PSU, RAM, or motherboard causing issues?

[TheBlank84]

I've been posting around different places looking for feedback to help me narrow these issues down, so I'll throw it out here too.

Breaking it down: Built a Core i7 build (in signature). Had the first motherboard fail (wouldn't recognize hard drives anymore) and got it an RMA.

New board installed, and some of the same quirks still happen. I have DDR3 1600 RAM installed, but invariably it defaults my RAM to 1066 with the correct voltage 1.65 - 1.7 It holds the customized setting in BIOS when I change it, but whenever I clear the CMOS and it defaults, with both boards, it powers up for one second, shuts itself down for 2 - 3, and then turns itself back on.

I recently had one of my RAM sticks fail out of the blue, and then experienced a BSOD with a 124 code which I have read online might point to voltage issues. At the same time, my idle temperature for my Northbridge fell from 50C with 3 sticks installed to 32C with the remaining 2 sticks installed.

I'm running Everest right now, and all of the stress tests pass, but with the monitoring feature it's telling me that my RAM is running at 1326 instead of 1333 (whenever I would set to 1600 the system would be unstable) and 1.52 V instead of 1.6. I don't know whether this is a sensor issue, or if that sort of margin is acceptable for components, or if this indicates a real power issue. I have tested the house wiring and so far so good. I'm about to get down to testing out the PSU, but I always get antsy doing that. That and the fact that I'm going to eventually be swapping it out with a model that will let me run my GTX 280's in SLI makes me hesitate to look into getting the current one RMA'd.

So my quandary is figuring out where this is coming from. The motherboard, even though it has been replaced once before is definitely a common factor, but so is the PSU. Am I looking too closely at settings and things or is this a sign of yet another bad board, or a faulty PSU causing damage? Any pointing me in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

The key points:

1) Odd default CMOS startup
2) Incorrect default RAM settings
3) Inability to operate RAM at proper speed (1600)
4) Random RAM stick failure
5) BSOD possibly involving voltage issues
6) Everest reading RAM speed and voltages as less than they're supposedly set for.

Thanks in advance.

EDIT:

Okay, now I just flashed to the latest BIOS via CD...

None of the quirks really change, but when I try to boot into windows it tells me that files or missing or corrupt and that I need to reinstall them. All of this from a BIOS update????

What the hell is going on here. I've never had THIS much trouble, or this many scattered problems with a system in my life.

Extremely odd, I removed my secondary and tertiary hard drives (a habit of mine when reformatting or attempting a repair) and my system booted up just fine... except for the fact that it could connect to my LAN but not the internet... and I just put those hard drives back in and it boots no problem. This time the internet works. I remove the two hard drives again, and the internet DOESN'T work...

This is really starting to pass all realm of logic here, I have never seen this kind of odd collection of quirky results before.

[glc]

Welcome to the quirks of X58. The *ONLY* X58 board that's KNOWN stable and reliable is the Asus P6T Deluxe V2. This is why I keep pushing P55, it's a LOT less fussy.