Gather 'round, Geeks....

[FrostByte25]

I've been running an upgraded graphics card for about a year since the stock card failed. It took 6 attempts to get it to start this morning. It gets to the desktop without the gadgets and freezes there.
I used to hear a ticking during boot up and thought it came from the old HDD, but today it was so loud I could hear it in the kitchen. It's completely rhythmic, like a clock but about twice as fast. I opened both DVD writers, so nothing was spinning. A brand new Hard drive would not be making the same noise as the old one did, so I'm pretty sure I have a component on the mobo that's arcing till it warms up or there's some relay that's wearing out. I've had this comp for almost 5 years but that's not a great deal for a $1200 tower.
This is the EXACT same problem I had running Vista and before replacing the HDD and doing a complete new install of 7, so it's got to be a mo bo problem.

Does your upgraded video card have a cooling fan mounted on it? If so maybe the ticking is coming from a faulty fan, and thus creating your gpu to overheat and causing it to freeze.

FrostY

 

[Rolex]

Some advice needed on the mobo. THIS one includes the full 5.0 surround outputs which I use for my audio and my keyboards, which the Biostar does not. Do you think I should go with the Asus at twice the price or stay with the Biostar and add an upgraded sound card?

---------- Post added at 12:55 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:52 AM ----------

My video card has a fan and I check it regularly. My stock card died because the fan quit. The ticking is coming from behind the drive bays where I can't see, and the only thing that's back there is part of the motherboard.

If necessary, I'll use my current video card in the new build since I'll be stripping this one out. I'll be using the 1Tb HDD that I just put in it.

 

[WoodiE]

Some advice needed on the mobo. THIS one includes the full 5.0 surround outputs which I use for my audio and my keyboards, which the Biostar does not. Do you think I should go with the Asus at twice the price or stay with the Biostar and add an upgraded sound card?

Hard question really. The Asus is surely a much more feature packed motherboard with a ton of bells and whistles and even your 5.0 sound card. Then again do you really need any of them? Are you going to be overclocking at all?

Also if great sound is most important, then if it was me. I'd look at adding just a Creative Labs sound card like this one, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102006 , which is also 7.1 channel and you'd still save $50 over the Asus board.

Don't get me wrong, I love Asus. I use it in both my main PC and my HTPC, I love them. But if you're not going to be using all those bells and whistles, why pay for them?

OR... you could still get some of the bells and whistles and an Asus board but for less money then the first one you linked all while still having 5.0 channel sound. In this case 8 channels - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131773

 

[Rolex]

I don't need a lot of whistles. I don't even know what over clocking means, but I have a major need for an excellent sound system. I wouldn't be without this one. I'm also running Ozone Izotope programs with it.
I'll go with the board you recommended and add another audio card.
Thanks for that advise.

EDIT

The last one you listed should do the trick.

 

[godale03]

I've been running an upgraded graphics card for about a year since the stock card failed. It took 6 attempts to get it to start this morning. It gets to the desktop without the gadgets and freezes there.
I used to hear a ticking during boot up and thought it came from the old HDD, but today it was so loud I could hear it in the kitchen. It's completely rhythmic, like a clock but about twice as fast. I opened both DVD writers, so nothing was spinning. A brand new Hard drive would not be making the same noise as the old one did, so I'm pretty sure I have a component on the mobo that's arcing till it warms up or there's some relay that's wearing out. I've had this comp for almost 5 years but that's not a great deal for a $1200 tower.
This is the EXACT same problem I had running Vista and before replacing the HDD and doing a complete new install of 7, so it's got to be a mo bo problem.

Call me crazy guys...... possible bad RAM? A bad or failing chip can cause all sorts of wierd issues very similar to simptoms of a failling HDD.

 

[Greywolf74]

Call me crazy guys...... possible bad RAM? A bad or failing chip can cause all sorts of wierd issues very similar to simptoms of a failling HDD.

doesn't cause ticking noises though.

Not sure If I would go with a biostar MB but from what your descibing Rolex the ASUS is complete overkill. That Asus board is intended for a state of the art gamming or graphics system. Something which you dont seem to need. I would look at other Asus, gigabyte or MSI boards. First figure out what kind of processor and RAM you want to run and find one of those brands of MBs that supports what your looking to put in it. I'm betting you could get a quad core DDR3 board for around 100 bucks. Just make sure it has a good PCI-E or PCI-XE expansion slot for video and your current vid card will probably be more than sufficent to play your flight sim game. You'll probably want to look for one with USB 3.0 also. not a must since you most likely dont have any 3.0 devices but leaves you room for expansion later.

Your PSU only needs to be in the 500W range although I do suggest one that has 2 12V rails, sata connectors, and at least 1 6pin video card adapter.

As for sound, If you find a MB that has good built in sound fine....if not order a sound blaster sound card.

Also if you really want a computer that starts up and runs your programs wicked fast get a large Solid state HDD. Something that at least 60-80+GB. (Not sure what the size range is on them these days) Install your OS and your programs/games on the solid state hard drive and store all your data on your 1TB drive. The computer will boot up in less than 10 seconds and your programs and games will respond wicked fast too. Thats just one of those "would be nice to have" type things. Definatly not a necessity.

That would be my advice anyway

 

[Rolex]

This is the last one WoodiE posted and it has the 5.0 surround output

I need those outputs since the surround sound system I'm using here has nothing to do with the TV, but is only for the computer audio.
The inputs to the amp that's built into the sub woofer are color coded to the outputs of the computer and each one has its own function.

By the way, great idea on the solid state Hard drive. Lightning fast is what I'd like after the ordeal I've been dealing with.

 

[Rolex]

UPDATE

Well, it appears to be toast. It froze on me last night and I attempted to reboot it about 10 times. Another 10 or 15 times this morning.
I slid a couple of bays part way out so I could see what was behind them, then started hunting around with a stethoscope. Sure enough, it's the hard drive doing the ticking, same as the old one. Apparently the motherboard is not able to start it properly so it keeps ticking on, off, on, off. Finally, when it stops ticking I can hear the disk slow down and stop, and it freezes there.
Bad mofo...uh...mobo it is.
I'm on the laptop, and I'll soon be stripping out the PC for the usable hardware.