Did I fry my CPU or my MOBO?

[mattydies]

SCENARIO
OK.... So I was overclocking my 'new' system. CPU temp was high but not 'too high'. Memory was running cool, the VRM cooler seemed decent. I forget if I hit 4.5GHz or 4.8GHz. If I tried for higher board would revert to a lower setting no matter what I did (upon saving and exiting BIOS). I did some reading and it seems that is where the board would basically top out. MY HARDWARE IS LISTED IN SYSTEM SPECS.

I broke it about a month ago, but I have been busy with other things at work getting ready for the tourist season @ work, being depressed/withdrawn from life a bit, and too broke to pay for shipping for a repair (as I have a couple non-computer projects on the go). It's foolish that I did not ask this sooner, but live and learn.

I was basically running the limits for most of the voltage levels (even some which likely could have been left on auto). My thought was to give it all the juice I can, achieve max OC and then detune the voltage as much as stability will allow. ALSO because I have warranty coverage I was playing a bit fast and loose (compared to what I would have done otherwise). Well now when I try to boot up the fans power on for about a half a second and the MOBO shuts down.

I was also trying to get my Mushkin Redline 2400Mhz ram to OC - which may have been silly and a pointless endeavor. I THINK the only voltage setting I had raised above the max safe level was the Ram voltage @ 1.7 Volts. I have read about the IMC being within the CPU and how this was a bad idea. But I wanted to see what my ram could do, and I read this and that about how X79 overclocks cheap ram like it is good ram! Which likely will not apply to ram that is already running so fast, but I wanted to try.

QUESTIONS
How can I test to see if I fried my Mobo CPU? I do not have any spare X79 (or DDR3) parts.

I read about my board, it can support a single stick of ram. I tried various sticks in various slots so I figure the ram is likely not the problem.

Any thoughts on this are appreciated. Thanks guys. You guys are great. Without this site I am not sure I would have ever got into overclocking with my P4, or my Pentium D, or my E8400 or this 3820 :funky:

 

[mattydies]

If my CPU is bad and I pull it out of the board, leaving no CPU in the socket will a healthy MOBO do something different than what it does right now? (Turn the fans on and shut off in half a second)

 

[G777]

Did you try clearing the cmos?

 

[JD]

If my CPU is bad and I pull it out of the board, leaving no CPU in the socket will a healthy MOBO do something different than what it does right now? (Turn the fans on and shut off in half a second)

It would do absolutely nothing.

If it's an ASUS board, you could blind flash the BIOS without a CPU if it has that feature. However I don't think it would prove anything since you couldn't see if it was successful or not without the CPU.

 

[mattydies]

Did you try clearing the cmos?

OH MAN.... Thanks I needed a good laugh! Yeah I've tried clearing the cmos, (both of them), both with the switch and after that did not work I unplugged the CMOS battery with the PSU unplugged from the wall.

It's a great question though. It's so easy to over look / forget the simple things (I do that at times), or to over think things. Thanks!

 

[mattydies]

It would do absolutely nothing.

If it's an ASUS board, you could blind flash the BIOS without a CPU if it has that feature. However I don't think it would prove anything since you couldn't see if it was successful or not without the CPU.

Would "absolutely nothing" be different from tuning on for a half second and then shutting down?

 

[G777]

OH MAN.... Thanks I needed a good laugh! Yeah I've tried clearing the cmos, (both of them), both with the switch and after that did not work I unplugged the CMOS battery with the PSU unplugged from the wall.

It's a great question though. It's so easy to over look / forget the simple things (I do that at times), or to over think things.

Glad I could help:biggrin: It's possible you fried the cpu, but realistically that is pretty much the least likely component to fail...unless you disabled some protections and gave it 1.6v+

 

[mattydies]

OH I just remembered some information! 2 voltage settings in BIOS were MAXED OUT! 2 settings which I likely did not NEED to be changed but may help with HIGH OC stability. 1 voltage was at and the other voltage was a hair below the Intel MAX safe limit for air cooling. Perhaps I was stressing the board more than I had thought.

ALSO my BIOS is the current version (I had to re-flash soon after building the PC as it became corrupt).

I did have the Ram voltage at 1.7V. (IMC within the CPU). The X79 spec WAS 1.65V but later it was reduced to 1.575V (if I recall the # correctly).

 

[JD]

Would "absolutely nothing" be different from tuning on for a half second and then shutting down?

Yeah, it wouldn't power up at all.

I went through a similar fate:
-PC wouldn't power up at all, thus suspected CPU.
-Replaced CPU, still wouldn't power up, tired another PSU, still nothing. Figured it must be motherboard.
-Replaced motherboard, still wouldn't power up. Tried another PSU, still nothing.
-Bought brand new motherboard and CPU and used different PSU, worked.
-Concluded PSU was what was killing hardware and trashed it.

Your case is a bit harder though since it could be either the CPU or Motherboard or PSU or all 3 or a combination of 2.

 

[mattydies]

Yeah, it wouldn't power up at all.

I went through a similar fate:
-PC wouldn't power up at all, thus suspected CPU.
-Replaced CPU, still wouldn't power up, tired another PSU, still nothing. Figured it must be motherboard.
-Replaced motherboard, still wouldn't power up. Tried another PSU, still nothing.
-Bought brand new motherboard and CPU and used different PSU, worked.
-Concluded PSU was what was killing hardware and trashed it.

Your case is a bit harder though since it could be either the CPU or Motherboard or PSU or all 3 or a combination of 2.

Hmm... So unplugging the CPU and then powering up would not tell me anything that I can use for diagnostics.

I have some old hardware I could use to test my PSU - in order to rule that out.