Hardware Yet another failing component possibly (Trying to troubleshoot)

[ThoD]

Welp, today my PC started just bootcycling out of nowhere, no BIOS changes that could have caused it or anything, just wouldn't open properly, GPU wasn't working properly, etc.. Anyway, after literally taking it apart and putting it back together just to make sure it wasn't just dust or something (it gets REALLY dusty), it's still not working, but then I remember the 40+ notification LEDs on the motherboard and realized the RAM wasn't behaving normally, so moved the one stick I got from DIMM1 to DIMM2 and it works just fine now.

So, what I'm trying to see is whether it's a bad RAM, something happened to DIMM1 or failing PSU. Anyone experienced something similar and found a cause? Reason I fear it's the PSU is because the GPU barely gets enough power (gets enough to function at 100% but the fans can't go past 80%) as is despite supposedly being 350W above total TDP... The computer is about 5 years old now, but the GPU is just 3 years old and highly doubt it's that as the issue occurs with a different GPU too. To sum up, trying to find a way or suggestion to help me discover the real issue. I really don't want to have yet another PSU go all kamikazi on me yet again like those things often do when they die.

 

[TotalInsanity4]

I see no logical reason why moving RAM to a different slot would indicate issues with the power supply, so I think we can rule that out.

Does it have two or four RAM slots, and how many sticks are currently in it? (If only one, do you have any more on hand that were previously in the machine?)

 

[ThoD]

I see no logical reason why moving RAM to a different slot would indicate issues with the power supply, so I think we can rule that out.

Does it have two or four RAM slots, and how many sticks are currently in it? (If only one, do you have any more on hand that were previously in the machine?)

I only have one RAM stick (4GB DDR3 at 1600MHz), no second one to test with at this time, but it bootcycles only when it's in DIMM1, while DIMM2-4 work just fine. As for why I suspect the PSU, it's because of how computers work, they power on the RAM and GPU last, so if it's failing, it would explain the DIMM1 issue (not enough electricity to power the RAM and the GPU not getting enough power either). It can also instead be a power leak from something RAM related, just looking into all possible cases. For now, I'll try to see if I can find another stick of RAM to test with, just in case it's my stick that's the issue and nothing else.

 

[TotalInsanity4]

Nah, I don't think it's PSU related, it sounds like the DIMM-1 slot is just toast. That'll happen as motherboards age, unfortunately, again, due to "how computers work"

If you're convinced it's a PSU issue, though, try pulling the power supply of either another computer in your home or a friend's computer and seeing if the DIMM works in the first slot then, or if it still won't boot

 

[ThoD]

Actually, got the idea to just take a Voltometer on DIMM1, it only gives 1.41V at best with 1.38V average (normally it should give 1.51V), while the RAM stick I'm using needs 1.42V for base speed (1333MHz) and 1.5V for normal speed (1600MHz). Verified it by checking if underclocking below 1300MHz made it work on DIMM1 (so it would draw 1.37V to function) and it did, meaning it's almost definitely just the DIMM1 having deteriorated (as I've literally only been using that one). Will test with another RAM stick when I get a chance, but for now it indeed looks like it's just that. Thanks for the help.