At a Loss - New MB looses settings 90% of reboots [Resolved]

[Altis]

Update Below!
Hello GH, bit of a desperate attempt to figure out what's wrong with my new build.

New motherboard (ASUS Z97M-PLUS) with 4790K and RAM went in a new case (everything else already existed). The problem is that nearly every time I reboot, the motherboard is completely wiped of its settings, requires me to go into BIOS setup (as if it's being turned on for the first time), and I lose the system clock (have to resync it when I boot).

Sometimes when I try to start it, it turns on for a couple seconds then off, or nothing happens and I have to try a second time. When I try to enable CPU virtualization, it does a cold boot and loses its BIOS (so I can never enable it).

I've replaced the battery so that isn't it, and I've had no reason to suspect the power supply or other hardware is having any issues.

Tried contacting ASUS and they're basically entirely useless. I thought I'd toss this out there in case anyone has seen this before or knows what's going on. Any ideas?

Thanks, I appreciate you taking the time to read this and any insight you may have.

Update
It appears the issue is with using the DisplayPort on my graphics card (HD 6850). When using it, I get all kinds of funky issues when trying to boot (several false starts, loses BIOS, etc).
After rebuilding and testing every component as working, it was only when I plugged it back in to my main monitor it started having issues immediately again. Switched to DVI and it's fine.
Just thought I'd update in case someone ever has a similar problem. Thanks again!

[tp4tissue]

check the clear cmos pins and traces.. if it has that..

then update bios via the flash drive..

[Altis]

Updated the BIOS with the latest revision to no avail. Cleared CMOS as well using the jumper on the board. Thanks!

[Novus]

Check your grounding. Make sure you don't have any loose screws that kind of stuff.

[katushkin]

You say there is no reason to suspect the PSU, but you should probably still check it.

Is there another PC you can test everything with?

[tbc]

did you replace the battery?

[Melvang]

did you replace the battery?

+1

[fohat.digs]

I have gotten bad motherboards by Asus and Gigabyte in the last 10 years, brand new straight out of the box.

Luckily, Micro Center is 15 minutes from my house and they cheerfully handed me new ones with no questions asked.

[Altis]

Thanks for the replies.

I did change the battery with one confirmed working in another PC. I also have been running this power supply prior to upgrading for about 2-3 years (it's a Thermaltake 650W I believe). Never missed a beat, and it does run properly once it boots up and under full load.

I'm pretty sure at this point it's the motherboard that has some failing. Looks like to RMA the board I have to pay shipping, which from Canada is about 1/4 the cost of the thing in the first place. Sure would hate to have to do this more than once...!

[Novus]

I don't know what the TDP of that processor is and that's probably irrelevant but depending on what else you have 650W cuts it very close in alot of systems.

[cmadrid]

Maybe in a lot of AMD systems..  >_0


+1 for having a local Microcenter fohat!

[tbc]

I don't know what the TDP of that processor is and that's probably irrelevant but depending on what else you have 650W cuts it very close in alot of systems.

you might be right when you can show everyone the math you used to come to that conclusion

[byker]

I don't know what the TDP of that processor is and that's probably irrelevant but depending on what else you have 650W cuts it very close in alot of systems.

you might be right when you can show everyone the math you used to come to that conclusion

Yeah unless he is running two gpus or something, I doubt this is the case. My computer is running happily on a 500w gold psu.

[Novus]

I don't know what the TDP of that processor is and that's probably irrelevant but depending on what else you have 650W cuts it very close in alot of systems.

you might be right when you can show everyone the math you used to come to that conclusion

I really hate when people do this passive aggressive nitpicking especially when we haven't been provided with the user's full system.
If you don't think that's the case simply give an example and move on.
All you had to do is point out that this guy is using a micro ATX board for starters, so it's very likely if you reasonably assume his graphics card isn't ass  ~ he probably only uses around 400-500W during load.

I wish you would grow out of your passive aggressive phase and actually contribute something useful.
His PSU is also the thermaltake 650 which I think is generally poorly regarded. It's also been in use for 2-3 years.

You can indeed run a good system on a 650W PSU or even a 450W PSU but I personally wouldn't.
How you use your computer and pick your components also has a great deal to do with it.

I haven't really been keeping track because I'm waiting for skylake for my upgrade but I remember some of the newer intel processors have terrible TDP - I mean especially compared to the Sandy Bridge era. Alot of AMD processors that are commonly picked also have terrible TDP.



You might say this is a ridiculous build and I agree but like I said it really depends on how many peripherals you have and it's not that much of a stretch sometimes.
These days, it's starting to become the norm to have 1 SSD for the OS, 1 larger cheaper SSD for other things and various old hard drives that have been carried over from older builds.
Of course maybe not everybody has 5-6 hard drives but it's not that uncommon.

If you overclock then the general math is like this:
The general math is this:
CPU with overclock is ~ 300ish W
GPU ~ 160-170W
Mobo and other stuff = 100-120 W
Which also brings you close.

Many graphics cards don't even use up to 200W but they still recommend you have a pretty high watt psu.

