Computer unstable - would you put $ into fixing or buy new

[MrGlobe]

TL;DR - Would you:

-Spend money to find and fix the issue (most likely new AM3 motherboard) or
-Upgrade to a new motherboard/proc in the $2-300 range hoping this fixes the issue (Most likely 3350p or similar)

My current desktop has been having issues, some of the symptoms are as follows:

-Locking up during games, web browsing, during sleep, etc (Computer freezes for 5-10 seconds and then BSOD)
-Sometimes freezes during boot
-Sometimes fails to boot, have to enter and then exit the BIOS to continue boot sequence
-After restarting sometimes the computer will show signs of power such as fans spinning, lights on, disk drive spinning, etc but will not display anything on the monitor. It will sit like this indefinitely if I let it (powered on and running, but not actually booting/displaying)
-Sometimes the computer will be nothing but problems, freezing or refusing to start, and other times it will run for 3-4 days without issue

I have tried the following:

-Switched between 3 different HDDs, including 1 SSD.
-Switched around the 4 sticks of RAM, trying 1, 2, 3, and 4 stick combos in all different slots.
-Cleaned all fans and heatsinks of dust
-Cleaned and re-seated proc with new AS5
-Re-installed windows (making sure fresh drivers are up-to-date)
-Monitored temps for both GPU and CPU

All of this makes me think it is an issue with the motherboard, possibly bad caps or an issue with the PCIe slot

I have not tried:

-New motherboard/proc
-New gfx card
-New PSU
-New RAM

Current PC Specs:

-Biostar TA890GXB
-AMD Phenom II X3 740 BE
-12gb RAM (2x2gb, 2x4gb)
-2 HDDs and 1 SSD (1 connected at a time)
-Corsair GS600 PSU
-LG BRD
-Evga GTX 660 superclocked

Intended uses:

-Currently play BF3, I'll probably get BF4 sometime in the next couple months
-The usual daily tasks, web browsing/streaming/music/etc

 

[PTNL]

Have you ran MemTest? Do you have a power supply tester? How old is your power supply? This forum's sticky gives some good starting points, especially the "Narrow down the problem" section.

 

[MrGlobe]

I haven't run MemTest recently, although I'm pretty sure I ran it a month or two ago when the problems first started popping up. I do not have a PSU tester, and the PSU is probably about 2 years old now. I will definitely looking more into that sticky, I skimmed it but might have been a little too confident I had narrowed the problem down already.

Thanks for your input!

 

[Dangman]

You were looking at a new upgrade even if your system was working perfectly. BF4 is apparently very very multi-core aware.

My gut says it's the motherboard, However, I know first hand that a bad GPU, RAM, and PSU can also cause the issues you've describe. So it's honestly hard for me to recommend for you to do even the upgrade since you haven't actually narrowed down the problem.

 

[BroHamBone]

I had a pc that would hang on cold boot. Restarted, then booted up fine. It may have been the mobo.

I didn't know you could match RAM that way...I guess as long as the same modules are in the same slots..

If you have onboard, remove the gfx card.

I would imagine if it were a psu issue, it would plainly restart/shutdown and not give a BSOD which usually is caused by RAM issues.

 

[MrGlobe]

Last time it BSOD, it went through the memory dump process and then it was shut down. When I restarted it I got a "DQS training failed on last boot" error. The DQS training would be related to my RAM, but I looked back and all the sticks of RAM I'm using tested OK. I am going to re-test them and see if something has changed