well, just bought a new mobo, cpu and a power supply.

I figure I could spend a lot more than that troubleshooting.

When I get all the new stuff I'm gonna try to use the Q6600 on the new mobo and ps to see if it is junk. That will narrow it down to either the mobo or the psu. Then I'll try the older ps on the new mobo. that will rule out the psu or not.

I am confidant that my problem is the mobo or cpu. I measured the power supply last night and it's outputting voltages correctly. obviously, I can't measure it under load though but im reasonably certain that it is operating ok...