So this is an older system I have. Basically breathed some new life into it with some new RAM and soundcard...video card. Anyways...my newly refreshed system is no longer able to overclock ....at all. I use to be able to do 4.6ghz (still using my 1st gen i7) and now the highest I can go is to 135 BLCK.... Anything more and no POST.

So, I took my new RAM out and put my old RAM in. Same results (roughly). I can barely get an overclock now.

I'm noticing some weirdness with the BIOS settings. The word AUTO appears as "Au" now in Memory Settings. Some setting which I disabled have magically been re-enabled.

I can't help but feel that my BIOS is corrupted some how. The system boots to windows and stuff, but overclocking is a no go.

I could really use some insight on this.

Thoughts? What are some things I can retry? Should I do a reflash?
 
EDIT: Okay, so I reflashed 83 BIOS to my board. Had no write failures, flash was a success however "Au" still appears in BIOS settings. CPU Host Frequency says [Au   ] instead of [Auto]. Same goes for the Memory section. So am I looking at a dying/problematic motherboard or a CPU issue? 

Anyone??

Nope. I've had this system running since late 2009. I just recently (like 3 days ago) rebuilt it and added a new set of RAM, a 290x, and a Creative ZxR. System absolutely refuses to POST at anything higher than 137 QPI. 
 
I have no idea what's going on with my system. I don't know if it's the motherboard or if my CPU is taking a dump. The system boots no problems at stock voltages/QPI and stuff. It did fine with Prime95 test for 24 hours. Temps are fantastic with only 54C on load. I'm on water. 
 
However overclocking is a no go now. It use to easily do 4.6Ghz now I can barely hit 2.8ghz. 
 
EDIT: As I type this from my notebook, my system is currently shutting down then rebooting...trying to recover or something. Then it gets stuck and just sits there with different POST codes on the digital readout. And now it's just sitting there...no POST. I'll shutdown and clear BIOS again, but I know it won't fix anything.
 
I have no idea how to determine if it's my CPU or if it's the mobo. 

Random POST codes can be a sign of grounding. Try pulling the board out of the case and setting it up in bare bones (CPU/cooler/1 stick of memory/power) and testing on a piece of cardboard or a wooden surface. You should get a POST code about the video card (2B if I'm not mistaken). Shut down and add the video card back in, this time you should get stuck when it can't find the hard drive. Shut down again, add that back in, and see if you can boot to Windows. If the random POST codes and shut downs continue, then I'd suggest testing with another power supply just to rule out a PSU issue.

I just bought an I7-980X off ebay for $380. The platform is still worth it to me.