Computer suddenly turn off even at stock speed

Hi guys,

Last time I asked about a Silverstone PSU. Some people reckoned that the 500W I was using was defected. And it really died 2 days later
It also killed the motherboard so this is what I am using now:

NEW M2N32 SLi Deluxe
NEW Silverstone ST75F
4x1Gb Super Talent (800 4438)
eVGA Super Clock 8800gts 320Mb
5 HDD (2x7200.9 2x7200.10 1xHitachi P7K500)
x64 XP

what I WAS using:

M2N32
ST50EF
2x1Gb Crucial (800 44412)
eVGA 7900GTX
5 HDD
x32 XP

I was busy lately so I decided not to overclock until I had time.

the M2N32 arrived from RMA and I put everything back into the case. Dont have time test so I left it to run as is.

when I had some times, I tried overclock again. I cranked the Mhz up to 2.5Ghz at the first run and computer turned off in 2min; even before I could ran some Orthos loops (the CPU was stable at 2.6Ghz on 32bit windows, 2x1Gb of RAM). This happened all they way down to 2150Mhz
At 2100Mhz, things seem to be stable.

I can play the Gear of Wars for quite a long time (12hrs) and things seem to be fine until I have to render some 3dsmax scence. The computer turn off after nearly half an hours.

I open Orthos and run some loop, the computer turn off after 15mins.
I reset everything back to stock, ran Orthos and computer still turn off after 15mins

Load temperature seems normal (55oC for CPU, not good though, but normal)

I suspecting the PSU is not delivering enough juice because everest shows 3.2V instead of 3.3 and 4.9V instead of 5 while the 12V is normal.

Any idea, guys?

to ocf!
If heat is not an isssue then RAM is the primary suspect. The BIOS has to load internal settings you don't see and these can get whacked. Enter setup and load default settings, check for correct RAM voltage (some need 1.9 but get 1.8), then reboot. Test for stability.

If it still fails, shutdown and swap the sticks mostly to reseat them.
If it still is not right, try one stick alone one in slot 0 then slot 1.

From there it gets more involved.

thanks for the answer.
the Super Talent kit required 2.1v in order to boot on any mainboard. I'll try 2.0v later when I have time.
If the heat is the prob then I'll think it's from the RAM kit because all 4 slots are occupied at the moment.

i would have to say ram too. if you have any spar sticks put them in. thats almost what mine did when i fried the first set.

4 sticks is hard to run make sure it's not setting command rate to 1t.

I think I have the idea now.

The RAM slots on the M2N32 is located above the socket => they will not be benefit from the air flow of the CPU fan.
I reseat the 9500 to blow air on to those slots and the computer is stable at stock now. The hot air will then be sucked out by the PSU fan. The CPU temperature is risen a bit as a trade off because the 8800 is HHHHOT.

Do you guys think that the DHX ram from Corsair worth the buying? Because in my case, I think I need some risen fins to dissipate the heat away.

I still cant squeeze any more Mhz out of my CPU atm. a part from the heat, the CPU may come to the end of its life because of the abuse it had from my oc practicing

Can I o.c a Phenom on an AM2 board I'm hesitating about waiting for B3 or buying and 5200+

I would rotate the CPU HSF back and add an 80mm fan blowing on the ram. Sending that heat load to the PSU is going to shorten it's life. Zip tie the fan into the lower unused CDR slots blowing in. With the extra fan, your ram will be much cooler. I now setup all my rigs this way. I also open one 5-1/4 bay cover and place a sheet of that window AC foam cut to fit behind it.

@ AlabamaCajun: thanks for the advice. However I cant apply that solution here because ALL 5.25" bays in my computer are occupied. I found a bargain of 4 hdd coolers (4002 from cooler master) so I put 4 hdds into the coolers (the last one is screwed in the 3.5" bays converter inside the power-reset module (I have an Armor Jr. which is fully modular)

The front of the case is all mess so I removed all 40mm of these coolers. I have negative pressure in my case so there will always be air flow => silent but more effective than those noisy 40mm

The interior of the case is heavily packed but I cant go for full tower because of various reason. There's no room for 60 - 80mm fan.

