I fried my computer.

[Sajuuk]

And I feel like a total moron.

So I felt that I'd try to overclock my Phenom 9850 2.5Ghz CPU to 3Ghz. I ventured into the BIOS, changed the CPU multiplier so it would be 3Ghz, restarted my computer. It booted up just fine, I started a stress test, then I got a beep and it shut down.



I tried clearing the CMOS and waiting 15 minutes. No go.

I have tried unplugging everything from the motherboard. No go.

Funny thing - IF I have the big motherboard strip plugged in and the CPU power plug NOT plugged in the fans will start running. But that's about it. I get no response from the power button when I try to turn it off, so I have to unplug the computer to turn it off.

I tried a different power supply, I got no response. Right now I have the computer with everything unplugged, doing nothing.

This sucks.

My build:

ECS A780GM-A AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail ('http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135075')

AMD Phenom 9850 BLACK EDITION 2.5GHz Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Processor Model HD985ZXAGHBOX - Retail ('http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103249')

Zalman 850W PSU (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817379007)


ECS N9600GT-512MX-P GeForce 9600 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail ('http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134040')

8GM RAM --> G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ - Retail ('http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231145')

The big question: What do I need to replace? >_<

[Kedash00]

does your processor have singe marks on it?

[Ellusionist]

That sucks dude! :-/

I'm going to have to say it's the processor, since you said the motherboard powers up with the CPU plug "unplugged".

You may want to order a "cheapie" motherboard to get you by, in case it's the motherboard instead. Now would be a perfect opportunity to upgrade processors if you were even remotely thinking about doing so.

((( *edit*: I meant order a cheapie motherboard at the same time you order a processor, so you won't be out of commission for another 3-4 days while you wait on a motherboard to arrive as well. )))

Or even a Core i7 setup. :) Everthing else you already have should be compatible... (well, except your memory)

[Sajuuk]

I might as well switch to i7. It's only about 100 dollars or so of a difference from switching to a Q6600. (And I have an AMD system)

[Ellusionist]

On another note, when you overclock in the future:

Increase the FSB speed instead of the multiplier. Increasing your multiplier overclocks in much larger increments and increasing the FSB.

[Ellusionist]

I might as well switch to i7. It's only about 100 dollars or so of a difference from switching to a Q6600. (And I have an AMD system)I'm always one to spoil myself as far as technology. It won't be too much longer before I upgrade from Q6600(OC'd to 3.2GHz 24/7) --> Core i7.

I say do it!

[pengwynman]

<snip>

took too long to type a reply, got beat to it :P

[Sajuuk]

On another note, when you overclock in the future:

Increase the FSB speed instead of the multiplier. Increasing your multiplier overclocks in much larger increments and increasing the FSB.After this it's going to be a while before I think about overclocking.

[elsegundo]

burnt black edition --> i7. sounds like a good plan.

[Sajuuk]

Now if I only had a spare 600 dollars lying around.

(I have no credit card.)

[cryinsham]

unplug the pc from the wall
move bios jumper to reset
remove bios battery
wait 1hr-24hr
place bios battery back into holder
replace bios jumper to non reset position
plug pc in
pray to selected deity
push power
------------------------
some motherboards ( yes even current high end ones) require longer bios clears for reset if it gets borked


another thing to try is to use other pc to get the stuff to flash your bios which automatically resets it :)

[pengwynman]

unplug the pc from the wall
move bios jumper to reset
remove bios battery
wait 1hr-24hr
place bios battery back into holder
replace bios jumper to non reset position
plug pc in
pray to selected deity
push power????????
profit

[daviddoran]

Just so you know, as far as I know, Core i7 takes DDR3 ram, so its not as cheap as you think. I have a q6600 and overclocked it to 3.3ghz and have been running solid for a few months now. I would go that route, and not upgrade to i7 until you wanna also buy new ram.

[Sajuuk]

I would think my current DDR2 would work, right? (It's 240 pin)

[Chranny]

I would think my current DDR2 would work, right? (It's 240 pin)

No. Not unless there's a combo board out there. Most will only take DDR3.

[Sajuuk]

Well thank you. You saved me a bit of a headache down the road...

Now I have to wait longer to get my new computer innards.

I just wish switching to i7 didn't cost twice as much as switching to a Q6600.

As far as computers go, I forgot about my little computer I was using before I made that machine, so I have something for browsing.

[jettzypher]

this is why ill never overclock a pc (unless im really bored and have lot of money or spare parts layign about). esp since its your primary pc...that leaves you with alot of down time.

[Sajuuk]

this is why ill never overclock a pc (unless im really bored and have lot of money or spare parts layign about). esp since its your primary pc...that leaves you with alot of down time.Needless to say: Lesson learned!

WTS 8GB G.Skill DDR2 1000, pst!

[Ellusionist]

DDR3 is not expensive as you all think it is.

It has come down a lot in price in the last few months.

New technology? Sorta. Expensive? No.

[Gadzooks]

DDR3 is not expensive as you all think it is.

It has come down a lot in price in the last few months.

