Came home to dead dedicated security rig...what now?

Reviews are that... Reviews. I take them with a grain of salt... Not hard for manufactures to send out cherry picked equipment. It's also not uncommon for bad parts to get into production.
 
Update:

First, I tested the both PSU's. Both tested good on voltage tests to MB, CPU, etc.

Second, I installed the G3258 on new Gigabyte MB, with new RAM, with new SeaSonic G650.

I also cleared CMOS and installed a new CR2032 just to make sure. I did attach the Zalman LQ300 just to play it safe with temps. Dang, this is the 3rd time I have installed this Zalman LQ300 and it just gets easier and easier. Probably the easiest cooler I have ever installed and I have installed many.

I kept all other peripherals off [HD, SSD, DVD Rom, USB 2+3, sound, etc.] off the board and unplugged.

I then crossed my fingers, my toes, and my eyes, and jumped the power switch on the MB. First time, it did the same thing [turned on for 2-3 seconds, then shut off, then turned on again on its own accord].

At this point in the adventure, I started feeling bummed.

And now the good news: after I shut the power off and did a restart, the system turned on and kept running. Now I am convinced somehow the Intel i7-4770k really was damaged. Wow, what an adventure! Having a 4770k go south has been my very last guess!

Right about now I am a little gun shy to try that G3258 in the ASRock MB. I was saving this new Intel G3258 CPU for a some experimenting purposes as it has a reputation for being a good overclocking chip. I would hate to see it fry!

Finally, as I dug around, I found another brand new unopened motherboard. It is a MSI H81M-P33. Ok, of these three MB's, which do you recommend for a security rig running 24/7/365? And which do you recommend for overclocking the G3258?

Thanks!
 
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I would have to leave the OC suggestions to PP... Not an Intel guy when it comes to overclocking...

From what I could see in your setup though, any of those boards should be fine doing what you was doing... I would just make sure you have better airflow across the motherboards critical components...
 
So, I have to jump in really quick and ask you: How many times you let this rig cycle when it was turning on and off? Some of the new boards (like my Asus) cycle several times like that without warning as they are initializing themselves for the first time. It has also done it after I installed a BIOS update, turning off with a different code showing each time. You may not have bad boards...
 
Pretty sure that his Gigabyte board doesn't do that, and I have yet to run into a motherboard that "cycles a few times", only once have I had a board do that, and it's a cheap generic Intel board that will power up and turn off for a bit then kick back on and stay on only if a BIOS setting is changed... Or did you miss where he said the rig flat out refused to power up at all and he has tried numerous things aside from replacing the mobo and cpu?
 
Pretty sure that his Gigabyte board doesn't do that, and I have yet to run into a motherboard that "cycles a few times", only once have I had a board do that, and it's a cheap generic Intel board that will power up and turn off for a bit then kick back on and stay on only if a BIOS setting is changed... Or did you miss where he said the rig flat out refused to power up at all and he has tried numerous things aside from replacing the mobo and cpu?

I didn't miss that at all, but he has replaced the bad/no power board with another board that was new in box. Before we jump to a conclusion that the processor or anything else has an issue, I would like to know how many times the unit cycled before he pulled the plug. I've got two other folks with me that have an MSI and an ASRock board. I have an Asus. All of our boards will cycle power 2-3 times during initial POST when the unit was first built, when there is new hardware, or if the unit has been completely powered off for an extended time with no power source. It's completely normal.

Heck, the last BIOS upgrade I did the unit power-cycled 4 times before it finally booted into Window. The entire time, there was nothing on the screen. The only way I could keep up with what was happening was to watch the Q-Code display on the board.
 
Midnight,

Thank you for sharing. Interesting post! In the future, I will let the motherboards cycle at least a dozen times or more just to be sure.

I too have never experienced a motherboard recycling on a repeated basis. This was a first for me.

If I recall correctly, I believe I let the old MB recycle 3-4 times, perhaps more, over and over again. It was frustrating. But in the future, I will be sure to let the recycle go on at least a dozen times just to be sure.

