sc1ence

When you have a short, it typically shorts out on the spot. It wont run for an hour then stop running. This is very unusual for a short. Since it works out of the case, it still could be a heat issue. Check to make sure all mobo fans are working. I am still not convinced this is not a heat related issue as the symptoms are the classic signs of overheating.

If it was shorted, then your board will most likely be toast. you should be able to see the marks from where the electricity was arcing.

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Banyan

Thanks Gambit, I'll check the screw and the mobo in general tomorrow when I attempt putting it back together.

I agree Science, it does have classic overheating symptoms, tho I don't understand why they didn't appear immediately. During the first three weeks of use it was 100% up. I even held a small lan party in which the system was running BF2 for nearly 11 hours straight without a hitch. Not a definitive test, but one would think if overheating was an issue it would have reared it's head that day for sure.

I'll inspect the board closely before re-mounting tomorrow. So far tho, out of the case it's been running non-stop for nearly 12 hours where in the case the most I could get before failure was 45 minutes.

Thanks for the help!

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sc1ence

could be that if it is a short, its it is just barely a short. as the board heats up, it expands ever so slightly, thus minimizing the gap needed to short.
the fact that it is running fine outside of the box means you have done much to isolate the problem. it is either a short or overheating.

since it was working for a few weeks, and then the problem started, overheating is just as strange as a short. if you figure it out, let us know, could help someone in the future.

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Banyan

UPDATE:

After running out of the case for 24 hours straight without a problem, I carefully put everything back in the case. The rig rain for 9 hours (under load alot of the time) flawlessly then BAM. It shut down. I pulled the power cord, then put it back on, tried to reboot and the lights on the fans lit for a split second then nothing. No boot, no power.

I pulled everything back out of the case, rebooted and ran under load for 3 hours before I retired for the night.

Something is not right when everything is in the case. I did not try putting paper behind the mobo due to heat issues, however I do have a large static bag an old mobo came in. What can I do?

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sc1ence

use smaller screws? try running in case with side off to increase cooling, get a huge home fan to blow on the open side of the case. the symptoms are fully consistant with overheating, despite what your monitoring equipment is telling you. perhaps your sensors are bad?

if you are still thinking it is the short, try looking for things that could short. if you dont see any... then perhaps try a different case?

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Banyan

It was running with the side off for a while now

I agree it does look like over heating, I'll check the temps in the bios next time rather than RivaTuner and TaT.

I do have another case, but it doesn't offer the cooling that this one does (smaller fans).

Thanks for all your help Sc1ence! This has been troubling.

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Trooper

what about putting it all back to gether and putting a box fan next to your case to push air in. See if that actually keeps the temp down and it would help eliminate or confirm that issue.

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that sounds like a good idea trooper.
-Vulcan

Banyan

I agree Trooper, I have a fan I try that with. I've been reading on the mobo makers forum regarding temps of the MCP - it's a temp that I can't get from TaT (afaik). I'll be checking it in the bios this evening.

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Gambit7

BIOS temps wont help you as it's not under load. Try DLing a copy of "Speedfan."
If this is indeed a heat issue, I'd look at the northbridge and/or southbridge as the problem. Usually on these mobos especially with big GPUs the SB and especially NB can get cramped into a bad location. Part of the reason I dropped extra coin on a p5n32-e is because of the huge copper heatsinks and pipes that run the length of the board over the NB and SB.

BUT, really... if you're not OCing this shouldnt be a problem. If you're worried about fans though, make sure there's one or two intakes that are clear from HDDs and blowing over your NB/SB.

Also, you can usually pick up a NB cooler from CompUSA for like 20 bucks. Personally though, I think it's a short.

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Banyan

I have reading about the NB/SB cooling today. But I would think even on the desktop, where it sat for three hours of BF2, it would have shown signs of overheating.

I agree, I think there could be a short somewhere - finding it will be the problem.

I must say Thanks! again to you guys, all in all, this small thread has had more constructive advice than a much larger one at the EVGA site.

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Banyan

UPDATE

I had been running the system outside the case for about two weeks without a hitch. This weekend I decided to put in the time to re-case everything and see how the temps compared to readings outside the case.

All in all, the temps in the case while running BF2 were cooler than runnning out of the case (effect of the three case fans?). I then ran 100% load on both cores using TaT and watched temps with SpeedFan. Overall, I think things were fine although the "CPU" temp (not Core1/Core2) rose to 51 but stayed there. SpeedFan labeled that as hot, but I was under the assumption that was OK. (incidentally, the two core temps never got out of the high 40's).

All in all, I'm still not convinced temperature was the issue.

In addition, before mounting the mobo, I put electrical tape over the 4 screw ends of the Zalman 9500 mounting bracket. They weren't overly protruding, but I wanted to be safe in case they could be the source of the shorting. I also didn't reconnect any of the case lights/power/reset switches.

So far, all day gaming with no lock up.

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loyalguard

Glad to hear you are back up Banyan...I hope you stay that way. Keep us updated, there is a lot to be learned from your experiences if we can ever pinpoint the exact problem. It's just unfortunate you had to be a guinea pig!

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Gambit7

It's those damned screws I tell ya.
If I didnt have prior electronics experience I might never have caught it when I installed mine.
There really should be some kind of notation in the manual about this stuff because it's REALLY easy to get 2 different circuit leads to "become 1" so to speak.
And I bet there are a myriad of issues people had in the past with bad computers when simply it's their own installation (from big screws) that caused it. How many RMAs couldve been saved?

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Banyan

I'm not willing to stamp "solved" on it, but things are going well. I may leave the rig running over night tonight to see how it does long term. I may also connect the power switch as well to see if it was an issue.

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Banyan

FINAL:

This weekend I closed the case and moved it back under the desk where it started. Running perfect! I've reconnected the case lights/Power switch and the remaining peripherals. Temps are good. I'll never be sure what caused the crashes.
The only advice I will offer from this ordeal is this - if you are using a Zalman CPU cooling fan, be sure to check the screw ends. The Zalman fan comes with a back plate that may expose just enough of the screw end to short to the case. When I put the mobo back in the case I put a small piece of electrical tape over each screw end.

Thanks to all who help with this!!

Next step OC!

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