Is it over for her? I killed her?

[isro]

This is what happened.


1. Nvidia 8800 Ultra filled up completely with dust, overheated (probably), the computer started freezing, black screens, artifacts etc. It died, I could not fix it even after cleaning it.

2. Bought Radeon HD 6850. But my mobo is a PCIe Gen 1 card.

3. Raised clock for memory to 1100 MHz.

4. Played LA noire, card was at about 60-70-75 temperature.

5. Heard a short TZYUU sound, computer goes off.

6. I try to boot, nothing happens.

7. I turn off the power supply.. wait.. back on.. PC on.. cpu fan turns for not even 1 sec. Again I press the button nothing happens.

8. I short pin 15+16 on the power supply with all cables removed from PC devices. The fan begins to spin, the 24 mother board pins deliver power, the 4 pin thing from near the CPU delivers power in 2 pins too.

9. I remove everything for the motherboard except some ram and cpu.

10. Turn it on, same result. CPU fan spins for one sec, stops.. Like some Power supply protection kicks in.

11. I remove the motherboad battery. Wait. Put it back in. Turn on PC. Same result.

NOTICE - each time I want the fan to spin 1 sec I have to turn off the PSU off. Otherwise it turns once and then if I press the power button again..nothing happens at all.

12. The 4 pin CPU connector (I think CPU connector, not sure) is brownish. But I dont know if it is like that from today or not. It doesnt smell of burnt and the PC is since 2007.


So....

Q1 - Should I replace the motherboard? Is she dead?

Q2 - What happened? Why did it break down like that? Did it have to do anything with me tweaking the mem clock for the GPU or was it something else?

 

[Automata]

It will help if you list your full system specs. I'm guessing it is the power supply.

 

[isro]

Cpu - Athlon X2 6400
Ram - DDR 2, 3gb
Mainboard - MSI K9N neo V2
GPU - Radeon HD 6850

But I have measured each power supply pin voltage and it seems fine...

 

[Automata]

What power supply, specifically the make and model? Either way, that connector is toast and you will likely have to replace the unit.

 

[isro]

Ok, I have tried with another power supply and with this one it does not even try to spin the cpu fan. I tried turning the PC on with the power supply HDD etc connecters hooked up to a multimeter. When I turn on the pc the voltage goes up a second and then drops. So this second power supply seems to stop the electricity faster, but basically it is doing the same thing.

So... Dead motherboard? Could be any other solution?

The old power supply is - glacial power ps550bp. And I do not think I will have to replace it..

 

[Automata]

If another power supply does not work with it, I would remove any unnecessary components and reseat everything else. If you have spare components, now would be the time to try them. Otherwise, I would agree that the board may be damaged.

Without being able to inspect that connector for damage and to see what actually failed, I wouldn't suggest using it.

 

[trents]

Does your motherboard have onboard gfx? I would try to power up without that huge watt sucking 6850 video card in place. I'm thinking that is too much power draw for that cheap 550 W PSU. And the "browned" 12v+ P4 connector definitely needs to be replaced. You tried another PSU but what was the wattage of that one and was it up to the power draw of the system with that 6850 video card in place? Did you inspect the motherboard for blown or leaking capacitors?

 

[isro]

OMG, please read what I write more carefully.

I already said the computer is stripped down. Everything left is 1 gb of good ram and the cpu. The rest is removed / disconnected. Even if I do not have any graphics adapter, it should still do something more than spin the cpu fan half a second, right?

The 2nd PSU is for 450 W or something like that. But it worked fine with the 8800 Ultra. It was replaced by mistake so that is why I have two.

 

[Automata]

I'm sorry, but some of us are at work right now and are helping as best they can. I can multitask, but I sometimes miss things.

Without a video card, the motherboard should turn on, yes. Going based on the damage in the pictures, I'm guessing the traces/components that connect the 4 pin PSU connector to the processor is damaged and it thinks it is unplugged.

 

[isro]

Yes, I am really grateful for your help. I am on a tight budget so that is why it is important I find out what the problem is. Because a new mobo probably means a new proc too.

 

[isro]

Most important question...

WHY did this happen?

 

[Automata]

Without being able to thoroughly inspect the board, I don't think it is going to be obvious. It is likely one of two scenarios: The power supply went out of spec (too much/little voltage) and took out the board. A component on the motherboard died and made fireworks when it did.

 

[isro]

Damn, do not say that, because I am planning to keep the PSU. :-o

 

[Automata]

Regardless of what died, that connector (and subsequently the PSU) is toast. The cost to replace that connector is going to nearly be the cost of a new unit since you probably don't have the parts to repair it. I would not trust the board or the PSU at this point. Even if you were able to fix the connector at little to now cost, you don't want to get a replacement/new motherboard and find out that the PSU is the one killing components.

I understand that saving money is important, but in this situation, there isn't a safe scenario that is going to be free/very cheap.

 

[isro]

by the way.. I understand what you mean and of course you are right... But I am curious: Why do you say that PSU connecter went bad? Because it still seems to be delivering the right amount of electricity and it isnt deformed either.

And about the PSU knocking off components.. you made me thinking. Before the GPU failure my old maxtor HDD failed too.

Is it possible that the PSU fried the HDD... I said it was old... then fried the GPU.. I said it was filled with dust (really bad)... now fried the CPU...

But doesnt the mother board or something have some voltage protection?

 

[Automata]

The reason I state the connector/PSU is bad is because:
1) We don't know what failed. It could be a bad pin/connection in the connector, which will happen on the next board.
2) It could be physically deformed (which you stated it isn't)

I honestly wouldn't take the risk, now that it has been damaged. It is like a car that was in an accident. Yes, the exterior looks good and seems stable, but there may be an underlying problem, such as a bent frame, that is going to cost me a lot in the future.

It is entirely possible that the power supply killed the hard drive and graphics card. If components start dying one after another, I'd get really suspicious of the power supply. Boards do have voltage protection, but that doesn't stop it from getting overloaded. It can only protect so much.

 

[isro]

I see. Thank you for the explanation!


So... Related to a new PSU...


Is this a good page to calculate the future PSU output power? (lite version..) It came out I need about 450 W.

http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

 

[Automata]

For a very general range, yes. I would suggest posting all the hardware you want to use on it and someone will respond with what you should be running. From your existing hardware list above, a good 450w unit would be more than enough.

 

[realmadrid12]

Just so you are aware, just because a psu puts out the correct voltage does not mean it can hold up a load (current) Ive seen many PSUs pass a PSU tester but when they were actually loaded they failed.

I would also say your PSU and MOBO are no go just based on that nasty picture. I would run a memtest as well to check your memory.

One thing I will say is never cheap out on a PSU when they fail they can take out an entire system. If you have a good one the chances of that happening decrease dramatically.

 

[isro]

Thank you for your help, RM. But I already took the PC apart...

I am a little confused now about something else.


How come a 6 core AMD FX 6100, 3.300MHz, 14MB, socket AM3+, Box is about 30% cheaper than a 4 core Intel® CoreTM i5-2500 SandyBridge, 3300MHz, 6MB, socket 1155, Box.

If I were to look at the prices, a 6 core AMD FX 6100, 3.300MHz, 14MB, socket AM3+, Box = 2 core Intel® CoreTM i3 2125 SandyBridge, 3300MHz, 3MB, socket 1155, Box

How is this possible?!?

I want to buy the AMD, but ... I really cant get my head around this price difference and how a 6 core AMD with 14 mb cache and 3300 could be the same price as a 2ual core Intel, 3300, 3MB cache. If that Intel is faster I should go hang myself because the world is beyond my understanding.