSUs.

The RAMs fine at 1600Mhz. But you were right about the PSU. I went with the OCZ ZT Series 750W and so far so good. I could instantly tell a quality difference soon as I opened the box. It's packed a lot neater, the manual doesn't look like its been photo copied, and it even came with a storage bag for my left over wires(modular).
I was on Battlefield 3 for about an hour with no problems at all, and so far I've been on SWTOR for about an hour and a half and still no problems.
One thing I did fail to listen for and check on the Ultra PSU was if the fan was working, I noticed right about the time my PC would have restarted itself with the Ultra is right about the same time the OCZ ZT's fan went into overdrive. It is a lot louder than I expected. I feel pretty dumb not noticing before I posted all this, but if nothing else... hopefully this will help someone else in the future! Thank you

 

[Barlisk]

Best answer selected by Barlisk.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey