Hello! Thanks for taking to time to see what ails my computer. I've been trying to resolve this for about a month, with precious little success.
Please forgive my ignorance, as this is the first major problem I've had with the first desktop build I've ever done. Thanks ❤️
This is my current build:
ASUS RoG Maximus VI Impact Mini ITX LGA1150 mobo
Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0Ghz processor
Corsair Vengeance 16GB DDR3-1600 memory
Seagate Barracuda 1tb HDD (boot drive)
Seagate Barracuda 2tb HDD (data drive)
Intel 530 series 240gb SSD
ASUS GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX gpu
Corsair RM 750W 80+ gold cert fully modular ATX psu
Zalman CNPS9900MAX-R 135mm CPU cooler
NZXT Phantom CA-PH240-W1 ATX tower case
Previously I had the coolermaster elite 130 mini ITX case, and the Cooler Master Seidon 120M liquid cooler.
So, the problem:
The computer started randomly shutting down and having issues rebooting until it would not turn on at all.
I assumed it was a heating issue, as I had a LOT of stuff packed into the mini ITX case, and there really was no air flow despite the two case fans.
So I bought a new, much larger case, and what I hoped would be a stronger cpu cooler. The thing is monstrous, and barely fits inside the new case.
After I reassembled the computer in the new case, however, same problem - shuts off randomly and takes between 1 and about 20 tries to reboot.
Things I have done already:
Checked capacitors on the mobo for bulging/leaking - they are not
Checked individual ram sticks for functionality - both were working when I checked
Attempted booting with only essentials - initially the problem felt more isolated, but it wasn't. It persists even with minimal hardware.
Attempted switching PSUs - Second PSU could not even power case fans, so this is still a ?
Replaced thermal paste with arctic silver ceramic - initially seemed to help (comp stayed on continuously for 2 hours), but problem persisted
Noticed an IDE Detect Q-code error and swapped boot drive SATA cable - again, seemed to help, but problem persisted
Noticed a system initialization Q-code error - I have no idea what to do about this, so ?
Monitored temp via display on mobo panel - Displays 38-41 with only boot drive, 50 with all drives, and shuts off with gpu installed
Checked BIOS for temp - Displays cpu as 20+ degrees warmer than mobo, even after cold boot (cpu at 40, mobo at 28). These #s were the same after cold boot.
Mobo behind cpu socket is merely warmish to the touch when on, and the air around mobo is distinctly cool.
Cpu cooler funnels air toward an exhaust fan literally 2 inches away. Heat shouldn't be an issue anymore, but clearly it is.
I do not see error codes displayed on the monitor after a forced shut down. I don't know if I'm just not looking in the right place or what, but I don't see them.
I still get the IDE Detect error flashing during the boot process, as well as the initialization error, but before swapping the SATA cable for the boot drive, that
code just stayed there instead of the display showing temps.
Does anybody have any ideas on what to do here? My GPU has its own fans and keeps itself at 40 degrees, 36 when fans are at 40%, which is a manual setting
that I use sometimes. It shouldn't be skyrocketing the temps of the cpu and mobo. The other drives shouldn't either, but the mobo display showed a 10 degree
jump just for plugging in 2 drives!
Thank you for considering the issue, and for any replies. I'm at my wits end about this. I think I've done a good job considering my limited knowledge and
experience, but it's time for me to defer to someone who knows what they're talking about. However, the cost of a shop is almost as much as just buying a
replacement mobo. 😕