Intermittent non-boot w/ high end buyers guide config

[jmatt55]

I recently had a local shop assemble a machine composed of the major elements from the October High End Buyers Guide.

Motherboard: MSI 975X v.2
GPU: EVGA 640-P2-N825-AR 8800GTS R
CPU: Intel C2D E6600 2.4
OS: XP Pro, clean install
The case and power supply are new, 400 watts

The 2 gig of Geil memory will arrive today, for the moment the shop has installed a half gig of Crucial.

The machine is acting flaky. The Lite-On DVD burner took 2 full hours to read and install a game that should only take 5 minutes to install. Then the next day, the machine would sometimes freeze up during Windows XP boot. The diagnostic lite on the mb indicate it is freezing as it tries to initialize the video card.

We swapped in another video card and the machine booted fine. The we put the EVGA card back in, and now that boots fine too. But that doesn't mean there isn't a problem, just that it is intermittent.

Any help?

 

[goatjc]

I'd try checking the memory (memtest86), then maybe a different power supply. I'm not too familiar w/ those boards, so I couldn't tell you more besides the basics.

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: jmatt55
I recently had a local shop assemble a machine composed of the major elements from the October High End Buyers Guide.

Motherboard: MSI 975X v.2
GPU: EVGA 640-P2-N825-AR 8800GTS R
CPU: Intel C2D E6600 2.4
OS: XP Pro, clean install
The case and power supply are new, 400 watts

The 2 gig of Geil memory will arrive today, for the moment the shop has installed a half gig of Crucial.

The machine is acting flaky. The Lite-On DVD burner took 2 full hours to read and install a game that should only take 5 minutes to install. Then the next day, the machine would sometimes freeze up during Windows XP boot. The diagnostic lite on the mb indicate it is freezing as it tries to initialize the video card.

We swapped in another video card and the machine booted fine. The we put the EVGA card back in, and now that boots fine too. But that doesn't mean there isn't a problem, just that it is intermittent.

Any help?

the brand, and therefore quality are much more important that wattage. what brand is the psu?

also, whenever i do a new build i run prime95 and memtest for ~12hrs each - this will give you a good indication if you have an issue w/ power, ram or cpu. after that maybe loop 3dmark for some time as it will bring in the gpu draw into the equation and really push the system. remember, it is easier to get stuff replaced soon after a build than 6mos down the road, especially if a small shop did...

 

[jmatt55]

The PSU is whatever came by default with the case, and while it's a nice looking case, I don't think it's a big name brand. I'll have to check tomorrow.

 

[Slammy1]

Originally posted by: jmatt55
The Lite-On DVD burner took 2 full hours to read and install a game that should only take 5 minutes to install.

PSU is probably your problem, but I saw this and thought something. A friend has a Lite-On installed perpendicular and has read issues. If you picked up a read error during OS install, you might get bad behavior in any component. Look in control panel - administrative tools - event viewer and look for system errors. Still, a C2D system w. an 8800 and a generic 400W PSU, I'd tend to focus on that first.

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: jmatt55
The PSU is whatever came by default with the case, and while it's a nice looking case, I don't think it's a big name brand. I'll have to check tomorrow.

400W is enough for your rig, but a 400W good brand like enermax, fsp, enhance, silverstone, pc&p, seasonic - one of those would do you good

 

[jmatt55]

Here's an update. The tech swapped in another video card and it still froze intermittently at boot, so it's not the EVGA card.

He popped in another generic PSU and it did the same thing. A better PSU might be the answer but this leans in the direction of it not being the PSU. Besides, the video card isn't drawing all that much power when its operating in 2D mode, 400 watts should be fine.

I'm reluctant to say its a bad mb because 99.9% of all hardware from a reliable manufacturer like MSI works right out of the box. He flashed the BIOS but said that the update only offers support for more chips, not enhancements for existing ones.

It's a puzzle, for sure.

 

[crimson117]

- Considering you have a 8800 graphics card, then you should just invest in a good, brand name PSU - stop mucking around with these generic things, you're only wasting your time I doubt your generic PSU's have enough amp on the 12V rails to reliably power a 8800 card. OCZ Powerstream is good, Seasonic is good and quiet but more expensive, Corsair HX 520 is nice and lets you detach any extra cables you're not using.