New technology? Sorta. Expensive? No.Just read about this yesterday - there's a glut of ram on the market, because all of the ram makers ramped up to sell ram for new Vista users. But, since Vista wasn't as popular as expected, there's a huge inventory sitting there. This will change over the year, as the ram makers are ramping down production and clearing out inventory.

This isn't a slam on Vista, it's just the reality. Ram is dirt cheap right now, it's a great time to find great deals and max your machine out.

[daviddoran]

DDR3 is not expensive as you all think it is.

It has come down a lot in price in the last few months.

New technology? Sorta. Expensive? No.


That may be, but you have to buy all new ram, and your current ram is unused, and you either have to eat it, or sell it, probably at a loss.

So if I were building a new computer from scratch, DDR3 isn't too big a deal, but when you are just transplanting the mobo and cpu, adding all new ram turns it from a medium cost upgrade to a high cost upgrade.

[Yo-Yo Freak]

i don't want to hijack the thread or anything but because you guys are on the topic of RAM i have a quick question for any/all of you.

so the new core i7 MoBo's take a maximum of 24G of DDR3 RAM and have 6 240 pin RAM slots, my question is this. are there any 4G sticks of DDR3 RAM currently on the market? i can only find 2G sticks maximum of DDR3. there are some DDR2 sticks that are 4G each, but i can't seem to find any 4G DDR3 sticks no matter how hard i look. if anybody know of any and has a link to where to buy it i would really appreciate it!

Thanks everybody! ^_^

~YYF

[Ellusionist]

i don't want to hijack the thread or anything but because you guys are on the topic of RAM i have a quick question for any/all of you.

so the new core i7 MoBo's take a maximum of 24G of DDR3 RAM and have 6 240 pin RAM slots, my question is this. are there any 4G sticks of DDR3 RAM currently on the market? i can only find 2G sticks maximum of DDR3. there are some DDR2 sticks that are 4G each, but i can't seem to find any 4G DDR3 sticks no matter how hard i look. if anybody know of any and has a link to where to buy it i would really appreciate it!

Thanks everybody! ^_^

~YYFI can't answer your question directly, but I can explain a little bit about DDR3 and possibly why DDR3 is only available in multiples of 3.

I'm going to take a totally wild guess.

First of all: DDR3 is more efficient, power-wise. It runs at 1.5V instead of DDR2's 1.8V.

DDR2's speed is figured by taking the base memory clock speed and multiplying it by two of the processor's clock cycles. This is why DDR2-667 memory only runs at 333MHz.

...here comes the part where I'm making an educated guess...

Core i7 chips have three memory channels. This would mean instead of multiplying the "base" memory speed by two, it's multiplied by three. This allows the memory to run at a lower speed, but perform better. (And, as I originally stated, use less power.)

Examples:
[1.8V] DDR2 @ 667MHZ (really equals) 333 x 2
[1.5V] DDR3 @ 800MHz (really equals) 266 x 3

DDR3 is using less power because each channel is running at a lower speed, but with more overall throughput.

Like I said, I can't answer your question directly about DDR3 capacity, but I'd say the 3x multiplier has something to do with it.

[turbonapkin]

i don't want to hijack the thread or anything but because you guys are on the topic of RAM i have a quick question for any/all of you.

so the new core i7 MoBo's take a maximum of 24G of DDR3 RAM and have 6 240 pin RAM slots, my question is this. are there any 4G sticks of DDR3 RAM currently on the market? i can only find 2G sticks maximum of DDR3. there are some DDR2 sticks that are 4G each, but i can't seem to find any 4G DDR3 sticks no matter how hard i look. if anybody know of any and has a link to where to buy it i would really appreciate it!

Thanks everybody! ^_^

~YYFWe're only now seeing the likes of Corsair and OCZ et al start offering 12GB kits using 2GB DIMMS, hopefully in the coming months we should see the arrival of the 4GB DIMM in 12 and 24GB kits, but it may be a while yet!

[lille]

One thing to note about i7 and DDR3, don't buy DDR3 thats running at more than 1.65V, the i7 really doesnt like that ;P

[Yo-Yo Freak]

One thing to note about i7 and DDR3, don't buy DDR3 thats running at more than 1.65V, the i7 really doesnt like that ;Poh i didn't know that, thanks a bunch right there! ^_^

hmm interesting, what you said about how the DDR3 memory on the i7 is multiplied by 3 because of the tripple channel vs the double channel. i hadent thought of that but now that you mention it it does seem highly likely that that would be the case. its always nice to save a little power ^_^. lol

hopefully they will start making the 4G sticks soon, i almost wunder if i should just stick with 6G of RAM instead of 12 and upgrade the rest when the new stuff comes out.

Thanks everybody for the input, it has helped alot! ^_^

~YYF

[Tsunami]

I think you guys are getting a little confused with the DDR3 memory. you can buy ddr3 ram in duel channel and tri-channel. your core i7 monitor will be able to use both. the difference is with duel channel you are buying 2 sticks of memory compared to 3 sticks w/ the tri channel. of course 3 sticks is going to be more than 2 sticks. at this time there is little performance loss between duel and tri channel memory. this is new tech. and the software is not optimized to use tri-channel memory. check the prices

6gb of tri-channel ram is less than $200 and i have seen it for under $150 on newegg.