scottay Posted September 1, 2011 Posted September 1, 2011 G'day all. Hopefully someone can help shed some light on this frustrating issue. I'm a computer tech by trade and own/run a business doing just that. I recently had a client ask me to build him a computer, which I gladly did; however, this computer has been nothing but a PITA from the installation of Windows onward. The issue I'm having now is the screen goes crazy. It distorts and gets "blocky" if that makes any sense. I've attached pics since that's the only real way to show what it's doing. If it just happened in Windows, I'd suspect drivers and either get new drivers or reinstall Windows... but as you'll see in the pics, it happens everywhere. The first on is in Windows, the second is while running MemTest86+, and I've also had it at the BIOS splash screen. My first though, either GPU or RAM. Since it's got an embedded GPU I was hoping it's RAM. I've tried 3 separate sets of RAM in all possible configs to no avail. If it's GPU, I'm suspecting mobo. In order to rule out anything else, I've disconnected the optical drives, popped in another PSU and tried different SATA cables on the HDD (I've had issues in the past with certain SATA cables). Now, after all this trouble shooting, the original PSU that I bought for the machine isn't powering up the machine. I can't find my PSU tester ATM, but I'm really hoping that the PSU didn't fry... Although, if it fried it could have done something to the mobo. Guess my question boils down to this: should I RMA the mobo? That's about the only thing left that I can think of that I haven't tested. Couple other bits of info ------------------------------- Windows will run in safe mode. I haven't had it happen in safe mode, but I also haven't spent much time in safe mode (maybe 5 min total). Windows will boot normally and run fine for some random interval of time. Nothing gets logged in event viewer. System Specs ---------------- Western Digital Caviar Black WD5002AALX 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive COOLER MASTER Elite 460 RS-460-PSAR-J3 460W ATX12V V2.31 Power Supply LG DVD±RW SuperMulti Drive Black SATA Model GH22NS50 Bulk - OEM G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ GIGABYTE GA-880GA-UD3H AM3 AMD 880G SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard AMD Phenom II X4 925 Deneb 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor HDX925WFK4DGM - OEM COOLER MASTER Elite 360 RC-360-KKN1-GP Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mini Tower Computer Case Windows 7 Home Prem x64 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulktreg Posted September 1, 2011 Posted September 1, 2011 What happens if you fit a graphics card and disable the on board? Have you tried a different monitor? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black64 Posted September 1, 2011 Posted September 1, 2011 I've seen this before, Do you have a sound card next to the GPU? That was my problem, I had to take out the sound card. They had interference with each other Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulktreg Posted September 1, 2011 Posted September 1, 2011 I've seen this before, Do you have a sound card next to the GPU? That was my problem, I had to take out the sound card. They had interference with each other Next to the on board GPU? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black64 Posted September 1, 2011 Posted September 1, 2011 Next to the on board GPU? Oh is he using on board? Mine was next to a 5770. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IVIYTH0S Posted September 2, 2011 Posted September 2, 2011 What happens if you fit a graphics card and disable the on board? Have you tried a different monitor? :withstupid: Tis would be my first attempts at trouble shooting, maybe another computer you can try Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottay Posted September 2, 2011 Posted September 2, 2011 Thanks for the replies. Sorry for the delay, busy couple of days. I know it's not the monitor because, not only do I use that monitor all the time, it happened at the client's house as well. I'll try another GPU, but since it's onboard that would still result in a mobo RMA. Least I would know for sure... I'm worried about how the other PSU quit working. It was working fine at his house, but when I got it home it didn't work. These problems were occurring well before it quit, and they're still happening with one of my PSU's that I'm using. Can mobo's fry a PSU? I really don't want to fry one of my PSU's during this process... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottay Posted September 3, 2011 Posted September 3, 2011 Well, after moving the RAM around and switching to the DVI port vs the VGA port the problem seems to have disappeared... Ran a few passes with Memtest86+ and have been running Prime95 for a few hours and no issues... fingers crossed! The PSU still remains an issue, I'm still running it with one of mine... Do you think the PSU just decided to give up a ghost, or do you think something caused it to go? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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