problem Dying Computer

LunarMist

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I forgot to ask about cases before buying one. I have the 500R, mostly because the side panel sticks out so that the large fan does not intrude into the case. The top is perforated.
 

LunarMist

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I'm always a fan of positive-pressure cases. Prioritize intakes, particularly if they are filtered.

The 200mm fan covers a large area, but there are plenty of open grilles and the top is basically open. I'm sure it will be plenty dusty soon.
I replaced the rear fixed 800RPM fan with a 4-pin Noctua PWM fan and set it to run from ~800RPM at idle to 1500RPM under CPU loads.
The three intake fans have three speeds on the front panel. Normally I will leave them at the middle position, and perhaps increase it to full when extra airflow is needed.
Together that should be enough extra airflow if the computer is working hard for a while.
 

Handruin

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The next case high on my list is the newly-released Fractal Design Define R5. It looks fantastic in every way I can think of between form and functionality. If you're not happy with the case you got, checkout the reviews of the Define R5.
 

LunarMist

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The next case high on my list is the newly-released Fractal Design Define R5. It looks fantastic in every way I can think of between form and functionality. If you're not happy with the case you got, checkout the reviews of the Define R5.

Thanks, but I bought the 500R case mainly because it has a fan LED switch which can be used for four of the hard drives. It's a good, but unremarkable case.
I need at least 3x5.25" bays for the drive trays, so the front should be the open design.
 

Handruin

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I consider 850W a large capacity PSU. Time was referencing the physical dimension that the R5 can fit and 300mm is quite large also. Yours is probably around 200mm.
 

LunarMist

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I consider 850W a large capacity PSU. Time was referencing the physical dimension that the R5 can fit and 300mm is quite large also. Yours is probably around 200mm.

I estimate it's about 180mm or so on the longest side. 850W is sufficient according to the calculations, since there is one low-power video graphics card. At this point I will be happy if it does not blow up.
 

LunarMist

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I received the GTX 750 fanless video card. I'm not sure if it is very good but the Windows experience went from 4.2 to 7.7 and I don't have to worry about the fan or listen to extra noise.
 

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Even many of the upper end Maxwell gpus won't turn fans on until they reach 62C and even then they spin at 200rpms which is not audible. I love this feature.
 

LunarMist

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:doh: I ran some goofy benchmark and the GPU reached 59°C max. The 200mm side fan is blowing right on the passive heatsink, so that must be helping somewhat.
 

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:doh: I ran some goofy benchmark and the GPU reached 59°C max. The 200mm side fan is blowing right on the passive heatsink, so that must be helping somewhat.

That's more than fine. I think some are rated to 90+C so you're far from max. I don't know if the 750 rates the same as the GTX 970/980 Maxwell.
 

LunarMist

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Anything specific?

Crashes, BSOD, fails the burning test clocked or not...
It always seems to be the Chinese motherbroads. Every brand is unreliable.
I suppose it could be RAM, but I doubt it.
I need to order a new board in the morning.
 

LunarMist

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I turned that off and it makes no difference. The burntest failed immediately.
It's not like the computer sees much load. The CPU is normally at 2-3%.
 

ddrueding

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Are you running any software that would let you monitor temperatures? I've had issues where CPU or chipset heatsinks slightly disconnected from the components they were supposed to cool. If the system has been turned off for a few hours, does the BSOD take longer to happen?
 

LunarMist

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Are you running any software that would let you monitor temperatures? I've had issues where CPU or chipset heatsinks slightly disconnected from the components they were supposed to cool. If the system has been turned off for a few hours, does the BSOD take longer to happen?

I checked the temps right away and they are normal. It was off for two hours and immediately failed the burntest after a cold start. If I just surf, etc. eventually some apps throw error messages and then something locks up.
 

time

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Probably irrelevant, but Intel specifies a maximum spreader temperature of just 66.8C for the i7-5930K.

But PSU seems most likely if it's falling over under stress with normal settings. Or possibly the motherboard voltage regulation?
 

Mercutio

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Unfortunately, I think it's more likely the latter. I'm two for four on having to RMA X99 motherboards so far and I'd put good money that Lunar's PSU of choice cost as much as a low-end laptop. Those aren't the kinds of problems I associate with high end PSUs.
 

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I skipped building an X99 because of the number of instabilities and quality issues I had read on that platform from the motherboard manufacturers. I mentioned in another thread the Asrock X99 seemed like the only viable option (to me) that I would have considered if building one.
 

ddrueding

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I should count myself lucky then. 5 systems, all ASUS motherboards (yuk), and no issues with any of the components on the builds.
 

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Fatwah on Western Digital
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dd, I've had one Gigabyte and one Asus fail. Fortunately, I was able to send the Asus back to Amazon. The Asus would just intermittently not detect any installed RAM and was basically DOA from the moment I got it. I've got another Gigabyte and one Asrock mATX board in service now.

I always tell people that getting an enthusiast rig is like getting an Italian sports car. You know the stupid thing is going to spend a certain amount of time in the shop from the moment you buy it. You could always pay extra for ECC RAM and a Xeon-branded CPU, but they you have a much, much tighter HCL and probably a feature set you largely don't need. I do think enthusiast hardware is a pretty silly investment, but on the other hand, my high performance home desktop is someplace I can tolerate downtime.
 

Handruin

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I feel the same about the enthusiast style MBs which is why I typically gravitate towards a Gigabyte Ultra durable motherboard with minimal frills. In the X99 world, most Gigabyte boards had reports of terrible BIOS and instability that I didn't even want to consider them. That was back around Nov. Dec. timeframe. They may have released a new revision by now and improved things (hopefully).
 

ddrueding

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If the report or advice is from the public at large, I give it effectively zero credit. Too many idiots, too many agendas, too self-selecting a group doing the reviews.
 

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Fatwah on Western Digital
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I don't believe that enthusiast boards typically get many product refreshes. I don't think the volume is there to support it.
 

LunarMist

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Unfortunately, I think it's more likely the latter. I'm two for four on having to RMA X99 motherboards so far and I'd put good money that Lunar's PSU of choice cost as much as a low-end laptop. Those aren't the kinds of problems I associate with high end PSUs.

I already forget the PSU, but is was on sale for about $150. The computer is nowhere near the power limits from the measurements I made back in January.
I could pull the RAM modules a couple at a time just to see if that makes any difference.
 

LunarMist

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I feel the same about the enthusiast style MBs which is why I typically gravitate towards a Gigabyte Ultra durable motherboard with minimal frills. In the X99 world, most Gigabyte boards had reports of terrible BIOS and instability that I didn't even want to consider them. That was back around Nov. Dec. timeframe. They may have released a new revision by now and improved things (hopefully).

My last two Gigabyte boards died. I need all the SATA, USB, etc. ports possible, so that leaves the enthusiastic boards.
 

LunarMist

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I removed some of the RAMs, but then it started working just fine. After a few hours and musical memory modules, I could not find any defective ones.
Whoever invented the single-ended memory sockets should be destroyed. :evil:
 
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