[fohat.digs]

+1 for having a local Microcenter fohat!

I would not dream of buying anything anywhere else, except maybe cheap incidentals from China if I'm not in a hurry.

Best computer store in the universe.

[tp4tissue]

Thanks for the replies.

I did change the battery with one confirmed working in another PC. I also have been running this power supply prior to upgrading for about 2-3 years (it's a Thermaltake 650W I believe). Never missed a beat, and it does run properly once it boots up and under full load.

I'm pretty sure at this point it's the motherboard that has some failing. Looks like to RMA the board I have to pay shipping, which from Canada is about 1/4 the cost of the thing in the first place. Sure would hate to have to do this more than once...!

Idk if this matters, but check if the psu is haswell compatible.. MAYBE there's a powerstate conflict, and it's cutting out before the bios saves properly..

This is a <guess>

[tp4tissue]

Do not get a 600 watt psu..

always get 750watt or above..  just so you don't have to buy ANOTHER psu in the future.

These things last forever if you keep it clean..

First thing you do @ 5 years, is break the warranty and dust bust. SO MUCH DUST

[Altis]

The i7 4790K had TDP of 88 watts and my HD 6850 graphics card is somewhere around 230 watts under full load. Should be ample power with 650W and like I say, it's never once given me an issue in the past couple of years I've had it. The strange thing is that once it's on, it seems to be fine.

tp4, I haven't checked to see if the PS is compatible with the CPU... I've never heard of it being an issue.

One more weird thing that happened is when I shut it down (start->shut down), it went off and then came back on a few seconds later. The motherboard seems to be struggling a lot with knowing when to turn on and off.

I'll play with it a bit more but at this point I'm pretty convinced it's the motherboard. I might take it out and hook up just the basics (out of the case) to another PS to see if it works.

Thanks again!

[tbc]

I don't know what the TDP of that processor is and that's probably irrelevant but depending on what else you have 650W cuts it very close in alot of systems.

you might be right when you can show everyone the math you used to come to that conclusion

I really hate when people do this passive aggressive nitpicking especially when we haven't been provided with the user's full system.
If you don't think that's the case simply give an example and move on.
All you had to do is point out that this guy is using a micro ATX board for starters, so it's very likely if you reasonably assume his graphics card isn't ass  ~ he probably only uses around 400-500W during load.

I wish you would grow out of your passive aggressive phase and actually contribute something useful.
His PSU is also the thermaltake 650 which I think is generally poorly regarded. It's also been in use for 2-3 years.

You can indeed run a good system on a 650W PSU or even a 450W PSU but I personally wouldn't.
How you use your computer and pick your components also has a great deal to do with it.

I haven't really been keeping track because I'm waiting for skylake for my upgrade but I remember some of the newer intel processors have terrible TDP - I mean especially compared to the Sandy Bridge era. Alot of AMD processors that are commonly picked also have terrible TDP.

(Attachment Link)

You might say this is a ridiculous build and I agree but like I said it really depends on how many peripherals you have and it's not that much of a stretch sometimes.
These days, it's starting to become the norm to have 1 SSD for the OS, 1 larger cheaper SSD for other things and various old hard drives that have been carried over from older builds.
Of course maybe not everybody has 5-6 hard drives but it's not that uncommon.

If you overclock then the general math is like this:
The general math is this:
CPU with overclock is ~ 300ish W
GPU ~ 160-170W
Mobo and other stuff = 100-120 W
Which also brings you close.

Many graphics cards don't even use up to 200W but they still recommend you have a pretty high watt psu.

oh.  i apologize.  i thought i was being aggressive aggressive.  i'll keep your evaluation in mind for next time. 

i DID want to bring something to the discussion. but it's kinda stupid to make assumptions instead of getting facts isn't it?  i've never actually seen someone say 'assumptions > facts' before.

when you added up all of the numbers....is it me or did you add up every single component running at 100% load at once?  if so, do you believe this is a realistic scenario?  if so, do you disagree PSUs supply 'overdrive' or w/e the proper term for >100% rated output is?

EDIT:

tdps:
http://ark.intel.com/products/52214/Intel-Core-i7-2600K-Processor-8M-Cache-up-to-3_80-GHz
http://ark.intel.com/products/75048/Intel-Core-i5-4670K-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_80-GHz

[tp4tissue]

The i7 4790K had TDP of 88 watts and my HD 6850 graphics card is somewhere around 230 watts under full load. Should be ample power with 650W and like I say, it's never once given me an issue in the past couple of years I've had it. The strange thing is that once it's on, it seems to be fine.

tp4, I haven't checked to see if the PS is compatible with the CPU... I've never heard of it being an issue.

One more weird thing that happened is when I shut it down (start->shut down), it went off and then came back on a few seconds later. The motherboard seems to be struggling a lot with knowing when to turn on and off.

I'll play with it a bit more but at this point I'm pretty convinced it's the motherboard. I might take it out and hook up just the basics (out of the case) to another PS to see if it works.

Thanks again!

The on and off thing is supposed to happen if you made large changes in bios.. multiple voltage changes + timing + multiplier,  etc.