Mobo replacement dilemma

[0xDiddi]

So my Motherboard just died.

 

This wouldn't usually be a huge deal, but here's my problem: I'm running a Xeon x5650 on a MSI x58 pro with 16gb of DDR3. That stuff's ancient.

 

However I only got this system a year ago, and with the current DDR4 prices, I'm not exactly enticed to go for current stuff.

On the other hand, I'm also not enticed to mindlessly throw more money at ancient and used replacement parts that themselves might fail at any point and leave me at the same point as I'm in now.

 

So here are some of my thoughts:

• I need a new mobo. That's out of the question
• Everything else still (probably) works, at least before I went to vacation for two weeks
• As DDR5 likely won't hit mainstream for another 2-3 years, that wouldn't be worrying either

 

Final note from my side: money itself is no problem. It's just that I'm not enticed to throw most of my current system out.

 

So, if you have any thoughts or recommendations, please let me know.

[emosun]

how did you determine it was the board at fault and not one of the components on the board.

[factorialandha]

There isnt really a lot to say here,

 

Your system wont work, you need replacement parts (however you got to the conclusion it was the motherboard doesnt matter)

 

if it is in fact the board, you either

A) have to scrap the majority of your hardware and upgrade to something newer reusing whatever parts you can (Har drives will most likely be the only thing)

B) source replacement parts that are compatible.

 

if money is no problem, then id go for option A.

 

There arent really any other recommendations to go for. 

 

The fact being, new motherboard likely means new RAM and CPU at the very least.

 

If you REALLY dont want to go option A then well off to ebay it is to source older parts

 

[0xDiddi]

1 minute ago, emosun said:

how did you determine it was the board at fault and not one of the components on the board.

Frankly that's a good question.

 

First off, I ruled out the PSU with ye olde paperclip test.

 

Everything else I ruled out by the fact that before I went on vacation (during which the whole system was off), everything worked more or less fine¹.

 

¹: I have a whole separate post about that in my backpocket. Here it goes: (Note that it was written during my vacation when I didn't have access to the pc)

Spoiler

Specs:
Intel Xeon x5650
MSI x58 pro
16gb ddr3
Gigabyte GTX 1060 6gb

I am aware those aren't the full specs. If, after reading this post, you think additional information would help, please let me know.
Also, excuse the long post, but this problem is just so ridiculous.

 

About two weeks ago, my computer wouldn't turn on when I pressed the power button.

Long story short: on Tuesdays and Thursdays it works perfectly fine, and once it's running, everything works, no matter what day it is.

 

Note here: by "working perfectly fine" I mean that it turns on as soon as power is restored, I can reboot, apply bios settings including my overclock, and so on. None of this works on said other days.

 

On all other days however, there is only one way to turn on the pc: 
 - PSU off, wait until everything's off, then turn back on
 - press power button very short once
 - press CMOS clear
 - boots just fine then

 

No other combination of button presses seems to do anything, and even the duration of the power button press affects the outcome. Even then, any form of rebooting lands me back on square one, so no bios settings for me.

 

Note here: I have no clue why the CMOS clear turns the pc on at all. The manual says it should be pressed for 5 seconds while the PSU is off to have the desired effect.

 

As the CMOS clear is the only workaround, updating the bios seems useless. I tried with various ram configurations, to no difference. Different button sequences also yield different beep codes. Most commonly nothing happens (no beeping, no display output). Others include "64k ram failure" and "keyboard interface error".

 

Another note: I tried replacing the battery and even tried it without a battery. Guess what? Same results.

 

And going back to the above: turn this rollercoaster off on Monday, power cycle on Tuesday and it works as if there never was a problem, try again on Wednesday and it's the same as Monday again.

 

I suspect it's the Mainboard, but at this point it could literally be the alignment of the stars.
Also, if this doesn't yield any success, I'll just replace the mobo, CPU and ram with some proper, up-to-date stuff, so don't worry too much.

---

5 minutes ago, factorialandha said:

if money is no problem, then id go for option A.

Thanks for the feedback!

[emosun]

well i suppose that could be a mainboard issue then from the sounds of it. 

[GRMRPR]

Yeah if I was u I'd sell the parts and upgrade