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It's possible your cpu is too unstable with the extra core unlocked. I wouldn't change the bios unless you have another problem.

I could unlock it if possible. If not this setup I'll go 965..Good info thanks

Save yourself (or your friend) $700 and overclock the i7 920 to 3.3ghz and you have the same processor. In fact all you have to do is enable the turbo function and you already have 3.2ghz. Or you can do like everyone else on this forum and overclock it to 4ghz and have a much faster processor for $700 less.

Our standard checklist and troubleshooting thread: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] t-problems

It could be the board, or the PSU, or the RAM, or the CPU. I could also be the CPU fan stopped working and the CPU over-heated, shutting down the POST. If you replace the board, you will have to re-seat the CPU, and yes, you will need new, properly-applied thermal paste between the CPU and the heatsink.

Glad you got it sorted. :)

+1^ Maximus is not worth $100

Done deal. I went with the DFI X48. $134.99 for a high end X48 platform was just too tempting. I'm prepared for a more complex and less satisfying overclock, but the board better supports the GPU configuration I will likely end up with: Nvidia's eventual DX11 dual GPU card w/ a 285 GTX for overkill dedicated PhysX. I lucked into the 285 on eBay for a song, but I'm not willing to relegate it to secondary server box duty, and if...

The 2 mobos are very similar - here is Gigabyte's comparison: http://www.giga-byte.com/Products/ [...] =2958,3251 The i7 will run fine with the stocK HSF if you don't OC it. I prefer upgrading the HSF even when not overclocking since heat is the enemy. But don't know enough about shorter ones to recommend one.

Good news the model number is printed right on the motherboard and the manual can be downloaded at Gigabyte.com