ok, mods, feel free to move me to the hw forum but let me try this here first for some time. my regular fsx computer does not start anymore. some blue screens first, then fancy bios messages and now few reactions. it starts, all fans are blowing full power but nothing else. checked HDDs, all OK. Checked graphics by replacing my GTX260 with a old 8800, no change. So I guess it must be mobo, cpu and/or memory. Since my asus board not even gives any beeps during startup I just have to assume that the mb/cpu combo died. ha, what a pity :( now I need a new system, well at least mobo, cpu and ram. any idea? yes, I was checking the hw forum and would love to go for an either i5 2600(k) or i7(2600k) but I saw messages that the Intel 67 chipset is faulty and none of the boards are available here in Germany, at least not from the big retailers á la newegg.com. means, I could get a cpu now but not a board :( so, which cpu/mobo combination is also good? which is the 1156 socket e.g.? could I use those boards also for i5 or i7 sandy bridge procesors? Or just the 1155 socket? just want to knowhow to overcome the bottleneck with the H/P/Q67 shortage right now?thanksphil

For gaming/FS purposes, there is no board that will run the Sandy Bridge CPUs other than the P67. You'll have to wait until they come back on the market or see if you can still get one. The flaw only affects the SATA 3.0Gb/sec ports - if you only use the 6.0Gb/sec ones (which are backwards compatible), you're fine.

Thanks tabs. Issue is really to still get one. All the reputable retailers stopped selling them. Around the amazon marketplace are still some left... Will check. Hey. Wait a second. No super bowl for you? We lived for few years in Dallas and I just watched the opening of the match. Phil

Thanks tabs. Issue is really to still get one. All the reputable retailers stopped selling them. Around the amazon marketplace are still some left... Will check. Hey. Wait a second. No super bowl for you? We lived for few years in Dallas and I just watched the opening of the match. Phil

anybody here who uses an asus p8h67(-m pro) board? how does it perform with an i5 2500k and which might be an equivalent board from gigabyte? also, which would be a quiet(!) cpu cooler? I cannot find any socket 1155 coolers? the closest I can find are just for 1156 sockets? any recommendations?TIAphil

Thanks tabs. Issue is really to still get one. All the reputable retailers stopped selling them. Around the amazon marketplace are still some left... Will check. Hey. Wait a second. No super bowl for you? We lived for few years in Dallas and I just watched the opening of the match. Phil

I watched it - I think it started a bit after I posted.

Have a look at overclockers dot co dot uk. They should have whatever you are looking for.

Hi Phil, I don't think you'll find anyone using the H67 boards because one makes use of the built in graphics processor that is on the I7-2600K chip. Most people here would go for a dedicated graphics card because it would perform better. In case you are not interested in using a dedicated card, by all means go for the H67, but the P67 would be the way to go if you want to install your GTX260.For CPU cooler, you can use any 1156 cooler, it will fit on the 1155 motherboards without any issues.For RAM, be sure to get DUAL channel DDR3. Sandy Bridge does not like tripple channel. Also, try and get the lowest voltage memory you can find, 1.5V would be the way to go.Good luck with the new PC, I hope the P67 boards will start selling again around summer time, this is when I have my new build planned...Greetings from EETN.

Thx. Harvester. A discrete gfx is surely what I will have , actually already have now (gtx260). But I need a micro AtX board and those come usually only with onboard gfx. Using one right now (well, not anymore to be correct) with onboard gfx disabled. Will keep your advise in mind re ram. Right now I am wondering wether I need the i7 2600k or the i5 2500k. Will probably take the latter, need to keep the replacement costs at a minimum.

