StickmanRyan

I've got a bit to explain here, so please bear with me

This is a self-built rig, about a couple of years old now. It's put together from an MSI MBOX 945GM3-F barebones kit (MS-7267 Motherboard), an Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 (1.80GHz), 2GB Kingston PC2-5300 DDR2 (667Mhz, 1GB was originally installed and another of the same model was added later on), an EVGA GeForce 7600GT 256MB (also added sometime after the original build, at the same time as the extra Gig of RAM), an LG DVD-RW drive and a Seagate Barracuda 250GB @ SATA 3.0Gb/s.

The first thing that made me suspect an issue with the PC was a cold-boot issue, which just started happening within the past couple of months. Any time the PC is left off long enough for the components to cool all the way down, when the power button is pressed the fans and lights come on, but no signal is sent to the monitor, mouse or keyboard, and it does not POST. After leaving it running for a few minutes it can be rebooted with the reset button on the case and come on just fine.

After reading around a bit about the problem I was sure it was the power supply causing it, after all, most power supplies that come already installed in cases don't last (unless you get lucky). I replaced the PSU with a Thermaltake TR2 430W (the case originally came with a 400W SolyTech), but unfortunately it made no difference, meaning the power supply wasn't causing it

Although the PC is still having the cold-boot problem as I haven't found an alternative fix for it yet, I also noticed a new problem that caught my attention and has taken priority since then. After booting into Windows XP and looking at the System Properties (from Start -> My Computer (right-click) -> Properties) I noticed the listed speed of the CPU was 1.20GHz. I proceeded to download CPU-Z, and sure enough it was running at 1.20GHz, which I consider a problem when its a 1.80GHz processor. In fact, with the "CPU-Stepping" or whatever, the speed was constantly dropping from the stock 9x multiplier to 6x, reducing the clock speed from about 1200MHz to even 800MHz

I turned off all options in the BIOS related to "CPU-Stepping" and set the Power Management to Always On with all drop-downs set to Never to disable this, so of course the multiplier isn't changing from 9x anymore, but the CPU is still running at 1.20GHz (even in the BIOS at the System Info section is displays the speed as 1.20GHz).

This is kinda bad in my opinion because the bus speed in the BIOS is showing as set to 200MHz (200 with the 9x multiplier makes 1800 or 1.80GHz), but its actually running at 133MHz according to CPU-Z (133 x 9 = 1200 or 1.20GHz). Occasionally I get lucky and it actually shows up as running at the full 1.80GHz in the BIOS, Windows System Info and CPU-Z, but not very often as of late.

I've even tried overclocking the bus speed to attain the stock 1.80GHz, but it just fails around the time I get up to 1.60GHz >.<

I just recently set the RAM in the BIOS to run at 400MHz (doubled to equal 800MHz) to match the FSB (which is set at 200MHz according to the BIOS, quadrupled to equal 800MHz) at a 1:1 ratio. However, as of the last time looking at CPU-Z, I noticed the RAM is actually running at 133MHz, maintaining the 1:1 ratio with the crippled bus speed. So would this be caused by the motherboard in this case? Or is a faulty CPU capable of limiting the RAM speed along with it?

I'm not even sure what to try anymore, I almost thought I had fixed the issue after resetting the jumper and clearing the CMOS, which upon boot-up listed the CPU as operating at 1.80GHz in not only the BIOS but also Windows System Info and CPU-Z, but it turns out that was just a fluke and one of those "lucky" moments. I even tried resetting the jumper a second time and installing a new motherboard battery, but unfortunately that had no affect on either the cold-boot issue or the crippled FSB problem

I guess I should also say that I even reformatted my HDD with a brand new install of Windows XP to no avail (wouldn't really suspect the HDD anyways). So I guess my question is, do these problems sound more like CPU or motherboard-related issues? I'm not worried about replacing either one, but I don't want to replace both if it doesn't need it

Thanks so much for your time and for enduring my lengthy post

manic

That power supply is really lacking. I hate to sound like a broken
record on this. I mean you have 18amps on one 12volt rail, and
like 5 on the other. Efficiency at below %70. If the psu were not
a issue I would lead to the mobo. But its hard to say with the psu
lacking so badly...Just my humble opinion....

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Tumbleweed36

manic is most likely correct. You need at least 26 amps on the +12 rail for a pci-e video card.

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StickmanRyan

So I see... I suppose I should try taking the card out and seeing what happens, but it sounds like a legitimate explanation.

Thank you both for your quick responses, and I'll be sure to look into it further as soon as I can, and I'll be sure to get back with the results.

Again, thanks so much!

Tumbleweed36

See if you can beg, borrow, or steal (only kidding) a decent power supply to try in there. That would be a good way to test.

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StickmanRyan

Alright, I skipped messing with the video card and instead got my hands on a Corsair VX450w. It's not only a little boost in wattage over both of the previous PSU's but the +12V rail has a max load of 33a, which seems to me like a nice little jump over the amps of the others as well (and covers the requirement of 26a).

Unfortunately, nothing was accomplished from this swap... The PC still has the cold-boot issue and the FSB and RAM are still coming up at 133MHz >.<

I'm fairly certain now that it HAS to be the motherboard. Is this PSU still too weak?? Or am I correct in my assumption of the motherboard needing to be replaced?

Thanks again for all the help.

manic

I cant remember but did you run memtest, couldnt hurt. That psu
is better than the last, but your still right there on the edge. I
would be curious to see what memtest says. But you are probably
right, mobo problem. Intel cpu's rarely die out. Meaning they can
take a beating and still perform. Over the years Ive only had one
go bad. If your like me you hate to give up on things, but eventually
you have to bite the bullet.....

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StickmanRyan

I just ran two copies of MemTest at once overnight, and upon getting back on the PC this morning both were at about 775% coverage with no errors, so I don't suspect the RAM in any way :D

The more I think about it, all the clues do seem to point to the motherboard...

With the cold-boot issue, it doesn't POST until its warmed up a bit, and thats the responsibility of the motherboard... The HDD access indicator even flashes a bit before hand (I've also tried reformatting the HDD with no change in results). Also, none of the peripherals get a connection until after its warmed up enough to POST, not the monitor, not the keyboard or mouse, nothing (and all of those are also connected to the motherboard as well).

And it seems to me that the only way both the CPU and RAM can be limited without the RAM being at fault, and the CPU being an unlikely culprit, is if the motherboard is doing it. As I said this before, I did try replacing the motherboard battery to no effect, and I wasn't having a problem with losing any BIOS settings anyways.

So I guess its time to hammer down and get a new motherboard >.< I'll post back with the results.

Tumbleweed36

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StickmanRyan

Alright, I replaced the motherboard with an Asus P5GC-MX/1333 (coupled with a fresh install of Windows XP, of course) and everything works great.

So it was the motherboard after all... I'm just glad its finally fixed. That cold-boot issue was especially getting on my nerves, but its always nice for your CPU and RAM to be running at their full potential :D

One thing I also noticed in CPU-Z is the CPU is actually listed as exactly 1800 or even 1800.2MHz now, whereas before it would always be like 1796MHz or 1196MHz, so thats cool I guess...

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll go ahead and keep that Corsair PSU in there just in case, since its at least meets the requirement for the +12 (if even just barely).

manic

Good deal!

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