ok, so im not the most tech savvy person out there, I know quite a bit but I dont know everything, that is to say I probably couldnt pass an A+ cert test.

my comp specs:

Mainboard : Asus SABERTOOTH X58
Chipset : Intel X58
Processor : Intel Core i7 940 @ 2933MHz, no comments please lol
Physical Memory : 6144MB (3 x 2048 DDR3-SDRAM )
Video Card : NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT
Monitor Type : Dell Computer DELL ST2410 - 24 inches
Operating System : Windows 7 Professional Professional Media Center 6.01.7600 (64-bit)
DirectX : Version 11.00
8 USB 2.0 ports with only 3 things plugged in
various other USB 3.0 and SATA ports with nothing plugged into those

about a month ago my comp just died on me out of the blue, I would unplug and plug it back in and get a flicker when I hit the power button, so I figured it was a PSU problem, was running a 500w at the time. But I said screw it, mainly cause I didnt want to deal with it at the time, also cause I didnt have the money for a new PSU. So today I went and got a 650w psu, hooked everything up, and get the same flicker problem right off the bat. As I said, im not the most tech savvy person out there but I would think that even if, and its a pretty big if, the 650w wasnt good enough to run the comp, it would still work for a bit before killing over like the 500w did. So I go searching google for a solution and came across this:


There is a simple way of testing the PSU without using a PSU tester:

1. Disconnect the PSU from the motherboard completely. Leave power connected to the CD/DVD drive but disconnect everything else.

2. Get a metal paper clip (or similar size piece of wire). Straighten paper out then bend into a tight U shape.

3. Connect the mains power lead to the rear of the PSU & turn the PSU's rocker switch on.

4. Get the main ATX 20/24 pin power connector (this is the large rectangular connector that was plugged into the motherboard) & locate the hole on the underside that has the green wire going to it. This will be pin 16 on a 24pin connector or pin 14 on a 20pin connector.

5. Insert one end of the metal paperclip into this hole. Make sure it's pushed in firmly. Insert other end into any of the holes (pins) with black wires.

This should switch the PSU on. If it does, it still isn't any guarantee that the PSU is OK however for reasons which I'll explain if this happens to be the case. If it doesn't work, then the PSU is probably toast.


I did that, with a fan connected, the PSU came on and the fan worked, then it went on and said to try this:


As I said before, just because the PSU starts up this way doesn't mean it's ok but as you've also tested the system with a different PSU as well, then it's probably safe to assume that the PSU is not the problem here.

If I were, I would start by stripping everything down to the bare minimum components.
1. Remove the motherboard from the case & place it on some plain card or paper so that the underside is completely insulated.

2. Leave the processor in place for now along with the memory & video. Make sure all drive cabling is unplugged from the motherboard, as well as any other cards & USB devices you might have. Connect the monitor to the video card.

3. Clear the bios with the PSU disconnected from the motherboard then make sure the clear bios jumper is is back in the correct position. Double check this!

4. You'll probably need to remove the PSU from the case so that it reaches the motherboard.

5. Reconnect the PSU to the board

6. Locate the 2 power pins in the front panel header on the motherboard. These are the 2 pins that the power button on the front of the case would normally connect to. With the PSU switched on, bridge these 2 pins using a small flat bladed screwdriver. Unlike the paperclip trick, you only need to touch the 2 pins briefly in order to power the system on.


Did that and got the same exact flicker problem. I looked over the CPU and it appears to be in tact. Is there anything else anyone can recomend? Or is this simply just a bad PSU problem and my cheap ass needs to man up and buy an 850w+?

 

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I'm not familiar with the I7 CPU, was your comment indicating that it was over clocked? Also, It doesn't appear to be a PSU problem.

I thought about trying to overclock it just to 3.0 GHz but decided against it mainly just because I didnt want to void the warranty. The only thing I messed with in the BIOS was the memory, cause for some reason it was only showing 4 gigs at first, found out it was because it was only showing up as 1066 MHz, and its 1333, so I adjusted accordingly. and it worked fine for awhile, that is until the comp crashed. but I reset the CMOS, I would think it would reset the memory as well?

