i3750K + GA-Z77X-UD3H + HD4000 issues with system stability and flickering at st

[dent]

CPU : Intel i3750K Batch 3221G173 w/ stock heat sink (No OC)
MB : Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H Rev1.0
BIOS : F18
Mem : Crucial Ballistix Sport 1600 9-9-9-24
PSU : OCZ GameXStream OCZ850GXSSLI
GPU : Integrated HD4000
Monitor: 2x
DVI @ 1680x1050 @ 60Hz
VGA @ 1280 x 1024 @ 75Hz
Drives: Samsung 830 SSD (main), Seagate ST3640323AS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA
OS: Windows 7
Running : “Optimal Defaults” for everything with no overclock (I suppose other than the stock intel turbo which puts it at 3.8?) with everything set to auto.


I recently put all this together and i seem to be running into some issues i am trying to work through and wouldn't mind a few suggestions.

Problem 1:
My computer randomly reboots. Not like restart windows, It would completely cut out (PSU and all) and then fire back up. It is pretty unpredictable so its been fishy to troubleshoot. Its not even doing it under a large load. Just regular web browsing etc.

I initially suspected either fluctuating voltage (from the wall) because of appliances in the building or a faulty PSU. Busted out the multimeter and it seems to be up to snuff holding 120V and dropping to maybe 118V with a bunch of appliances on. On top of that i couldn't get it to reset consistently by turning everything on. I think im ruling that one out.

Next is the PSU. Its the only carry over piece from my previous computer which pooped the bed. Something on the MB finally cooked itself after 6 years. It too was cutting out but more so getting a blue screen and then eventually wouldn't power up with any PSU. I'm still under warranty so i am in the process of figuring out an RMA for my PSU buuuuut my next discovery might rule this one out to.

I noticed in CPUZ how the MB adjusts voltages and clock speeds automatically with load. I understand this is normal but I tried setting a voltage for the CPU. I arbitrarily picked 1.150 to start. I know it can probably be lower but so far i haven't gotten a reset yet. Has anyone else had a problem with auto voltages with the stock speeds? Was wondering if i got a bum board or chip. I figure Gigabyte must have put a bunch of work into their auto voltage before releasing it as a consumer product so it should def work at stock speeds no?



Problem 2:
For now im using the HD4000 graphics in a dual monitor configuration. The monitor i am using attached to the DVI port flickers. Not a consistent flicker (like the wrong frequency) but just a momentary flicker/shift once every few minutes. Its fairly random but more prevalent when doing something more graphics intensive. I don't get it as much just surfing the web. I've had the monitor for a while so i don't think that is the issue as it worked fine before. I tried switching HDMI cables and switching from the gigabyte drivers to the ones directly from intel. Going to try separating the cable bundles in case there is interference but so far no good.

Also manually set the memory to stock specs and ran 24hrs of memtest86+ V4.2. It came up with no errors. I figured it was good to check since its used as the video memory.

All drivers should be up to date.

Thoughts? Tests? Suggestions? Need more data?

EDIT: If I set it to only use one monitor (including the DVI) I don't get the flicker. So that eliminates the monitors and cables. I also took some video if you need to see it. Think this is a MB or CPU issue?

 

[givmedew]

Hi, when you set the manual voltage is the voltage still fluctuating? It should be the 1.15 should just be for under load. If this solved your problem you may have a bad CPU or maybe the voltage on the PSU is off and it is causing you to have to low of a voltage on the CPU. It would be awesome to have some way of testing some of these things on someone else's system. Do you have any friends capable of helping you out?

As far as the monitor thing... I once experienced the same issue as you. It was on a HD5850 and if I had 2 monitors connected I would get a flicker like that. It turned out that when the computer was not running the video speed full out that the reductions in voltage on the video card was causing problems. This was remedied by either forcing the voltage higher in afterburner or by loading a custom firmware with the voltage increased on the lower gpu speeds.

I don't have a clue if that is why you are having the problem but you could try increasing the voltage on the graphics side. Not entirely sure how that works as I didn't OC my iGPU but I am sure there is some voltage that effects your iGPU and you may want to increase that voltage to see if the flickering goes away.

I doubt it will as I doubt that my issue is similar to yours but it doesn't hurt to try.