[Bobibbles]

Hi new to the forums but not so new to PC Building haha.

Anyways pretty much thread title. This computer is a real headache. Built late 2010 by myself from Newegg. Before I get into the problem here are the specs off the top of my head:

ASUS M4A785TD-M Evo (still under warranty of 3 years I believe)
AMD Phenom 955 @ stock speed 3.2 GHz
4 GB of DDR3 RAM
500 GB Western Digital Blue Caviar HDD
GTS 250 512 MB Graphics Card
ASUS DVD Burner
Windows 7 Home Premium OEM

Anyways so the problem is constant BSODs. I can upload the minidumps but I forgot how since the last time this same exact situation happend 6 months ago. However that was fixed when I replaced my old AMD 955 CPU with the current one. Just now it started the same problem again giving random BSODs usually when gaming (not just limited to one game, it's from Battlefield 3 all the way to less intensive games like Spiral Knights). The BSODs don't occur every session but at least once a day.

Things I've done 6 months ago for the original set of BSODs:
Swap GPU, CPU, PSU
Run Memtest
Virus scans with Mbam and MSE
Defrag
Take it to a local shop (they said it was probably the CPU or motherboard)
System Restore
Whole reinstallation of Windows 7
and a bunch of other common solutions

Anyways so right now I don't wanna swap out my CPU and GPU again with old parts/RMA them since I feel as if it's not gonna fix the solution entirely.

That's why I'm asking how to RMA a motherboard and any loops and jumps I'd have to do (I have OEM Windows 7 so that may be an issue)

So yeah and I hope to have fun on these forums after I hopefully get a solution :D

[juane414]

I would first email or call Newegg customer support because they are really easy to work with. Let them know what's going on and they'll be able to tell you what steps to take next. If Newegg will take the board back then it should be smooth sailing. But, if the board is over a year old they might not take an RMA, and they might not carry that board in stock. If Newegg will not replace it but it is still under manufacturer's warranty, then you should contact Asus next to see what they can do for you. Make sure you tell the customer service folks that you've had the computer in to a local repair shop and that you were told the motherboard is defective. I think Newegg only takes RMAs within 90 days of purchase, but it's been a while since I've had to RMA something so I could be wrong.

Good luck!

[trents]

You need to contact Asus and request an RMA via the online RMA request form. It can all be done online. Just go to their customer support link. You must be willing to pay the shipping cost too them. They will pay the return to you shipping costs. Usually about 3 weeks turnaround time I think.

But before you do that, how about attaching some pics of CPU-z tabs: "CPU", "Memory" and "SPD"? I'm wondering if you have some voltage our frequency settings that are incorrect. If you've relied on "Auto" and "Default" realize those two guys will sometimes let you down. We see this especially commonly with regard to memory frequencies and timings.

Use "Snipping Tool" in Windows Accessories to frame and crop the pics of the three CPU-z tabs I mentioned above and to save them to disk. Then click on the "Go Advanced" button at the bottom of the new post window. Then click on the little paperclip tool at the top of the Advance Post window. That will load the file browser/uploader tool. The rest will be obvious.

[trents]

Originally Posted by juane414

I would first email or call Newegg customer support because they are really easy to work with. Let them know what's going on and they'll be able to tell you what steps to take next. If Newegg will take the board back then it should be smooth sailing. But, if the board is over a year old they might not take an RMA, and they might not carry that board in stock. If Newegg will not replace it but it is still under manufacturer's warranty, then you should contact Asus next to see what they can do for you. Make sure you tell the customer service folks that you've had the computer in to a local repair shop and that you were told the motherboard is defective. I think Newegg only takes RMAs within 90 days of purchase, but it's been a while since I've had to RMA something so I could be wrong.

Good luck!

You only have a 30 day warranty on motherboards with NewEgg.

[Bobibbles]

Originally Posted by trents

You need to contact Asus and request an RMA via the online RMA request form. It can all be done online. Just go to their customer support link. You must be willing to pay the shipping cost too them. They will pay the return to you shipping costs. Usually about 3 weeks turnaround time I think.

But before you do that, how about attaching some pics of CPU-z tabs: "CPU", "Memory" and "SPD"? I'm wondering if you have some voltage our frequency settings that are incorrect. If you've relied on "Auto" and "Default" realize those two guys will sometimes let you down. We see this especially commonly with regard to memory frequencies and timings.

Use "Snipping Tool" in Windows Accessories to frame and crop the pics of the three CPU-z tabs I mentioned above and to save them to disk. Then click on the "Go Advanced" button at the bottom of the new post window. Then click on the little paperclip tool at the top of the Advance Post window. That will load the file browser/uploader tool. The rest will be obvious.

When I get on it I'll post Speccy/CPU-Z for yeah :D

Thanks guys by the way

[juane414]

Originally Posted by trents

You only have a 30 day warranty on motherboards with NewEgg.

Bummer. I thought it was longer than that. I've never had to RMA a motherboard though.

