Gigabyte DS3 problem?

[Steveh_monkey]

Hi there
My PC has recently devloped a problem with booting. The PC starts and all the fans run but it does not go into BIOS, so it just stays blank.

After Reseting the CMOS it goes back to booting normally, but quickly resets again normally before windows is even loaded, going back the the orignal problem.

The problem has grown worse over time. It first did it when I overclocked the CPU to 2.8 GHZ (400mhz), and was sometimes was stable for a day or so, so I lowered the clock speed and it carried on with the same probelm. It did it on stock speed as well, and eventually it just started reseting immiediatly on boot.
Before this the PC was stable on stock for monthes, and stable on 2.8GHZ for at least a month with no signs of any problems.

I think it's my Mobo that must be faulty, as I've heard of similar problems with the DS3, especially Rev 1. I've tested the RAM in other PCs and overheating of the CPU was never a problem with my Tuniq Tower. Is there anything else I should do or test before I RMA it, or could it be another problem such as the Power Supply?

My System Specs

E6300 w/ Tuniq Tower
Gigabyte DS3
Geil Ultra low latency RAM 2GB 4-4-4-12
X1900XT
Enermax 500W PSU
Seagate 7200.10 250GB


Thanks a lot for any help
Steve Mackie

 

[Steveh_monkey]

Thanks for you're advice guys. I've been playing around and it does appear that the problem may be something to do with the Tuniq. I'll wait until I've got it working and completely stable again before I decide what the problem is. Looks like I don't need to RMA anything yet (phew )

 

[Steveh_monkey]

Well I've almost certainly (i think) narrowed it down to the Tuniq tower, and the results aren't good. I insulated the back plate completely so that's probably not causing any problems any more. I had to peel it of with a knife and now it's stuck to the back with insulating tape.

I've got the rig setup outside the case on my desk and after a while i've found that if the Tuniq tower is screwed in just a little bit, then it will probably not boot. To get it booting I normally have to unscrew the tuniq completely, so it's just sitting on the Motherboard lightly.

This is really bad news. Is it possible that having been connected too tight in the past it has now damaged by motherboard to be ultra sensitive to the pressure? I don't know if I should go about replacing the cooler or the mobo or both. Any advice?