Strang Problem after moving my computer upstairs

[masif]

This is a computer that I built several years ago. It has 4GB RAM (four 1GB DDR2 sticks) with 700WAT PSU, Core 2 Duo CPU, graphic card with dual monitor supports and 4 SATA drives. I moved my computer upstairs and after turning it on in the new room, the PSU starts restarting itself after a few seconds of staying on. There is no beeps that I ever hear during this cycle. I have to unplug the power input into the PSU for it to stop doing this. So from this behavior, I thought there must be some short so I disconnected everything except for RAM sticks and CPU. It still does the same thing.

I take out two stick from two slots and now it stays on, I hear the beep from the CPU. This is strange because I could not imagine two memory sticks to die suddenly from a move. But strangely enough this does seem to be the case. When I put any of the two (bad) sticks into any of the four slots, the computer starts repeating the restart cycle. Tow working sticks can go into any of the 4 slots and the computer loves them.

Can anyone please put any logic into this for me? Any ideas, any clues? Does my computer need Therapy? It obviously does not like the new room.

[Derp]

RAM does go bad from time to time. I'd try it in another computer and if it'll boot run memtest on them. If they fail try to get a RMA.

[Steve R Jones]

It does sound like the ram chips died... Guess it'd be interesting to know what happens if you take the pc back downstairs.

[Welshjim]

masif--
Indeed what happens when you take it down stairs again? I had a vacuum cleaner once that always showed the "bag full" light when I plugged it into one particular wall outlet. Everywhere else the "bag full" showed only when the bag was full.

[masif]

masif--
Indeed what happens when you take it down stairs again?

I was not mentally ready to accept the challenge :-) My biggest fear was what if it actually worked downstairs? Where would have been my next step?

I, instead bought 3 x 2GB DDR2 sticks off craigslist for $30 and inserted them in. The first try failed. Oddly enough, I got them to work but by trying different combinations of slots. They only work in 3 specific slots. hmmmm. Once I got them to work, I have one slot left. I put one of the two GOOD 1GB sticks and it goes into the restart cycle again. So I try the other one and it works. I have it boot successfully into Windows 7 and it shows 7 happy GBs for the memory.

I am lost at this point. There is no logic to this behavior. I think that my mobo is screaming to retire. I am just trying to make it through few more months after which I am planning to build my next machine.

Speaking of new builds, I am thinking to bring in my graphics card, PSU and of course the hard drives. So I will be in the market for an i7, a mobo and a decent case in the very near future. Any pointers?

[jdc2000]

What is your budget for the new computer build?
What graphics card do you have now?
What is the wattage output of your current PSU (make and model would be helpful)?

You probably have PATA IDE hard drives now. To use those, you may need an interface card, since most i7 motherboards won't have a PATA interface.

[masif]

For a new CPU, case, mobo and RAM (at least 16GB), I am trying to stay around $600 to $700 range. I may be dreaming but I need to be told that.

My PSU is 600WATT I believe. I will post the brand later.

My graphics card is this one:
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16814142090

I have three 1TB hard drives in the system and they are all SATAs. I haven't considered an SSD, not yet anyway.

Thanks

[jdc2000]

It looks like your PSU, graphics card, and drives should be fine.


For a system at the low end of the high end, you could go with the components I am using for a new PC:

NewEgg item numbers:
Motherboard: N82E16813157542
CPU: N82E16819117402
Memory: N82E16820148860
CPU Cooler: N82E16835103099
Case: N82E16811147107 or N82E16811147232

[masif]

Thanks for the advice. My video card is PCI Express x16. I am guessing its v1 - the first one that came out, based on its age. Will this really fit on the mobo you are recommending?

[jdc2000]

Any new motherboard will use the latest revision of the PCI Express x16 slot. The older cards should still work, although you will only get whatever speed the card is capable of. You could always upgrade that later, if you wanted something faster.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI_Express

http://www.overclock.net/a/the-final...-compatibility


That is a 6-core system at the low end of the high end systems. You could spend substantially less and still get a decent system, if you want.

[masif]

Thanks. I might as well just upgrade the video card too. What exactly is it that I need to be looking for when buying a decent card for the new build? I knew back in the days, besides the RAM, the most important thing was pixel pipelines. The magic number on the card that I ended up with at that time was 24. I don't even see that listed in the specs of most expensive cards these days. There are $50 2GB cards and there are $300 2GB cards and everything in between and I am so out of touch on what factors cause the price to shoot up like this. So, what are the main things I need to be looking at when buying a video card?

[SpywareDr]

Which card(s) you need depends on how you intend to use the computer. Basic computing works fine with onboard video and low ends cards. Gaming requires much more power, and a card for a CAD workstation start in the low $thousands.

[masif]

I am rethinking the idea of i7 and instead, leaning towards going with i5. The money saved could be used for a better GPU.

Here is what I am thinking at the moment...

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/asif2014/saved/WW62FT

would greatly appreciate any feedback

[jdc2000]

This is the video card I selected to go with the parts for my new PC. The motherboard I selected does not have onboard video. Most buyers of LGA2011v3 motherboards wouldn't use onboard video anyway. It would work with your i5 build also.

Video Card: N82E16814121855

The rest of your parts look good.

[Derp]

I see an item from Micro Center on your list. If you have one near you buying a CPU & motherboard bundle from them will be the best deal you'll find anywhere. The last bundle I got from them was an i7 4770K and ASRock Z87 Extreme6 for $349 after the motherboard rebate. If you wait a few weeks for Black Friday you'll get the best prices of the year on everything you're looking for using Micro Center and Newegg. Check out Tom's Hardware for their monthly ratings of video cards, currently the AMD-based GPU's are the leaders in most price categories.