cpu problem?

[rashers52]

been getting random shutdowns recently.

when i try boot back up the light on the motherboard (asus rampage 3 extreme) stays on cpu and wont move on to the next light. nothing loads up not even the post message.

to get past this i have to press the clear CMOS button atleast twice.
i only really notice it when it shutsdown is when i click on something like a link.

is this a cpu problem or could it be psu ? i have a corsair HX850 psu

i have a RMA number for the motherboard and cpu , but obviously i dont want to send it off if its still working :s

rest of my setup :

graphics - XFX ATI Radeon 6970 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card - x2

motherboard - Asus Rampage III Extreme Intel X58 DDR3

ram - Corsair Dominator GT 12GB (3x4GB) DDR3 PC3-16000C9 2000MHz Triple Channel Kit with DHX Airflow Fan

processor - Intel Core i7 960 3.20Ghz

powersupply - Corsair HX 850W ATX Modular SLI Compliant Power Supply

hdd - Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache ( plus keeping my old HDD's )

cd drive - LG BH10LS30 10x BluRay-RW / 16 x DVD±RW Drive

cpu cooler - Corsair Hydro H80 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler

case - Corsair Obsidian 800D (6GB/s) Full Tower Case

 

[Orcvader]

Is everything on stock speeds? Tried running a mem test? Tried flashing the BIOS?

 

[rashers52]

bios is flashed to the most updated.

im currently running the RAM higher than what it was set to as i wasnt even reaching 1000mhz , seeing as i have a set of 2000MHz.

other than that everything is at stock speed

 

[Orcvader]

Download this, burn it to a disk, and boot from it: http://www.memtest.org/#downiso

This will test out your RAM. You may want to try running the RAM on 1333mhz with 1.5v if the test fails the first time, then trying the test again. Just want to rule this out before deciding it's a CPU problem.

 

[rashers52]

i will run it tonight , got work at 2 and the test seems long.

thanks for the help so far !

 

[ukbilleh]

I would probably start by making sure I have no obvious hardware errors and removing all non essential hardware. I'd probably try it with just the one graphics card just to be on the safe side.
Then reset the bios to optimised defaults and go from there. Mem test will be a good idea from orcvader

 

[ukbilleh]

Oh do you get any beeps or does the board have visual error messages also forgot to ask

 

[rashers52]

ive tried using just 1 gfx card and ram. no beeps just LED lights. when theres a problem the light hangs on CPU. and wont move onto the next LED. should i just send it off as RMA (cpu & mobo)?

 

[ukbilleh]

not just yet. I take it you have reseated the cpu and carefully reapplied just the right amount of tim? What cpu cooler are you running? Is it fitted correctly? Nothing touching the board in the wrong places and everything that should be installed with it is installed?

 

[rashers52]

yes i have reseatted the cpu , checked for bent socket pins also. cpu cooler is fine on the cpu. all my specs are listed in my 1st post. do u think maybe a windows update is causing the problem or a copied version of windows ?? it has been fine for a few weeks since i built it , then about last week its been a pain.