Once you've gotten a reliable PSU, if you still have problems,

- run the diagnostic tools from your hard disk manufacturer. (A computer I built for a friend had strange issues until we swapped out both faulty WD drives for two new Seagates - since then it has run perfectly.)
- run memtest86 for several passes.
- run prime95 (two instances, one on each core) for several hours.
- run the free version of 3dmark06 a few times.

Then let us know where you stand!

 

[jmatt55]

I ordered the OCZ GameXStream 700 watt psu. That should eliminate the PSU as theww source of the problem. I'll post an update once it's installed.

 

[jmatt55]

Now the tech is reporting that one of the sticks of Geil memory is no good, the system won't even post with it. You'd think that if you paid twice as much money for computer memory, it would be quality stuff, maybe even tested before it left the factory -- but you'd be wrong. Next time I'll save my money and stay with a proven product, like Crucial.

Now I have to RMA that back to Newegg and wait for them to send new. It's gonna take me a frigging month to put this machine together. This is turning into a disaster.

And this "high-end" system, so far, is only high priced. These components have yet to work correctly for more than 6 hours.

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: jmatt55
Now the tech is reporting that one of the sticks of Geil memory is no good, the system won't even post with it. You'd think that if you paid twice as much money for computer memory, it would be quality stuff, maybe even tested before it left the factory -- but you'd be wrong. Next time I'll save my money and stay with a proven product, like Crucial.

Now I have to RMA that back to Newegg and wait for them to send new. It's gonna take me a frigging month to put this machine together. This is turning into a disaster.

And this "high-end" system, so far, is only high priced. These components have yet to work correctly for more than 6 hours.

having ram go bad is kind of an issue all the time regardless of manf. imho, the guy who built this should have tested it to make sure everything worked - ran memtest and at least prime95, before he gave it to you. hell, anymore whenever i do a new build that is the first thing i do - and use a cd like the ultimate boot cd that has the programs on it. i usually lay the stuff ouf on a wood table, put a fan by it so everything gets cooled and then go from there. if it helps any i have had issues with kingston, ocz and mushkin, but they were all taken care of by the company. don't hate geil because of this, it happens (and no i am not a geil fanboy as i dont' even have any of their ram currently in my rigs, just micron, ocz, kingston and i think crucial - just a matter of finding stuff on sale, no real preference for a manf, just to my wallet)

even if built a machine for a friend for free i wouldn't let it go out of my condo without 12hrs of prime95 and memtest....

 

[jmatt55]

The tech did try to test the memory. The machine wouldn't even boot with the bad stick in it.

It's just aggravating, that's all.

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: jmatt55
The tech did try to test the memory. The machine wouldn't even boot with the bad stick in it.

It's just aggravating, that's all.

i understand that you are aggravated as i would be too. imho you should have never got the machine with the issues you are having. you, as a paying customer shouldn't be bothered/aggravated by these issues that are the builders problem, that is all i am saying. the builder should know that if the machine will not work with 1 stick, it should be rma'ed immediately and inform you of the situation and let you know there will be a delay.

on the bright side, you are learning enough through this thead and forum where next time you can cut out the builder and do it yourself

 

[jmatt55]

Oh, I can do it myself, I've bult my last 3 rigs. I just figured I'd avoid the hassle and have a local shop assemble the components I purchased from Newegg. They're only charging me a $70 fee to assemble it, so for that price I'll have a guy that sits and does this stuff all day long take care of it. I was a network engineer and programmer for 20 years, and in my conversations with the tech I can tell he's very competent.

The problem is glitchy components. Everytime something doesn't work, I have to order another part from Newegg or return it to them and it's very time consuming. Newegg is telling me it will take 2 weeks to exchange the Geil memory.

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: jmatt55
Oh, I can do it myself, I've bult my last 3 rigs. I just figured I'd avoid the hassle and have a local shop assemble the components I purchased from Newegg. They're only charging me a $70 fee to assemble it, so for that price I'll have a guy that sits and does this stuff all day long take care of it. I was a network engineer and programmer for 20 years, and in my conversations with the tech I can tell he's very competent.

The problem is glitchy components. Everytime something doesn't work, I have to order another part from Newegg or return it to them and it's very time consuming. Newegg is telling me it will take 2 weeks to exchange the Geil memory.

i would contact geil directly. i know anytime i have had a memory issue, i will secure a set of whatever i need w/ the company and they can hold my $$$ via a cc, and then i can get the ram in a matter of days and send the company back their bad stuff. 2wks is b.s..