Thanks for the response already. Yeah, I didn't uninstall then install. But I'm pretty sure I had the latest chipset drivers anyway (after the wipe I did months ago), I just re-installed them to be sure and to avoid the new BIOS destroying my system. (since the asus site said I had to have the drivers installed before updating BIOS to a later version)

I might give it a go with the graphics drivers though, if it messed up yours then there's a good chance it fooked mine too. I guess.

I don't think I can monitor the gfx card temperature but I'll look around for a tool...might be one that comes with the software.

@ USB and boot: yup, if I wait for say, 7-8 minutes the pc does boot past the splash screen and everything is just fine. So I'll definitely give Bootvis a try. Still, this is a pretty major fuckup by Asus...I mean, way to make my lousy basic USB setup virtually make my pc fail after updating to a BIOS 4 times as recent.

Would you advise running memtest? Though I suppose zero crashes apart from games doesn't really indicate a ram issue.

It could potentially be memory. When I built my last box I had some strange problem with my 2 sticks of RAM not liking each other (memory timings maybe). The issue would very rarely manifest itself in Windows, but would within a few minutes in a game (guild wars being my test game). If you have multiple sticks of RAM, you could try pulling out all but one stick to see if it alleviates your problems any.

I might...I found some pc shops in my home town, imagine that. One of them looks like a bunch of amateurs so I don't think I'll knock down their door. They do offer internet/games for a mere 0.5€ per hour, so I know where I'm going when my pc is fooked.

Anyway, I fiddled around with the USB devices and after any reboots I found it's the printer's connection which is making the pc hang at the splash screen. The pc will boot up just fine with the USB hub and modem attached.

I then tried changing the slot of the printer wire, but that didn't make it go away. I also tried plugging it in to the USB hub instead of directly to the pc and still the same problem. The good news is that this is now a minor issue: I can just plug the printer in and out without too much of a bother when I need it. The bad news is that I still have to find a solution.

I also uninstalled the gfx drivers, rebooted, installed, rebooted, directx 9.0c, rebooted. Gonna try gaming later tonight and see what gives.

I would have sworn I turned off automatic restarts but apparently I didn't. No matter, turned off now. And nah, no system restore.

I'm gonna try switching out the ram bars one of these days. All internet and no gaming makes jack a dull boy.