 

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Mind giving all the specification for this computer by using maybe SPECCY...as that looks like its from the DXDIAG or MSINFO and well, I would like to know more about the drives in the computer than DX 11(this is a software specification, not hardware) plus any addin cards.


Knowing more about the 3 USB devices also helps...


This is what I would try......


Motherboard

CPU w/fan

1 stick of memory

PSU

Videocard


Nothing more than that needs to be connected to the motherboard.....does it still flicker(is this the power light or on screen) when hitting the power button?


If so, replace the Vid card with another(borrow or steal, dont buy) try again.


Did you remember the CPU power connector when you swapped the PSU?

actually it was from PC wizzard. copied and pasted from an old post. ill do my best to get you exact specs

Motherboard: Model

Brand
ASUS

Model
Sabertooth X58

Supported CPU

CPU Socket Type
LGA 1366

CPU Type
Core i7 (LGA1366)

Supported CPU Technologies
Supports Intel Turbo Boost Technology

Chipsets

North Bridge
Intel X58

South Bridge
Intel ICH10R

Memory

Number of Memory Slots
6×240pin

Memory Standard
DDR3 1866/1800/1600/1333/1066

Maximum Memory Supported
24GB

Channel Supported
Triple Channel

Expansion Slots

PCI Express 2.0 x16
2 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (dual at x16/x16 mode)

PCI Express x16
1 x PCIe x16 (at x4 mode)

PCI Express x1
2

PCI Slots
1

Storage Devices

SATA 3Gb/s
6

SATA 6Gb/s
2 x SATA 6Gb/s

SATA RAID
0/1/5/10

Onboard Video

Onboard Video Chipset
None

Onboard Audio

Audio Chipset
Realtek ALC892

Audio Channels
8 Channels

Onboard LAN

LAN Chipset
Realtek 8110SC

Max LAN Speed
10/100/1000Mbps

Rear Panel Ports

PS/2
1 x PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse Combo port

USB 1.1/2.0
6 x USB 2.0

USB 3.0
2 x USB 3.0

IEEE 1394
1 x IEEE 1394a

eSATA
1 x Power eSATA 3Gb/s port (SATA On-the-Go)
1 x eSATA 3Gb/s port (SATA On-the-Go)

S/PDIF Out
1 x Optical

Audio Ports
6 Ports

Onboard USB

Onboard USB
6 x USB 2.0

Onboard 1394

Onboard 1394
1 x 1394a

Physical Spec

Form Factor
ATX

Dimensions
12.0" x 9.6"

Power Pin
24 Pin


PCU: Core i7-940
frequency- 2933 MHz Turbo- 1/1/1/2 L2 Cache- 4 x 256 KB L3 Cache- 8 MB I/O Bus- x 4.8 GT/s QPI Mult- 22x Uncore Speed- 2133 MHz Memory- 3 x DDR3-1066 Voltage- 0.8 - 1.375 V TDP- 130 W Socket- LGA 1366


Memory: Crucial CT25664BA1339A RAM Module - 2 GB - DDR3 SDRAM 1333 MHz DDR3-1333/PC3-10600 - Non-ECC - Unbuffered - 240-pin DIMM X3


Video: Model

Brand
ZOTAC

Model
ZT-95TEK2M-FSL

Interface

Interface
PCI Express 2.0 x16

Chipset

Chipset Manufacturer
NVIDIA

GPU
GeForce 9500 GT

Core Clock
550MHz

Shader Clock
1375MHz

Stream Processors
32

Memory

Effective Memory Clock
800MHz

Memory Size
1GB

Memory Interface
128-bit

Memory Type
GDDR2

3D API

DirectX
DirectX 10

OpenGL
OpenGL 3.2

Ports

HDMI
1 x HDMI

D-SUB
1 x D-SUB

DVI
1 x DVI

General

RAMDAC
400 MHz

Max Resolution
2560 x 1600

Cooler
With Fan

System Requirements
350-watt power supply recommended

Dual-Link DVI Supported
Yes

HDCP Ready
Yes

Card Dimensions
5.7" x 4.38"


