Hi Vector,

 

It is the i5 3570K but I cant check the Bios version as I cant get into it. If I could see what was happening then I could probably find the culprit, all I have is beep codes that not even Gigabyte knows. Like I said Gigabyte had the motherboard running and sent me photos, which I assume are true, of the board with an i5 3570K processor running in Windows 7.

 

Good to know that you are running ram at 1600 so the speed is not the problem. The 1.5V also corresponds with the second ram I bought so it is probably down to a faulty CPU or Board. I have taken it to a shop today so they can test with new bits and hopefully they will be able to tell me which one.

HI voodoo, actually the mem modules default at 1300 on this board, and as I said  I haven't got into the oc'ing or resetting the module speeds as the I7-3770K runs hot on air cooling and I want to go to water cooling before I do. But thats ok for now as I am getting fairly good results with the present setup but am looking forward to running in the 4.2 to 4.5 GZ range.My current situation however, being retired and on a fixed income rquires a little here and a little there so water cooling is down the road.

     I noticed that your computer experience is above average so I assume you pressed the delete key on the keyboard to try and access the BIOS, on my board if I want to get into the BIOS I have to swap my usb keyboard with a ps2 type as the usb keyboard does not power up untill after the post screen, so that may have been part of the problem.

     Would deffinately be interested in what you determine to be the problem when you get the computer back. Please post the results.

By the way thanks for the reply. Best of luck, Vecter.

Could it be that you are getting 2 different beep codes? (highly unlikely but you never know...)

Say :

1x 8 short beep code (video, floppy)

1x 1 Long & 2 short beep code (mobo issue)

 

Also,

This may sound like a silly question, but have you installed a floppy drive? If so remove it. it could be the controller.

 

You say you have tried different connectors on the PSU, but have you tried a different PSU, or have you tried the current PSU on a different mobo?

 

I'm also interested in the outcome. Good Luck with it!

 

Diego.

I thought I remember the OP saying that the PSU was tested on a different system. This would debunk my next suggestion but I'll mention anyway. Sometimes stuff happens and you don't get a chance to check every possible thing.. Have you checked the PSU for the red switch 120/240V? Make sure it's in the correct position for you? I know it's a long shot but could be the culprit... I've been around this block for a long time too and have seen some stranger things happen! Hope you get this all sorted soon.

Some ideas (it sounds like a power issue, something not seated correctly or plugged in):

 

1.  The board is a dual channel motherboard ... sometimes you need to stagger the RAM (ever other slot)

2.  Make sure you are providing correct power to the motherboard (main connector 24 pin (not 20 pin) and the 8 pin connector and make sure the 8 pin connector is NOT a PCIe connector).

3.  Disconnect any and all USB devices (including Mouse and Keyboard)

4.  Disconnect any and all hard drives

5.  Put the video card in different PCIe slots and make sure it has PCIe power connectors (one or two)

6.  Try resetting the BIOS from the motherboard

 

I downloaded the manual for this motherboard and it indicates:

 

 

Connects to the speaker on the chassis front panel. The system reports system startup status by issuing a beep code. One single short beep will be heard if no problem is detected at system startup. If a problem is detected, the BIOS may issue beeps in different patterns to indicate the problem. Refer to Chapter 5, "Troubleshooting," for information about beep codes.

 

 

But here are the beep codes and what they mean:

 

The POST beeps indicate the following:
1 short: System boots successfully
2 short: CMOS setting error
1 long, 1 short: Memory or motherboard error
1 long, 2 short: Monitor or graphics card error
1 long, 3 short: Keyboard error
1 long, 9 short: BIOS ROM error
Continuous long beeps: Graphics card not inserted properly
Continuous short beeps: Power error

 

On a side note: I stopped using Gigabyte motherboards as I always had problems with them ... I use ASUS exclusively now as they provide a nice LED for diagnostics (even a reset button on the motherboard) at every step of the power On process.

 

Hope this helps, Rob.

Thanks to everybody for the idea's. Thought I would give you an update. Gigabyte received the board back and say it was a fault on the CPU socket, bent pins which was not there when I sent the board back. They say that this is what had caused the problem which is quite confusing, as the board did not post from new, sent it back to Gigabyte and they said that there was nothing wrong with it, on return the board would still not post so it went back again with the same fault but this time the pins where miraculously bent. I think it is more likely a fault they should have fixed but missed, then bent the pins to cover there mistake. They have now replaced the socket so hopefully will get it back all working.

 

I have had a Asus motherboard for 3 years with no problem and an even older Asus board on my old AMD Athlon XP3000+ system. Had and MSI board once that failed within a year, could not be repaired and was then discontinued. Think I will stick with Asus in future.

I hope it works for you when you get it back ... FYI, socket pins are not easy to bend ... in fact, that's one reason why they were moved from CPU to the socket (the pins in the socket layout are much more durable).

 

The Asus boards cost a little more, but they have always done well for me.

