GA-X58A-UD3R - Random Shutdowns

[lanxinger]

Hey guys,

I am having a bit of an issue with my new X58-UD3R setup. POST is fine, managed to install Windows 7 64-bit, however
I had to disable C1E and C7 Sate Support to get it installed. Not sure exactly why that is. I found this solution on another
forum and it is working but when I try to enable C1E and C7 State Support my system sometimes doesn't even boot into Windows
anymore. It shuts down completely and I have to power it on by hand again.  

When I enable these setting in the BIOS everything is fine again:

CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E) ..................... [Disabled]
C3/C6/C7 State Support ...................... [Disabled]

Any ideas what might be the issue here? I am running everything at stock speed by the way. No overclocking. BIOS Version F1e (Beta). I did
try it wit all other BIOS versions as well - same result. It originally shipped with FA bios.

Here is my complete hardware specs just for reference:

PSU: Corsair CMPSU-850TX 850-Watt TX Series 80 Plus
Motherboard: Gigabyte LGA1366 SATA3 ATI CrossFireX ATX Motherboard GA-X58A-UD3R
CPU: Intel Core i7 950 3.06GHz 8M L3 Cache LGA1366 Desktop Processor
Memory: 6GB Corsair Dominator (TR3X6G1600C8D)
Graphics: EVGA 01G-P3-N959TR GeForce 9500 GT 1GB DDR2 PCI-Express 2.0
Harddrive: Corsair 120 GB Force Series Ultra Fast TRIM Supported Solid State Drive CSSD-F120GB2-BRKT

[Dark Mantis]

Hi and welcome to the Gigabyte Forum.

Well first I would suggest clearing the CMOS and then loading the BIOS Optimised Default settings.

Remove the power cable from the mains supply and then press the power switch on the case for a few seconds just to drain any residual energy in the PSU capacitors.

Once done remove the motherboard battery for at least ten minutes before replacing it.
 
Next plug back into the mains supply and boot.
 
You will now need to enter the BIOS by pressing DEL and load Opimised BIOS Defaults.

Make any other changes to the BIOS settings to suit your self and then press F10 to save and exit.

[lanxinger]

Thank you for your quick reply.

I just followed all the steps you mentioned. First I loaded the optimized defaults. Everything booted up fine. Rebooted, changed
the C1E and C7 State Support to enabled again. Bing. Shutdown like before.

This is already my 2nd motherboard and set of RAM. Had the same issues with the first set, thought they would be faulty but now I am experiencing the exact same issues.

[Dark Mantis]

Well there are a couple of possibilities that spring to mind.

One is bent pin/pins on the CPU socket.
The other is a bad memory module.

The memory is easier to check so I would advise starting with that.

Memtest86+        http://www.memtest.org/

Insert one stick of memory in slot 1 and run Memtest on it for at least 10 loops and if there are no errors then swap it over with the next one and continue untill you have checked all four modules.

If you have any errors the module is faulty.

If you have any faulty modules you will have to return the whole kit as they are matched.

Post back when you have done that with the results.

[lanxinger]

Ran Memtest all night. Tried all 3 modules separately. all modules passed and came up with no errors.

I also ran Prime95 for 2 hours in Windows 7 and IntelBurnTest to test for CPU. All these of course with the C1E and C7 turned off..

[Dark Mantis]

Well your memory seems to be fine then.

Next thing is to check your CPU socket for any bent or misaligned pins.

Very carefully remove the heatsink and fan. Probably a slight twisting motion is best to release the two as the

thermal paste can act like a glue.

Once off remove the CPU taking extreme care both physically and electrically(static) and place somewhere safe.

Make sure that the lighting is very good and even.

Now scrutinise the socket for any pins that are out of alignment, even slightly.
If in any doubt whatsoever take a couple of macro (close up) photos of the socket and post them on here for us to check.

Also look at the bottom of the CPU at the lands (little copper circles) and make sure that there is a mark in each somewhere near the centre.
If there are any missing marks or any of the pins are obviously bent then that is your problem.

[lanxinger]

just checked everything. I couldn't see any bent pins on the socket. (I also attached a picture of the socket). Also looked at the CPU and it has marks on every circle.

could the CPU be faulty?

[Dark Mantis]

The picture wasn't as clear as it could have been and so I can't say for sure but there were a few there that I was unsure of  but suspect.

It is always a possibility that the CPU is faulty but it happens only very seldom.

I take it that you are running a revision 2.0 motherboard with FE1 BIOS version?

[lanxinger]

sorry about that. I was shining a flashlight on it and couldn't see any pins there were not straight though. It also is already my 2nd motherboard. I had the first one replaced by amazon. If there would be a bent pin, how are the odds that I receive brand new boards twice with bent pins? - just saying.

I can try to get another replacement board but I am not sure at this point anymore. I might even try to return this board and get another model altogether. If that gets me the same problems I Could also try to replace the CPU. any thoughts?

yes, I am running a rev2.0 with FE1 bios.

best
markus

[Dark Mantis]

Did you purchase the board and CPU etc together from Amazon? If so you might be able to get them to take it all back and test it together. It wouldn't have been the first time that two were received with faults.

Your PSU is a good one but I would like to try a different one just to see if it did indeed make any difference. Is there any possibility that you could borrow one from another system or friend etc?

[lanxinger]

I bought everything from Amazon. I am willing to return the motherboard and get a ud5 or ud7 if they are more reliable. At this point I am willing to try anything to get this working. Should I also return the CPU this time? I think we ruled out the memory so I don't need to return that one anymore.

Unfortunately I don't have any other PSU laying around. I will try to ask a friend if he can spare one.

best
markus

[Dark Mantis]

Yes if you can get them to accept the return of the motherboard and CPU for testing or replacement it would be good assuming that you still have a problem with a different PSU if you can find one to test with.

[lanxinger]

so should I go for the UD3R again or just upgrade to a UD5 or UD7? which would you recommend?

best
markus

[Dark Mantis]

The thing is it depends on what you are going to use it for. I mean I am very happy with my UD7 but I probably paid for features that I wll never use like triple SLI/Crossfire etc. Just depends on what you need from the board and how deep your pockets are. There certainly seems to be less problems with the higher end boards but that could simply be because less of them are sold.

[lanxinger]

I am mainly going to use it for Video processing/editing/color correction etc. Not much gaming. I just want it to be reliable though, so if an extra 100$ gives me that reliability I am willing to spend it.