CPU Problem ( I think!)

[opel80uk]

Hi All,

Have been having a problem with my PC upgrade. Won't bore you with all the details (those can be found here: http://http://forums.hexus.net/help-...ml#post3116453

Basically, the long and short of it is after upgrading my MOBO (M5A97 Evo r2.0), CPU(955BE to FX 8350), and putting in 8Gb of DDR3-1866 RAM, Windows firstly had trouble installing (kept freezing) and then when I finally managed to install it, Windows kept freezing either when it was booting up, I was logging in, or not long after I managed to log in. The freeze was seemingly random, and was happening at differing times, and during different activities. I tried a few things, but what seems to have stopped the freezing is putting my old 955BE CPU in, and since I tried that, it's running like a charm, no freezing at all (have been using for the last 4 hours, and have done numerous restarts with not one freeze).

My question is, assuming I am right and it is the CPU, and before I try and return and replace the FX8350, is there anything I should be doing to get it working normally? Is there any settings in the BIOS (all left at default) that would be causing the freeze, or anything to do with the RAM working with that particular CPU? I've had a look for bent pins but all looks fine, and I checked with ASUS and the BIOS version I have should be working the FX 8350.

Is there something I am missing, or something I should do before I try and get a replacment?

Thanks, as always.

[CoolHotCold]

I assume you've updated the BIOS?

If you've ran Memtest 86+ and SeaTools to test both the RAM and Hard Drive, then the only things left would be the motherboard or CPU and if it's working with a older CPU then its likely the cpu itself.

[opel80uk]

I assume you've updated the BIOS?

If you've ran Memtest 86+ and SeaTools to test both the RAM and Hard Drive, then the only things left would be the motherboard or CPU and if it's working with a older CPU then its likely the cpu itself.

I had a look and the BIOS version on my MOBO is 1903 (released 1/8/13) and the FX 8350 has been compatible with BIOS since version 1006 (released 2/11/2011), which was 5 updates ago. I've never flashed a BIOS before, so don't wanna run the risk of messing it up unless I really have to.........

[CoolHotCold]

And the memtest and seatools?

[opel80uk]

And the memtest and seatools?

I ran full Memtests on each stick twice, and it found no errors, and the HD passed all the Seatools tests too, so I presume that leaves the CPU and MOBO?

[herulach]

What cooler are you using? and have you tried it out of the case with the stock cooler? I had similar issues on an m5a97 r2 which stopped when I went back to the stop cooler retention plate.

[opel80uk]

What cooler are you using? and have you tried it out of the case with the stock cooler? I had similar issues on an m5a97 r2 which stopped when I went back to the stop cooler retention plate.

I'm just using the stock cooler on it, and the 955BE is running fine with the same stock cooler on it. Do you think that could be it?

[CoolHotCold]

you can check the temps on the cpu either in the bios or in windows and see if it's running hot or spiking, but it's likely to be either a motherboard, psu or cpu fault. And as the motherboard works with another cpu, a educated guess would be that the CPU is at fault at this stage.

[herulach]

I'm just using the stock cooler on it, and the 955BE is running fine with the same stock cooler on it. Do you think that could be it?

No, mine was shorting against the board. Have you tried it with the whole thing out of the case? It does sound a lot like a dodgy cpu to be honest.

[opel80uk]

No, mine was shorting against the board. Have you tried it with the whole thing out of the case? It does sound a lot like a dodgy cpu to be honest.

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. Haven't ried it with it ouside the case yet. Would there be any settings that might need changing in the BIOS, i.e, the CPU settings are conflicting with the RAM, or would that be happening with the 955BE as well?

[Domestic_Ginger]

The newest memtest stresses ram; the older one was a bit easy to get passed.

prime is good.

If it fails turn the ram speed down a bit to stable and unexciting speeds 10-10-10-30 1033 or something. It'll evaluate whether the system can't cope with high speed ram.

[opel80uk]

The newest memtest stresses ram; the older one was a bit easy to get passed.

prime is good.

If it fails turn the ram speed down a bit to stable and unexciting speeds 10-10-10-30 1033 or something. It'll evaluate whether the system can't cope with high speed ram.

Hi Domestic Ginger,

I downloaded the latest Memtest and the 2 sticks both passed. Would the fact that the PC doesn't freeze when using the 955BE likely rule out a RAM problem?

[Domestic_Ginger]

Apologies for not getting back to you.

What I was thinking is that maybe the newer CPU will not support the faster ram. I would run it through prime for an hour and then if it passes try it with the new CPU.

It would be better to try and narrow down the problem into making it re-producible. Prime should stress the CPU. If it fails; lower the ram speeds and try again. The CPU should support 1866 however there is a reference I can not seem to find...... (the super script one):/

I'm not really an expert. I'm always keen to get positive negatives in order to isolate the problem. Whenever in the past I've been fiddling and think it seems okay; it usually ccomes back to bite me

[opel80uk]

Apologies for not getting back to you.

What I was thinking is that maybe the newer CPU will not support the faster ram. I would run it through prime for an hour and then if it passes try it with the new CPU.

It would be better to try and narrow down the problem into making it re-producible. Prime should stress the CPU. If it fails; lower the ram speeds and try again. The CPU should support 1866 however there is a reference I can not seem to find...... (the super script one):/

I'm not really an expert. I'm always keen to get positive negatives in order to isolate the problem. Whenever in the past I've been fiddling and think it seems okay; it usually ccomes back to bite me

No probs!

To give you a bit more info, I left the 955BE in and ran another Windows install. It installed fine first go and have been using the PC over the weekend. Have installed various programs, surfed the net, gamed etc with not a single freeze. I put in the FX CPU however this morning, and the freezing starts again.

According to the BIOS, the RAM is only running at 1333Mhz, so surely the FX 8350 should be ok with that?

[Domestic_Ginger]

I would have thought so

Had a look on the webz and other people seem to be having similar issues; unftunately its not very comprehensive as usual. People blame the 970 chipset or the manufacturers etc.

Thoughts:-

o There is a 2005 bios available.

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/M5A97_EVO_R20/#support - updated 2013/10/16

o Can you turn off boost or lower HTT multiplyer (FSB) a few notches. It would be nice to know exactly when the thing freezes; Not sure this will work.

o I was wondering whether you had legacy devices running but obviously not! nice board btw.

Beyond this I'm not entirely sure. Trying the cpu in another mobo would be the best option.

Good luck!

[scaryjim]

Have you tried running just 1 stick of RAM with the 8350? I once had a board that wouldn't run RAM in dual channel until I updated the BIOS.

I'm intrigued that the BIOS claims to have been compatible with the FX 8350 almost a year before it was released And even if it's compatible, there are often bug fixes rolled into BIOS updates, particularly for new CPUs. There has been a BIOS update since the one you are using, 2005, which is meant to improve system stability. I can guarantee that if you try to RMA anything you'll get asked if you're using the latest BIOS for your motherboard.

Updating an ASUS BIOS is actually pretty easy, as pretty much all new ASUS boards have EZFlash. You can start the tool from the BIOS, so you don't need any special boot disks or anything, and I'm pretty sure the latest versions can read the BIOS from a USB stick. Just download the latest version and follow the instruction