possible bad motherboard?

[bdcardinal]

So my computer has a weird issue where I start it and it will sometimes have the POST beep and then shut down right away. Other times it will turn on, lights and fans come on and then it shuts down. I have a new PSU and video cards in there, so that is not the problem. I have read it might be a bad motherboard. It is a homebuilt with a BFGTech 680i SLI mobo with an Intel quad core Extreme 3.0Ghz processor, about 5 1/2 years old. The entire time I have had it, things have not seemed to run right. The case is a Gigabyte 3D Mercury Pro.

Any thoughts? Sorry for the vague info, I can provide more if needed.

 

[rshaw125]

Count the beeps. Could be bad ram.

 

[bdcardinal]

No beeps at all. A couple times it would get to the Windows loading screen and die, when it did that everything was fine, just the normal single beep on start up.

 

[dparm]

Consult the motherboard manual. The troubleshooting section will tell you what the various beeps mean. No use guessing -- too many variables.

The fact that it "never ran right" means it was either flaky from day one, or there's a serious misconfiguration. Not sure why you let that drag on for 5 1/2 years though?!

 

[bdcardinal]

When it shuts off on its own there are no beeps. Fans fire up and then off. Happens with either PSU I have installed. One is 750W the other is 1KW so its not a lack of power issue.

 

[rationull]

It's definitely possible. I had a motherboard on a home-built machine die a few years ago. I don't remember exactly how it behaved but IIRC it was similar to what you described.

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
When it shuts off on its own there are no beeps. Fans fire up and then off. Happens with either PSU I have installed. One is 750W the other is 1KW so its not a lack of power issue.


Okay, so what does the BFG manual say about that behavior?

 

[bdcardinal]

I will check when I get home. The company is out of business so there is no support online from them anymore. Part of why I bought their stuff was the lifetime warranty on motherboard and video cards, apparently it meant their lifetime.

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
I will check when I get home. The company is out of business so there is no support online from them anymore. Part of why I bought their stuff was the lifetime warranty on motherboard and video cards, apparently it meant their lifetime.



That sucks. BFG was always a pretty solid buy.

Worst case, buy a new motherboard and transfer everything over. I suspect it has bit the dust. Even if the CPU or RAM was bad, it would power up but just beep a bunch of throw a ton of POST-errors.

 

[bdcardinal]

Ya that was my suspicion. Just kind of bummed because that was an expensive processor and now it is a paper weight. Plus the case is all set up for water cooling, so I need to get a water block for a new socket size processor.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Sounds like a bad capacitor on the motherboard or power supply.

 

[TFBird]

What size psu are you running on your setup? even a new psu that is underrated for the setup can cause all sorts of random electrical issues. I had a 760watt Seasonic on my machine pushing 2 water pumps and it just couldn't handle it. My first thought was the motherboard so i replaced it to find out it was the psu the whole time, I replaced it with a 1200watt and haven't had a problem yet.

It did work for a while with the 760watt it just took a toll on it after pushing it for so long.

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: TFBird
What size psu are you running on your setup? even a new psu that is underrated for the setup can cause all sorts of random electrical issues. I had a 760watt Seasonic on my machine pushing 2 water pumps and it just couldn't handle it. My first thought was the motherboard so i replaced it to find out it was the psu the whole time, I replaced it with a 1200watt and haven't had a problem yet.

It did work for a while with the 760watt it just took a toll on it after pushing it for so long.


Originally Posted By: Miller88
Sounds like a bad capacitor on the motherboard or power supply.


He already replaced the PSU.

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
Ya that was my suspicion. Just kind of bummed because that was an expensive processor and now it is a paper weight. Plus the case is all set up for water cooling, so I need to get a water block for a new socket size processor.



Why not just get another motherboard and move everything over? The CPU is probably fine.

 

[TFBird]

I understand you replaced it, I am just curious to the size wattage wise and brand of the new psu. modern pc's depending on the gpu need at least 550watts sometimes more.

 

[94astro]

If you want to be sure, pull the motherboard & set it up on a bench with only the things you must have like ram and vid card, this will eliminate a lot of possibilities. Now try just one stick of ram and then switch them, see what happens. If it will not boot in this condition, I would say MB.

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: TFBird
I understand you replaced it, I am just curious to the size wattage wise and brand of the new psu. modern pc's depending on the gpu need at least 550watts sometimes more.


He said 1000W.

The fact that it's an older motherboard/CPU combo leads me to believe that he has PLENTY of power.

Modern CPUs and GPUs, although powerful, are also getting more efficient so a bigger PSU is not always necessary. I don't think throwing huge PSUs into computers is really a smart idea unless you're going for very high-end 80 Plus Gold or Platinum units.

 

[bdcardinal]

The old PSU was a PC Power and Cooling 1KW-SR. The one I picked up last night for testing purposes is a Thermaltake (sp?) 750W. I only have one video card in there right now, but It should be good for 2 cards.

The issue with the motherboard is they don't make anything worth spending money on in that socket size. So buying a new mobo would mean a new CPU also.

 

[dparm]

Which specific CPU is it, one of the QX-series? LGA 775 socket? You can get some ASRock motherboards with that socket for like $50-60.

Otherwise I would just say to part it out. The CPU will still fetch decent money on eBay.

 

[bdcardinal]

I forget the model number. It is a LGA775 socket quad core extreme 3.0Ghz. It was around a grand when I bought it 5+ years ago.

Really not looking forward to spending money on computer parts. I have the heads off my Mustang trying to decide if I should go AFR or Trickflow, and the gun store I use for everything called me at work to let me know they have a SOCOM 16 in to keep my SOCOM II company.