strange recurring black screen of death crashes...

[Xhiggy]

I've had a hard time diagnosing this so hopefully someone here will have some ideas.

Recently built this computer - for a couple weeks now have had recurring computer crashes (black screen, no signal to the monitor, keyboard unresponsive, reset button won't work). After the computer crashes, the computer's fans (or one fan) becomes really loud.

This problem has occurred in both Vista and Linux, so I'm pretty sure it's a hardware thing.

Processor: Intel Q6600
Motherboard: MSI P6N SLI Platinum LGA 775 NVIDIA
Memory: Patriot eXtreme Performance 4GB(2 x 2GB) DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
Harddrive: SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA
Optical Drive: Pioneer Black E-IDE/ ATAPI DVD Burner
Power Supply: CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX ATX12V v2.2
Video Card: EVGA 256-P2-N765-AR GeForce 8600GTS 256MB 128-bit GDDR3

At first it seemed that maybe the memory was the problem, and just today I replaced it with some Crucial memory, which according to their website, is "guarenteed" compatible with my motherboard. it passed memtest, but the computer still crashed.

I've noticed a possible recurring pattern...it seems my computer will crash about 10-15 minutes after I first turn it on that day. Then after it crashes and I hold the power button to shut it down..when I then turn it on again a minute or so later, it them seems more stable (doesn't crash at all).

Any ideas on what the problem is would be greatly appreciated.

[erbbysam]

Kinda sounds like it's overheating and you're somehow tripping an internal heat sensor... can you monitor your internal temperature and let us know what it is?

[RodeoBlue]

I had something similar (except the noise), diff PSU solved it.

[Xhiggy]

(all numbers in celsius)
CPU temp is around 33 to 37
System temp is around 37 to 38
GPU is around 60

I suppose I could try replacing the PSU. The one I bought was supposed to be very good (and much more than I really needed). It seems so odd that it works once I restart the computer after a crash.

[SirFelixCat]

That PSU is a fantastic one. Both Corsair and PC Power and Cooling are two of the very top when it comes to quality PSU's.

The temps are fine...could be a mobo or a rare bad PSU. Also could be an overheating issue w/ your CPU. Are you sure the CPU heatsink is making good contact w/ the CPU itself? Monitor the CPU temps right before it shuts down and see if that could be the issue.


I'd suggest posting this over at anandtech.com 's forums. Those guy are pretty helpful. Also, maybe see if MSI has forums for their mobos...Couldn't hurt.

GL!