Have you eliminated the Power Supply? I had exactly the same symptoms (started with blue screens, ended up not starting at all) and it ended up being the PSU...Cheers,Wayne Rudd

Have you eliminated the Power Supply? I had exactly the same symptoms (started with blue screens, ended up not starting at all) and it ended up being the PSU...Cheers,Wayne Rudd

thanks wayne, good point. no, not checked that for various reasons: my keyboard (num lock) does light up so I thought it gets power, plus the onboard LED of my asus mainboard lights up as well, indicating it gets power. Also, all fans (including the one from my gfx card) are spinning full power (but not throttling down after 1 or 2 secs during normal startup procedure and the HDDs are running (just hooked the sata cable to my laptop to check whether they were the culprit, luckily not) . wouldn't all this mean the PSU is still OK? p.s. thanks tabs for letting me still post here in the pmdg forum

Never rule out a PSU as being the problem, it could be the 3.3 volt circuit that is gone and only the CPU uses that as far as I know. Even checking them with a multimeter and getting a correct voltage is no guarantee everything is ok, you need to check the voltage under load to be sure.

When I had my PSU fail I was convinved it was a bad motherboard - I even went through the same process of speccing my upgrade to replace it! It started with blue screens and memory errors. I turned off overclocking and it was better for a while but it deteriorated and eventually would not start at all. Tried a PSU from another PC and it was rock solid, overclocking and all... PSU problems can be very strange - and they are also the easiest thing to try before replacing motherboard/CPU/memory so I would absolutely recommend it in your case.Cheers, Wayne Rudd

and they are also the easiest thing to try before replacing motherboard/CPU/memory

not necessarily in my antec mini case though :-(anyway, wondering where to get a replacememt PSU from to test mine. but hey, since I wanted to upgrade anyway I may go the full road throw some new board, cpu and ram at it and see whether is worked. worst case is that I need another PSU, too.... will see.

As others have suggested could be PSU - if its a modular one try if you can use a different cable to your MB - also try unplugging any USB devices to computer before booting - so only have mouse and keyboard - and perhaps try them in different USB sockets. Finally fetch the battery off the motherboard - leave it off for some time then put it back on - if there is a cmos reset jumper or button on MB press that then try rebooting again. I may be wrong but in my opionion the fact that you are still getting a POST screen from MB etc it isnt that it has failed and that it is some other component that is causeing the issue - possibly memory - fetch it out give it all a blow and refit it again.regards 2600k - overclockers are still selling CPU and motherboards with the warning regarding the issue - asus and gigabyte have all confirmed that in April they will replace all defective motherboards anyhow and overclockers will honour that to. It is only part of the sata ports that are effected and if you not going to have more than 2 sata drives on the computer you can use the 6.0gb ones(even if your drive isnt) and you wont be effected anyhow. Intel also stated that chance of iminnent failure is unlikely.I have 2600k(i7) with gigabyte UD7 board and it totally rocks in fsx - smooth as hell with not only a fluid sim but one that visually looks stunning - textures crisp etc - I moved up from Q9660 which although FSX ran well its only now seeing how much better both how fluid sim runs but also the texture quality that actually it wasnt that good before! The (i7 2600k is relatively cheap considering it pretty much blows away all the other chips around - and would recommend it for the price difference over the i5. mines clcoked at 4.7 stable and low temps all the time even when left on all day flying. There will be another chipset and socket change later this year - so you could hold off for that - but then when thats released there will be another one - at present i would say to those that havent upgraded from Q or E chips then this the thing to do - those who recently upgradded to I7 then maybe wait till the 2010 chipset and socket comes out - but considering how cheap it is and the performance gains over other I7 id still do it.Regards

I may be wrong but in my opionion the fact that you are still getting a POST screen from MB etc it isnt that it has failed and that it is some other component that is causeing the issue - possibly memory - fetch it out give it all a blow and refit it again.

thanks, james, for your thoughts. though I DO NOT get a POST screen, all remains blank, LCD screen remains in power save mode and does not kick in as usual when I start the PC. weird. my PSU is a rather high quality (?) be quiet PSU. but as I said before, it was about time to upgrade anyway after 2yrs, so I will go the path of replace mobo, cpu and ram. plus eventually the psu if it still fails to start the pc. guess I can also live with the H/P67 controller issue as I do use 4 devices but the primary crucial ones I can attach to the sata3 connectors. then I have 2 yrs warranty here in Germany. and if any failure does not appear during that time, I will surely replace all again for an upgrade after latest 3 years.... sounds rather safe to me :-)phil