CPU/Motherboard Troubleshooting.

[Gomenasai]

So I while ago, I decided that I wanted to work on a new small form factor build so that it'll fit nicely on my desk at school. I picked up a few parts (and ordered some off NCIX :P). I wanted to test out my motherboard to see if was working well, and it has been for the most part, but 100% of the time the computer will slowly hang up. I would be able to boot into Windows 8, but after awhile (longest I've had it on without the issue is 45 minutes), all USB devices would stop responding, but I would see the programs still running on my display. After a minute or two, the entire screen would freeze. After a few more minutes, the whole entire system would just crash. If I run Prime95 to put the CPU under some stress, it will usually go under this process in about 2-3 minutes. This has also happened on a Windows 8 installation.

Things I've attempted to do but haven't made any progress:

- Switch out the memory kits, twice.

- Switching out the boot drive.

- Unplugging the storage drive, only leaving the SSD

- Cleaning out Stock Heatsink and CPU, Reapplying Thermal Paste

- Switching out Power Supply*

-- Using a 20 pin to 24 pin adapter

-- Using a 4 pin to 8 pin adapter

-- Using a 4 pin cpu + 4 pin "Molex" to 8 pin connector

*I am a college student with a part time job, so I only buy components when I can afford them. The next part that I plan to purchase is my PSU which will be one of the SilverStone 450W SFX 80 Plus power supplies (Either the non-modular Bronze or the modular gold). The two power supplies I have been testing are less than 300W and are just power supplies I had sitting around. They both only have 4-pin CPU connectors and 20-pin Motherboard connectors. My motherboard is an ITX motherboard with the Z77 chipset. It also has an 8 pin and a 24 pin socket.

The components that have been used throughout all of my test:

-ASRock Z77E-ITX Motherboard

-Intel Celeron G550 Dual Core LGA 1155 CPU (Only for testing purposes.)

-OCZ Nocti 60GB mSATA SSD

The motherboard and test CPU are brand new.

Any ideas?

[LT403F]

Could be that the PSUs you've been using aren't powerful enough. The symptoms you described sound exactly like an underpowered computer.

[Dave :)]

Yeah, considering the PSUs you are using only come with 20pins and 4 pins this is probably the most likely candidate. Are the PSUs old, hence the connectors?

[Gomenasai]

The power supplies are fairly old. The second one I used is in another computer that runs a AMD Athlon II X4 630 Quad Core, Two 750GB HDDs, an optical drive, and a couple other things. I was thinking that the motherboard wasn't getting enough power, and am hoping that is the issue. I'll try finding a power supply that has the proper connectors.

[xxHazzardousxx]

This is definitely a PSU issue, only thing I can even remotely reccomend is to undervolt everything, as far down as it can go. Other than that, it's time for a new power supply. Oh, and get the modular gold, it will save yourself some headaches I promise.

[xxHazzardousxx]

This is definitely a PSU issue, only thing I can even remotely reccomend is to undervolt everything, as far down as it can go. Other than that, it's time for a new power supply. Oh, and get the modular gold, it will save yourself some headaches I promise.

[Blankie440]

I agree with the idea of the PSU being the issue. I don't recommend using those 20-24 pin power adapters. I've done the reverse and used a 24pin power supply plug on a 20 pin motherboard but that was simple, the last 4 pins just hang off the side of the plug. This issue though I would not use a 20 pin to power a 24 pin motherboard. Post again when you have the correct power supply and let us know if that fixes your issue.

[Blankie440]

I agree with the idea of the PSU being the issue. I don't recommend using those 20-24 pin power adapters. I've done the reverse and used a 24pin power supply plug on a 20 pin motherboard but that was simple, the last 4 pins just hang off the side of the plug. This issue though I would not use a 20 pin to power a 24 pin motherboard. Post again when you have the correct power supply and let us know if that fixes your issue.

[Gomenasai]

I'm borrowing a new Corsair PSU from a friend. I'm using the CX430 v2 and the same issue is still occurring. I am testing with only a Motherboard, a CPU, RAM, and an mSATA ssd (on the motherboard). I did not plugin an extra HDD, nor do I have an expansion card of any sort.

[Gomenasai]

Update! I'm running my computer right now and it hasn't crashed after an hour of stress testing. I'm going to keep it up for the rest of the night to see if it holds up. Turns out, when I took off the heatsink and processor, after careful examination, I saw three CPU pins touching each other on the LGA 1155 socket (this is a brand new CPU and Motherboard and I properly installed the CPU). I fixed two using a toothpick and needle in about an hour, but then I watched NCIX Tech Tips #36 that talked about broken CPU pins, and used the tip on using a mechanical pencil tip and fixed the rest in about 10 minutes. Hopefully this solves my issue!

Edit: Yeah... it froze after an hour and a half.

[Guest]

Update! I'm running my computer right now and it hasn't crashed after an hour of stress testing. I'm going to keep it up for the rest of the night to see if it holds up. Turns out' date=' when I took off the heatsink and processor, after careful examination, I saw three CPU pins touching each other on the LGA 1155 socket (this is a brand new CPU and Motherboard and I properly installed the CPU). I fixed two using a toothpick and needle in about an hour, but then I watched NCIX Tech Tips #36 that talked about broken CPU pins, and used the tip on using a mechanical pencil tip and fixed the rest in about 10 minutes. Hopefully this solves my issue! Edit: Yeah... it froze after an hour and a half. [/quote']

If you had bent pins on a brand new CPU I'd be taking it straight back.

[Gomenasai]

I'm probably going to be doing that tomorrow.