I've noticed that my system time is frequently behind, and my BIOS settings keep resetting to default. I can manually sync with a time server in Windows 10, but after a while, my Windows 10 time will be off again because it syncs with the hardware clock every so often.
I've had this rig since about June this year (full specs at bottom of post), and this problem has been going on for maybe a month. I didn't add any new hardware or make any major changes around the time the problem started.
One interesting thing I've noticed is that when I'm in the BIOS and looking at the time, it sometimes "freezes" on the same second for a long time. For example, earlier this evening, I sat there and watched it ticking normally for a little while, but then it sat on 6:30:45PM for a good 10 seconds before it moved on to 6:30:46PM and continued ticking normally. That frequently happens if I just sit there looking at it in the BIOS. I've watched it get stuck on the same second for a good minute in some cases. It'll tick normally for a while, freeze on the same second for a while, etc. After a while, the time will be pretty far behind what it should be.
I'm pretty sure that whatever's going on here is hardware, because I'm not even in Windows yet when I'm looking at time in the BIOS and observing that behavior.
It's a very annoying problem, especially when gaming. I've been automatically disconnected from some online games because the game servers see those time jumps (when Windows goes back and forth between syncing with the hardware clock and syncing with time servers) as periods of inactivity and proceed to auto-kick me for inactivity. And of course, it causes all sorts of websites to act screwy.
Things I've tried:
It is also losing BIOS settings frequently (giving me the "Press F2 to enter BIOS and save settings" message on POST, and all my settings get wiped out). That's what first led me to believe that the CMOS battery was an issue.
Specs:
Case: Fractal Design Meshify C
PSU: Corsair RM850X 850W
The other PSU that I swapped with as a test: EVGA Supernova 750 G3
Cooling: NZXT Kraken X3
Motherboard: ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Formula
CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
GPU: GeForce RTX 2060 Super
RAM: 64GB G.Skill F4-3600C16 (4x16GB)
OS: Windows 10 Pro 20H2
SSD (OS): Sabrent Rocket 4.0 1TB
Secondary HDD: 1TB WD Blue
Monitor 1: HP S340C (DisplayPort)
Monitor 2: ASUS VS238 (HDMI)
Peripherals: Logitech G910 Orion Spectrum keyboard, Logitech G5 mouse (yes, the mouse is old), Sennheiser HD598 headphones with a Modmic
This rig is insanely overkill for what I do, but I got a very good deal on all the parts. I've been happy with it until this problem started occurring.
Anything else I can try before I look at warranty options on the motherboard (I'm saving that as a last resort because I'm pretty sure that an "Advance" RMA isn't an option here, meaning I'd have to do without my gaming rig for a while as I ship the motherboard in and wait for a replacement)? I can add any other details if anyone has any questions or if I forgot anything. The only other easy thing I'm considering is trying another CMOS battery in the hopes that maybe the cheapo/no-name deal I got from the auto parts store was just not good quality. But I'd welcome any other ideas or suggestions.
I've had this rig since about June this year (full specs at bottom of post), and this problem has been going on for maybe a month. I didn't add any new hardware or make any major changes around the time the problem started.
One interesting thing I've noticed is that when I'm in the BIOS and looking at the time, it sometimes "freezes" on the same second for a long time. For example, earlier this evening, I sat there and watched it ticking normally for a little while, but then it sat on 6:30:45PM for a good 10 seconds before it moved on to 6:30:46PM and continued ticking normally. That frequently happens if I just sit there looking at it in the BIOS. I've watched it get stuck on the same second for a good minute in some cases. It'll tick normally for a while, freeze on the same second for a while, etc. After a while, the time will be pretty far behind what it should be.
I'm pretty sure that whatever's going on here is hardware, because I'm not even in Windows yet when I'm looking at time in the BIOS and observing that behavior.
It's a very annoying problem, especially when gaming. I've been automatically disconnected from some online games because the game servers see those time jumps (when Windows goes back and forth between syncing with the hardware clock and syncing with time servers) as periods of inactivity and proceed to auto-kick me for inactivity. And of course, it causes all sorts of websites to act screwy.
Things I've tried:
- Replaced CMOS battery (I will admit that the replacement I used was just a no-name cheapo from an auto parts store, but it's a CR2032 3V battery, new/fresh out of the package)
- Swapped PSU with a known good one (and that included a different set of power cables as well, so those were all swapped too)
- Updated BIOS to the latest version
- Reseated everything except the CPU (RAM, all motherboard headers/connections, etc, and of course double checked all the power connections in the process of swapping the PSU)
- Looked through all my installed drivers/software and updated everything (I'm pretty sure it's hardware at this point but just did that for good measure)
It is also losing BIOS settings frequently (giving me the "Press F2 to enter BIOS and save settings" message on POST, and all my settings get wiped out). That's what first led me to believe that the CMOS battery was an issue.
Specs:
Case: Fractal Design Meshify C
PSU: Corsair RM850X 850W
The other PSU that I swapped with as a test: EVGA Supernova 750 G3
Cooling: NZXT Kraken X3
Motherboard: ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Formula
CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
GPU: GeForce RTX 2060 Super
RAM: 64GB G.Skill F4-3600C16 (4x16GB)
OS: Windows 10 Pro 20H2
SSD (OS): Sabrent Rocket 4.0 1TB
Secondary HDD: 1TB WD Blue
Monitor 1: HP S340C (DisplayPort)
Monitor 2: ASUS VS238 (HDMI)
Peripherals: Logitech G910 Orion Spectrum keyboard, Logitech G5 mouse (yes, the mouse is old), Sennheiser HD598 headphones with a Modmic
This rig is insanely overkill for what I do, but I got a very good deal on all the parts. I've been happy with it until this problem started occurring.
Anything else I can try before I look at warranty options on the motherboard (I'm saving that as a last resort because I'm pretty sure that an "Advance" RMA isn't an option here, meaning I'd have to do without my gaming rig for a while as I ship the motherboard in and wait for a replacement)? I can add any other details if anyone has any questions or if I forgot anything. The only other easy thing I'm considering is trying another CMOS battery in the hopes that maybe the cheapo/no-name deal I got from the auto parts store was just not good quality. But I'd welcome any other ideas or suggestions.