I think I will vol mod those 40mm and salvage them into something like the air flow fan of the Dominator. It seems like those 40mm run by 12v. I know how to vol down to 5v but not 7v. Does any one know how to?

Any suggestion about the DHX?

thanks

12V is yel to black.
7V is yel to red (black fan to red psu).
5v is red to black.

Take a 4pin fan adapter and move the plugs that go into a free 4pin psu connector. You need a molex tool to move the connections so that the fan wires plug into the right wires as shown above. One this Adapter is moded, tape off the free end so it is not used on a drive which would mess up the drive.

thanks AlabamaCajun

I'm waiting for the uni to reopen so I can bring an acrylic sheet into the work shop to mod the interior of my case. I'm working on the design.

I'm thinking about putting the acrylic between the board and the PSU => providing the PSU its own chamber. The result is the PSU can still suck air out of the case to maintain negative air pressure while the air flow from the 9500 will be stopped at the acrylic and then sucked out by case fan. Promising ey?

Just one more question. Should I suspect the PSU? because at high load, it emits trrrat trrat trrart sound. Seems like the fan is malfunctioning

tested the pc today with my friend's DHX module.

The system failed just in 5 minutes. Something is wrong and it's out of my control.

Does the CPU nearly die? or the PSU is defective again (sound coming from the fan at high load)?

I have checked the PC with HWmonitor today, what the?

my friend 400W Strider is even better. all 3.3 5 and 12v rail are clean

Votages look good with some spare. As for sounds, they may be normal to some extent. I'm sitting in a room with 3 dual and 2 quads running full tilt. I can hear a constant chirp like the sound of crickets on a hot summer night. These sounds are emitted just like speakers from the coils that you see just inside the PSU. What we can't hear or see with software are noise and dropouts in voltage from the PSU and the VRegs onboard that supply the CPU and RAM.

Try clearing BIOS and starting over. I think some boards learn RAM settings over a couple of reboots by adjusting numbers that are stored internally.

I gather that you tested the RAM one stick at a time?

oops, sorry. I did the DHX test as a match pair.
I'm doing the test with one stick at the moment, did not follow the advice clearly :|

thanks for your advice, I did salvage the spare 40mm fans, vol down to 7v, using scotch tape to stick 3 of em on a piece of cardboard (to cut the vibration) then putting them between 2 harddrive coolers=> blowing cool air from the front of the case across the RAM

on the -12v rail, it's being showed -14.7v. Isn't it too high?

about the PSU, actually, the one I'm using is a replacement. The first one sound like a cricket in your ears. The replacement sound like a cricket outside the house
I'm worrying because the 500W Silverstone is whisper quiet. It should be ok now, if you say it's normal

cheers

update.

tested in single stick mode (Super Talent)

1 did 6 loops and turn off
1 did 12 loops and turn off as well

I'm doing the third stick. wondering what's wrong cuz it's the first time I experience this.
If this kit turn off as well, I'll try loosen the timing. My friend took his DHX home so I cant do anything with it atm.

temp should be very ok now because the 3fans I added help a lot.

4-4-4-12 doesnt help as well.
what will happen if the CPU fail? does not boot and does not past prime, what else?

make sure u have good voltages running to ur ram. did u try 5-5-5-5-15 or leave the timings on auto?

Did you try slot RAM slow 2,3,4?
The -12V line is proly not being used which causes it to read -(high).
This is starting to sound like a borked MOBO regulator.

yeap, try every slot.
5-5-5-15 does not work as well.

But 4 of em pass 8passes, memtest overnight @ 4438

well. I guess we are coming to the idea that the mainboard is the main suspect

anyway, I'm ordering 2Gb of DHX to do the final test. The Super Talent kit and the DHX kit are closing the gap, there's only 6nzd difference in New Zealand

wtf. the DHX showed up today but one stick is dead on arrival.
bad things always go in a series :|