C2D 2.2GHz needs overvolting every month

[combust3r]

A month ago my cousin brought his rig because it was constantly restarting or giving him BSOD.

It took me 3-4 hrs to find a "solution" and it was increasing vcore from default voltage to 1.35V. CPU runs at stock speeds but with default voltage it couldnt boot Windows nor I could install a fresh one.

Today he called me again and said that the symptoms that plagued the machine came back and I increased vcore from 1.35 to 1.365 and like the last time that fixed the problem.

CPU Temps are just fine, I've checked the PSU with voltmeter, ran memtest, checked S.M.A.R.T. parameters, everything passed with no problems. Updating BIOS solved some unrelated problems with switching the computer on/off during POST (standard problem on P35 based mainboards).

So I'm guessing that in few months if the problem reoccur again, overvolting will hit the wall and thus it will render CPU useless.

My question is could this be CPU or mainboard fault ? Anyone had this kind of problems before ?

Specs:

Core2Duo 2.2GHz
MSI P35 NEO
2x1GB DDR2 TwinMOS
nVIDIA GT240
Chieftec 400W

Thanks.

 

[tweakboy]

Well sounds like chip is slowly dying.. seems that way!

 

[tcsenter]

Check the VRM supplying the CPU. Its probably crapping out and the voltage is dropping, unstable, or overheating.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Yeah, and those Chieftec PSUs suck. I would replace that one.

I had one (Chieftec/HighPower), I think it was like 350 or 400W, powering my Athlon XP 1800+ @ 2200+. When I added an ATI X800 card, it was way too much for it, and my HDs spun down when I loaded Windows. Threw in a SuperFlower 550W, and I was good.

It's possible that unstable power coming into the CPU VRMs has worn them down, causing more vdroop, thus needing vcore increases to stay stable.

 

[superccs]

Could be the mobo causing V drop. I had a p35 board do similar thing a year back.

 

[nyker96]

I think possibilities are: 1. cpu dying slowly, 2. mb voltage regulators dying, 3. PSU dying.

out of the the three, I think I'd guess mb since if PSU is dying, there might be other symptoms like reset during high power situations etc. of course cpu could be the culprit as well but it's less likely than mb.

 

[tweakboy]

Could be the mobo causing V drop. I had a p35 board do similar thing a year back.

I smell a pencil voltmod here or maybe not!

 

[combust3r]

I've measured the voltages while running 3DMark, there werent any major fluctuations and voltages were well within specs, so I guess it's not the PSU problem.

I've visually checked the caps and they look good but still that doesn't rule out the mb. If the problem persist I'll try to find a spare S775 processor and check if instability is still there with the default vcore. I guess there is no other way to be sure (trying with different mainboard is a bit of a hassle). It seems a bit far fetched that the CPU is dying so my first guess would be the mainboard.

Thanks for all the replies !

 

[pm]

Make sure you blow out any dust on the heatsink - that can do the same thing as these symptoms.

 

[Blastman]

Over and above the issues already mentioned, I would consider pulling the CPU out of its socket and remounting it. Check for any bent pins and/or dirt/thermal paste blocking good contact with the CPU.

 

[Arkaign]

It's almost certainly the mobo failing. On the rare occassions where I've had dying CPUs, the solution was actually to undervolt/underclock to get stability. Raising voltage would make approximately zero sense with a failing processor, as it would just exacerbate problems. You'll note a lot of people out there that have older overclocked cpus that they have to back off on the OC to keep it stable after a while.

Mainboards, particualrly early C2D era ones, are prone to putting out less than ideal voltage after a lot of use. And of those, the P35 was probably the most notorious grouping of boards.

 

[f4phantom2500]

I think possibilities are: 1. cpu dying slowly, 2. mb voltage regulators dying, 3. PSU dying.

out of the the three, I think I'd guess mb since if PSU is dying, there might be other symptoms like reset during high power situations etc. of course cpu could be the culprit as well but it's less likely than mb.

i agree. chieftec is the weakest name on that list. test it with another psu, then cpu. if you can eliminate those factors then i'd put money on it being the motherboard. if you don't have another psu to test with you might wanna considerbuying a cpu first since an lga775 p4 should be basically free, this way you could eliminate that possibility...but honestly my money is on the psu...then again i have a newer msi motherboard that seems to have issues, so it could really be any of the 3. but, since the cpu has been running at stock settings, it's probably 1. psu 2. motherboard 3. cpu.