Intel did send me the new i7-4770k as promised, and it arrived Tuesday instead of Monday. I did install it and was able to boot into the BIOS. I did not yet try to fire up the system with the SSD/operating system.

And now my wife discovered something that will make all of you want to slap me very hard! I kind of feel like crap too because now I feel it may not have been Intel's fault with the i7-4770k. Promise to not slap me hard?

Ok, here goes...and I hope you won't think I am totally stupid.

A little background...

This rig was built as a dedicated security rig, to use for many, many HD IP cameras with a very well known security software. It must be located in a secure metal building. I have had it in the metal building for 3+ years, most of which were extreme drought years here.

You will not believe what we just discovered...

For the first time since we moved here we have received a lot of rain. This lead to lots of fog. We began to notice the concrete floor showing signs of moisture coming up from underneath the ground [perhaps someone forgot to add a vapor barrier when they poured the concrete]. Then, we began to experience unusually cold weather as in below freezing for several mornings...and for the very first time ever, interior moisture that began to build up on the inside of the steel roof and then it turned into interior ice. In the past, we have never had any moisture build up on the interior of the roof.

My wife told me she saw all sorts of drip marks throughout our steel building. I went to investigate, and sure enough she was right.

And now the dumb part...[you probably already guessed]...

I put the security computer together in a dry building, but took it to the steel building to test. I only left it in the steel building for 10 minutes...and I left it there with the top off and the system powered off. When I went to pick it up for final rebuild, I discovered drops of water on numerous parts of the motherboard. Dang! I put the entire system in a super heated room over night, and it tests fine again.

So here is what I think happened...

Due to unusually wet weather [we had 6 inches of rain in two days in Oct], moisture came up through the concrete floor and condensated on the steel roof. Then it froze during the late night/early morning hours. When the sun came up, it defrosted the ice on the roof, and dripped a lot of water on the security rig that just so happened to have a Cooler Master HAF XB case with the screened top and of course, the MB is orientated horizontal.

This lead to a situation that may have been similar to the US bombers dropping bombs on Berlin toward the end of WW2. Needless to say, now I am fairly certain our system got nuked by drops of water...

Now we are almost at the end of our story...

I hope to replace all used parts later tonight [I want this to last another 3 years without any maintenance], fire it up, and hopefully not have to call Microsoft for re-certification of the Windows 10.

Last, and most important of all, I will custom make a special steel plate that sits 2-3 inches off the of the screened top of the case that covers the entire computer. I will also see if I can find a good deal on the plastic top window that the XB EVO uses because it fits perfect on this computer case.

Dang, I feel like Sherlock Holmes!

Nuff said.

Let me know if you guys have any other recommendations...

Thanks,

Soar
 
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No problem, glad to be of assistance. I'm glad you sorted the issue out, though.

To be fair, I wouldn't think that more than a handful (4-ish) or cycles would be normal. Prior to my new board, I wouldn't have expected them to be normal at all, but it's apparently more common that I knew.

That's what I love about working in IT. Always something new to be learned. ;)
 
Upgrade to Win10 should have taken on the license rights as what you upgraded from, so it should have been retail.


don't forget to link your MS account with your windows 10 product key-
if you are runnning the anniversary update- it says

"Activating Windows 10 after a hardware configuration change
If you made a significant hardware change to your device (such as replacing the motherboard) Windows 10 might no longer be activated. If you're running Windows 10 (Version 1607) and added your Microsoft account and linked it to the digital license on your device, you can use the Activation troubleshooter to reactivate Windows."

read more here
 
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don't forget to link your MS account with your windows 10 product key-
if you are runnning the anniversary update- it says

"Activating Windows 10 after a hardware configuration change
If you made a significant hardware change to your device (such as replacing the motherboard) Windows 10 might no longer be activated. If you're running Windows 10 (Version 1607) and added your Microsoft account and linked it to the digital license on your device, you can use the Activation troubleshooter to reactivate Windows."

read more here

Ah I forgot about that addition in the AE. I remember they were talking about it but forgot it was added in. Thanks for the reminder.
 
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