sound card added: Model

Brand
SIIG

Model
IC-400012-S1

Audio core

Channels
4

Digital Audio
16-bit

Spec

Interface
PCI


New PSU:
Form Factor ATX
Material Metal
Color Black
ATi CrossFire CrossFire Compatible
NVIDIA SLI SLI Compatible
ATX Compliance ATX 12V v2.2; EPS 12V v2.91
Wattage 650 Watts
Wiring Type Black Mesh Cable Sleeves
Cooling Fans 140mm Fan
Safety Standards cTUVus, CE, TUV, CB, FCC, C-Trick, BSMI
Drive/Power Connectors
Modular No
ATX Connector 20+4-pin
ATX 12V Connector 1 x 8-pin
Graphics Connector 2 x 6+2-pin
Molex Connector 4
SATA Connector 4
Floppy Connector 1
Power Specifications
PFC Active
Efficiency Up to 80%
Input Voltage AC 115V/230V
Input Frequency Range 50Hz - 60Hz
Input Current 10.7A @ 115VAC / 6.2A @ 230VAC
+12V Rails 2
Combined +12V Rating 456 Watts

The 3 things hooked up to the USB are Mouse, Keyboard, and netopia WiFi Reciever. I have tried unplugging everything but the essentials but the thing just wont start up, and yes the CPU power is connected. swapped out the vid card with an older and crapier PCI e 2.0 I had and it was much the same

 

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You tried the other PCI x16 slot aswell?


Try moving the 1 stick of RAM through each available slot. Attempt the boot each time, clearing the CMOS after for 10seconds. Then switch sticks and repeat.


Also, I assume your using the onboard jumper to clear the cmos...if not, but using a button, try the jumper itself. Also, try doing it 1 time this way before doing anything else....


Unplug the unit.

Press the power button.

Place the CMOS jumper to clear.

Remove the onboard battery.

Wait 10minutes.

Replace the battery.

Move CMOS jumper to operational.

plug in the unit.

Press power.

did it and done it. no change, really scratching my noggin on this one. Oh and just to have 100% undoubted proof it wasnt the PSU I hooked it up to another comp, works fine

Edit: also pulled the motherboard and cpu out, again, to do a good visual to check for shorts, couldnt see anything

 

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Is that a jumper reset type of CMOS? Or a momentary type where you hold down a tiny button? If a button, is it stuck? If a jumper, are you sure it is returned to the normal position? Did you smell the mobo for anything burnt? Did you check the CPU in case you bent a pin?

can you elaborate on the "flicker problem" a bit? that's the only symptom that i can find listed anywhere in this thread.

can you get into the bios? if so, use the Reset To Defaults function it has. install the latest bios as well.

you've only mentioned "flicker problem" as a symptom. you've replaced the psu and the vidcard, and still have the flicker. dumb question maybe, but have you tried a different monitor on the machine? maybe it's been booting up this whole time, but the monitor is broken.

hopefully you have a speaker installed in it for the beep codes. if not, get one, they're like $1 pull *everything* but the motherboard and power connections and turn it on - do you get any beep codes from the mobo? should indicate missing cpu or missing memory etc. then i'd work forward from there. if the code was for missing cpu, plug in the cpu and power on to see if u get the missing memory code. if so, stick in 1 stick of ram and try again.

gl

 

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its a jumper im using to reset the CSMOS, dont even think this thing has a button, when I pulled the mobo I smelled in various spots. The flicker problem that I am talking about is when I hit the power button, or when I jerry rigged it to try and start up with a flat head screw driver connecting the power pins, it flickers, as in the cpu fan and the gpu fan twitch, then nothing, no power up or anything, which is why I originally thought it was a PSU problem. the one thing that does happen is when it does flicker the VGA and CPU lights both light up for a fraction of a second, but I just figured it was just standard boot up lights.

 

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