[Bobibbles]

My voltage on my CPU is high right

I used another forum for the issues 6 months ago. In order to try and fix it I swapped the 955 for my old Athlon II. Everything worked fine for a month. Swapped back to 955 and then put in old PSU. Voltage was still at ~1.3. When I got the new 955 replacement from AMD the voltage was still at that range and was working fine for 6 months until this week.

So I guess it is the BIOS or motherboard? Also I've only overclocked once in the BIOS but only added 200 MHz to overclock and did not touch any voltage settings. That was way back when and I put it back to "Default". Trents is probably right about "Default" not working correctly

[Bobibbles]

CPU-Z

[trents]

Your voltage on your CPU is not excessively high but probably a little higher than necessary for stock frequency. What is your memory voltage set to? CPU-z doesn't display that setting. All the frequencies and memory timings look appropriate so the only other thing I don't have is the memory voltage.

Have you tested the memory itself? Like have you taken out all but one stick and then try each memory stick in each slot by itself? You say you ran memtest and I assume it passed with flying colors?

What about your temps? All we have is a picture of your idle temps in HWMonitor. What are they under load like after 10-20 minutes of Prime95 blend? 40 C. at idle is a little high unless your room temps are pretty high right now.

[Bobibbles]

Originally Posted by trents

Your voltage on your CPU is not excessively high but probably a little higher than necessary for stock frequency. What is your memory voltage set to? CPU-z doesn't display that setting. All the frequencies and memory timings look appropriate so the only other thing I don't have is the memory voltage.

Have you tested the memory itself? Like have you taken out all but one stick and then try each memory stick in each slot by itself? You say you ran memtest and I assume it passed with flying colors?

What about your temps? All we have is a picture of your idle temps in HWMonitor. What are they under load like after 10-20 minutes of Prime95 blend? 40 C. at idle is a little high unless your room temps are pretty high right now.

I've run memtest 6 months ago and both sticks were fine. Even ran on one stick each for a couple days to see if any were bad.

Temperature shouldn't be a problem but I can do a Prime95 test (I forgot if I even have the program or how to run it) if you think so. On games it barely gets hot. I don't think it even hits 60 Celsius for CPU. I'll leave on HWMonitor/Speccy next time I play.

How do I show you guys my memory voltage?

[trents]

You need to look in bios for the memory voltage. If its on Auto then Set it to Manual and it should reveal what the Auto setting was. If nothing else, set it 1.5 manually to make sure its set to what the manufacturer of the ram says it's supposed to be for the frequency you are running it at (that info is in the "SPD" tab pic of CPU-z).

[Bobibbles]

Originally Posted by trents

You need to look in bios for the memory voltage. If its on Auto then Set it to Manual and it should reveal what the Auto setting was. If nothing else, set it 1.5 manually to make sure its set to what the manufacturer of the ram says it's supposed to be for the frequency you are running it at (that info is in the "SPD" tab pic of CPU-z).

Call me stupid but I forgot how to boot into BIOS. Is it spam F12 or Del or something at startup?

Also so I just set it to manual and put memory voltage to 1.5 if it wasn't?

I'll be back by the way to check the thread in a few hours I have to leave right now D:

[trents]

Many times its "Delete" but it can be one of the "F" keys. Just watch the post messages when the computer first starts to boot up and it will tell you.

[Neuromancer]

The stop error you are getting is very important.

If it flashes by too fast, you can go into system properties and unselect "automatically restart on error"

right click computer --> properties--> select Advanced system settings on the left hand side of the page that pops up.

Under Startup recovery hit the button that says settings.

half way down the page under "system failure" uncheck the box next to automatically restart.

Now your BSOD will have a code that looks like

0x00000050 most people will abbreviate this as 0x50. the numbers in parantheses are not important but if it gives a file like nvcpl.dll or aticgx.exe or somethnig like that, it helps pinpoint what the failure point is.

[trents]

Handy to know, Neuromancer. Thanks.

[Bobibbles]

Odd, didn't BSOD or freeze or crash today. Used the PC for like 5 hours with me and my brother combined. I'll try some of your directions guys later tomorrow if I have time, hate Mondays. =(

[Bobibbles]

Sorry been having a busy week, hopefully this weekend I can give you guys feedback. Thanks for the patience!

[Bobibbles]

Originally Posted by trents

You need to look in bios for the memory voltage. If its on Auto then Set it to Manual and it should reveal what the Auto setting was. If nothing else, set it 1.5 manually to make sure its set to what the manufacturer of the ram says it's supposed to be for the frequency you are running it at (that info is in the "SPD" tab pic of CPU-z).

Trents right now in BIOS I see:

Memory Timing and Voltage
Memory Clock Mode [Auto]
DRAM Timing Mode [Auto]
Memory Overvoltage [Auto]

For Memory Overvoltage it says
"min = 1.5000 V
max = 2.3100 V
Standard = 1.5000 V
Increment = 0.0150V"

[Bobibbles]

Bump !

[Bobibbles]

Bump? I might just RMA it I guess. Would adjusting voltages work or not?