Thanks to everybody for the idea's. Thought I would give you an update. Gigabyte received the board back and say it was a fault on the CPU socket, bent pins which was not there when I sent the board back. They say that this is what had caused the problem which is quite confusing, as the board did not post from new, sent it back to Gigabyte and they said that there was nothing wrong with it, on return the board would still not post so it went back again with the same fault but this time the pins where miraculously bent. I think it is more likely a fault they should have fixed but missed, then bent the pins to cover there mistake. They have now replaced the socket so hopefully will get it back all working.

 

I have had a Asus motherboard for 3 years with no problem and an even older Asus board on my old AMD Athlon XP3000+ system. Had and MSI board once that failed within a year, could not be repaired and was then discontinued. Think I will stick with Asus in future.

 

The picture was a nice gesture but who's to say it was your board?    Had you inspected the pins before CPU installation?  That's the first thing I typically check when taking the socket lid off.

Further update.

 

The board was returned with the CPU and memory already attached. I connected the CPU fan, power switch. Removed my XFX 850pro PSU from my old system, which had been running fine, and connected it to the Gigabyte board,,,,, NO POST.

 

By chance I had bought a second hand Delta 750 PSU to go in my old system so I tried that.... POST and into Bios. I disconnected it and reattached the XFX power supply but no post. Not the ideal situation but at least it was working so I put the XFX in my old system and the Delta in the new system, installed my GTX 670, hard drives and second sound card, all items that worked fine in my old system, installed windows, drivers and updates.

 

I then plugged in my Track IR, Saitek Yoke and Logitech Driving Force steering wheel. All worked fine.

 

Wanting to check the bios I rebooted. This is when I found the UEFI bios corrupt however Windows 7 worked fine. I checked the net, downloaded an update Bios and installed, rebooted and found Bios till corrupt. I then removed the power lead and the bois battery and reset the bios. At the same time I disconnected all drives and USB connections, reinstalled the bios battery and rebooted into bios. All worked, great I thought. I shut down, connected my hard drives and all worked. I connected my controllers and the bios would freeze.

 

I got fed up with that problem and set to setting up my sound cards. I have my client (old) computer running ATC and have a lead going from the speaker connection on that sound card to the line in on a sound card on my master (new) computer. I FSX on the master computer with FS2Crew, this enables me to have two sets of speakers, one with the engine sounds and FS2Crew on normal speech, ATC on the other set of speakers or I can plug in head phones and have ATC over that and pipe FS2Crew through the headphones if needed. This worked fine before I upgraded, downgraded my old computer to client and my old old computer to media centre. I now have the problem of my sound card stating "no jack information" in the sound panel.

 

 

Gigabytes conclusion:

 

The board is not faulty and never was. They replaced the CPU socket because the pins got bent by me installing the chip in the first place, these magically straightened when I sent it back for RMA the first time, worked for them, and bent back again on return. This socket was replaced the second RMA and the board was returned.

My XFX PSU if faulty, but somehow only when connected to the Gigabyte board not with any other board. Novatech has a test PSU but this is faulty but only with the Gigabyte board.

My Logitech steering wheel and Saitek flight yoke is faulty, but only when connected to the Gigabyte board. (Not just mine by the way as I have seen other cases on the net)

My Sound card is faulty, but only when connected to the Gigabyte board, however disabling the onboard sound or removing the graphics card makes no difference but it works with other computers. 

 

My conclusion:

 

The board has a fault, with by design or just with this one. Gigabyte are trying to pass the blame to every other piece of hardware.

 

Warning:

 

Do not buy a Gigabyte motherboard unless you have spare power supplies to try out.

Do not buy a Gigabyte motherboard if you want to be able to access the bios without having to unplug your controllers everytime.

Do not buy a Gigabyte motherboard if you have a PCI soundcard and want to use anything other then stereo speakers.

 

I have now finally persuaded Gigabyte to supply me with a different board in a hope that this will solve the problems although they still say that the problem is with other hardware.

 

My two previous boards where made by ASUS and I should have stuck to them.

I had a terrible experience with a Gigabyte GPU RMA too. Never again

I only buy Asus motherboards and Silverstone Power Supplies, not sure that helps you, but over the "recent" years this combo seems to have worked well for me (and I've been building PCs going back to 8086's).

 

I have tried them all (and I do mean ALL).  I know it sounds a little "######" ish, but that's my experience.

 

For reference I swapped out a PC Power and Cooling PSU which cost me $500 because I kept having what appear to be power reboot issues whenever my system was under heavy loads.  Put in a Silverstone unit (the only change) for $300 and problem went away and never came back.

 

Something you need to look at for a good PSU is how well it responds to rapid changes in load (something rarely tested until recently) ... responds means, look at fluctuations ... is it smooth or does it spike all over the place before settling down.

I've got the same motherboard and CPU, running with 1600MHz Corsair RAM. I have an old yoke and pedal set (gameport) through a USB adapter. Runs fine, but if I enter the BIOS with it plugged in, the machine will hang. Unplug it, and all's good. Not a big drama, but I wonder if it's related to your problem.

 

Cheers, SLuggy