Hardware problems

[Stan_Lite]

I confess to being stumped by this one.

Over the last week or so, I've been trying to piece together some rigs to build the Folding farm back up but have hit a bit of a brick wall.

I have 3 motherboards, 3 CPUs, 3 sets of RAM, 3 PSUs, 4 graphics cards (including onboard on one board) and 4 HDDs (2 SATA, 2 IDE).

I have tried these in pretty much every possible combination, with similar results every time. When I switch on, everything whirs into life and I get the post beep but that's it, I'm left with a pile of stuff, all apparently working (HDDs spin, CPU fans work, RAM gets warm etc.) but nothing on the screen. I get no warning beeps to indicate any problems. I've used 2 different monitors and three different video cables (which all work fine with other machines) so it's not a monitor/cable issue.

All of this stuff I know to have been working fine the last time it was used (except 1 PSU and 1 Mobo, which were bought new).

Does anybody have any idea what the hell is going on here? Could one of the PSUs have developed a fault and has blown CPUs or mobos or something?

I'm reluctant to try individual components in my 1 working rig in case I damage something there.

I'm at a loss :confused:

Whilst I'm here, I bought a G0 Q6600 as they're supposed to be the dogs doodahs for clocking but mine refuses to even post at anything above 2.7GHz. It does that easily at stock volts but no matter how many volts I give it, it refuses to even post at anything higher. Am I just unlucky? The B3 Q6600 it replaced did 3.0GHz easily :(

[Admiral Huddy]

I think you could be right about the PSU theory Stan.. Have you checked the output using a multi-meter...? Can you post the results?

I've got my Q6600 upto 3.1Ghz and stable at the moment. I'm going tpo try another 200MHz but pushing the voltages wories me a little on just air. That said, things are running nice 'n' cool.

Can you post the BIOS changes you have made... I always document my changes so I can compare them to mine.

[Stan_Lite]

I don't have a multi-meter, I've never needed one until now. Can you recommend a good one, being in the trade and all?

I'll get back to you on the BIOS settings bit, I've just read a post on another forum from a guy saying he hit the same wall with an E6600 on the same board as mine and he got over it by increasing the 1.2vht voltage to 1.45v. Once I've given that a try later, I'll report back.

[Admiral Huddy]

Yep i'm running at just over 1.4v on vCore, 2.1v on vDIM and the RAM speed set to 1:1 ratio. I've dropped the timmings on these to 5-5-5-18 for now.

I've also disabled any Spectrum settings..

as for a MM, anyone will do tbh.. I have 2 a basic one costing about £15 and one in the workshop which was around £150. The £15 one is good enough to check the voltage supply.

Huddy's PSU checking Guide (http://www.huddysworld.co.uk/Techpages/PCZone_TechieTalk_2.shtml)

[Robert]

Try lowering your multi. Mine works at 400*8 - but not at 300 (or whatever)*9.

[Mark]

I just dialed in 300 FSB on mine, left everything else where it was. Then just uttered JFDI, and it did. Bang in the middle of an Orthos run too. Didn't even reboot. :D

I don't really need to clock it though so probably won't (it's back at stock now).

Can't really help with the blank screens though. Suppose you could just hook up a DVD-ROM drive, schlep an Ubuntu DVD in there, and see if it tries to access it.

[Stan_Lite]

Try lowering your multi. Mine works at 400*8 - but not at 300 (or whatever)*9.

That's a thought, why didn't I think of that :o Will give it a try in the morning, too late to be feckering about with overclocking now.

Cheers :)

[Mark]

Not to mention the fact it would interrupt other pleasures (I assume). :)

[Stan_Lite]

Not to mention the fact it would interrupt other pleasures (I assume). :)

You're not entirely wrong, I'm at the stage now where I'm about to pour a night cap after a gruelling day trying to get this gaming rig the way I want it. I think I'm finally on the home straight. Just got to install some more games on it and hopefully have a day of hassle free gaming tomorrow after I try Robert's suggestion.

[Admiral Huddy]

Stan, I found this and thought of you (Q6600 OC problem):

http://www.overclock.net/motherboard-volt-mods/223188-asus-p5kc-vdroop-pencil-mod.html

If you have a P5K x , you might be suffering from a vdroop problem which can be fixed.

I've only recently noticed, that although my BIOS has a vcore of 1.4v, it actually shows as 1.325 in Everest and CPU-Z. Digging around I found the above thread.
I'm now running ar 3.3GHz.

[Stan_Lite]

Thanks for that Huddy. I have noticed droop with this board (it's a P5N32) but I don't think that's what's causing the lack of overclocking problem. I had the B3 version of the Q6600 up to 3.15GHz on the same board. I'll probably do the pencil mod anyway (I found a P5N32 version).