System restarts repeatedly following a CPU upgrade
System restarts repeatedly following a CPU upgrade
A few weeks back I acquired an old Biostar H61MHV motherboard and purchased new components to breathe new life into it. The items I already owned included an RX 580 2048sp, 4GB x 8GB DDR3 RAM at 1600MHz, a Jemip bronze 650W PSU, and an SSD with 128GB plus a 500GB HDD. I was running the system with an i3 3240 for a week until I managed to locate the i7 3770 that I wanted to pair with the GPU. Once I assembled everything, powered it up, and it reset about three times before starting normally. After testing in games and benchmarks, everything looked fine, so I turned it off. The next day it repeated the issue. Since then it’s been happening consistently. I have the latest BIOS drivers installed, but the problem persists only with the i7 and the 580 BCI. I attempted to run it with the old i3 and it didn’t reboot either. However, when paired with the new i3, the PC booted up without issues, only freezing during a cold start. I’m seeking advice and would appreciate any suggestions. PD: Sorry if my English is unclear, it’s not great hahaha
Certainly! To confirm, it functions properly, but it restarts three times following a fresh system reset.
Are you noticing anything on the display during operation? There are two possible reasons: either the RAM isn't compatible and the system attempts to train it, fails, then retries at higher latency settings until it succeeds, or it's actually performing a firmware re-flash which is problematic. This has occurred before with a Gigabyte board. The i7-3770S uses 1333/1600Mhz RAM, matching the i3-3240, so if this happens, verify the BIOS settings—there may be a tuning option. Also, the model H61MHV suggests a motherboard with two memory slots, not four. Consider checking for a BIOS update.
The video highlights two issues: both slots operate at 1600MHz and the PC runs perfectly with the i7 without the GPU, yet removing the RAM sticks didn't help. I also confirmed the BIOS page and have the latest driver installed. Regarding the slots, you mentioned having a 4GB and an 8GB RAM unit—confirming two slots is accurate. I realize I may have miscommunicated earlier.
The video shows that once the changes are made, everything functions properly. I verified it by keeping the PC running for roughly three days without any issues.
It seems the system is attempting to apply XMP profiles, which doesn't work because it requires compatible pairs or sets and can't handle mismatched sizes or brands. Instead of using custom settings, it defaults to a standard profile. With the i3 model, this likely happened since the CMOS wasn't cleared after installing new RAM, causing a fallback mode. You can either adjust the BIOS settings to enforce a specific RAM configuration or accept the behavior, though success isn't guaranteed.
This BIOS doesn't allow XMP support. The only adjustable settings I discovered are Max TOLUD, MRC Fast Boot, and Memory Remap. I attempted to turn off the last two, but they didn't make a difference. For the Max TOLUD setting, I tried different RAM capacities—1GB, 2GB, and 3GB—but no changes occurred. What I read suggests the motherboard restricts RAM speed based on the CPU's supported frequency; if it supports 1333MHz, RAM runs at that rate. I'm unsure if there are other options available for RAM configuration.
Consider using another PSU if possible, just to rule it out. The wattage should be sufficient, but it seems like an unusual brand that might have worn out or can't provide enough power for certain connections. The issue appears mainly when the heaviest components are used together, which makes me doubt its reliability.
I purchased the PSU last month, it’s brand new. I haven’t tried another one since none of my friends have a more powerful model, and I’m not sure if I need another just to avoid the issue. It only happens during cold boot, after which the PC works fine. If I can borrow one to check, I’ll let you know what’s going on.