AMD CPU frying motherboard?

[erang]

I'll try to make it short.

1. A friend has a Gigabyte mobo w/ Athlon 2600 CPU. He calls me up, the computer's making weird beeps. Upon booting the motherboard would sound a repeating high/low beep (which should indicate the CPU's damaged) and shutdown after 3-4 seconds.

2. I RMA the CPU. Get it back a few weeks later, the dealer says it was tested and found working. I think to myself "hmm, so it's probably the mobo". The mobo isn't under warranty, so I'm looking for a replacement.

3. Just before I find a new mobo, I decide to check one more thing. The CPU should be working, right? So I take one of my own computers, running the same spec CPU (Athlon 2600, bla bla) on an Abit mobo, and pop the CPU I RMA'd in my computer. Surely enough, my computer doesn't boot, plays the high/low beep and shuts down after 3-4 seconds. So I think "damn, the CPU's NOT working"!

4. Here comes the fun part.
I put MY CPU back in MY COMPUTER (which, needles to say, was working just two minutes ago), and, to my shock- high/low beeps, shuts down after a few seconds!!

5. Tried clearing the CMOS, disconnecting everything (left only CPU, RAM & display adapter), swapping RAM sticks, swapping display adapters- nothing works. It seems my mobo is gone. Tried my CPU on my friend's mobo- same beeps & all that jazz.

6. Trying to figure out what happened, came up with two options:
a. Some ultra-bizarre coincedence happend, and my mobo died just before I began all the tests.
b. My friend's CPU is damaged, and fries every mobo it touches. Does this make any sense? Is it even possible? Happened to anyone?
If option B is true, the CPU should've fried the dealer's lab mobo as well. I called up the lab, and the technician swore they checked the CPU with a mobo as well as with some testing equipment they have.

7. Additional information- both of the computers have never been OC, both have good heatsinks (Arctic Cooling) and properly ventilated cases.

Now I'm quite screwed- my mobo isn't under warranty, I'm unable to even boot it, and I don't even have another Socket A mobo to check if my CPU is working.

Please, ANY input would be great.

Thanks,
-E-

 

[Fardringle]

I have only seen it happen once many years ago with a K6-2 processor, but I actually had a CPU that (according to AMD) had a power regulator go bad inside the processor that caused the power circuits on the motherboard to fail as well. I killed two motherboards before I decided to stop testing the CPU myself and I sent it back to AMD for replacement.

 

[erang]

Thanks for the reply Fardringle.

Thing is, I did send the CPU to the distributor, and they claim to have tested it. It's only logical that if it fried my mobo (which seems to be the case, as I can't boot it no matter what I do- am I wrong?) it would also fry the lab's mobo, right?

Any suggestions on how to proceed?
-E-

 

[erang]

Bump...
Anyone?

 

[Severian]

I would find the cheapest possible socket a board around, put it on a bench, and post the board with the cpu in. Just to make sure the problem is the cpu, and not technique, poor grounding, static shock, etc. I wouldn't put the chip in any board you value at all until you've proved it safe.

I do think it's entirely likely that the distributor did no testing at all on your cpu. They know you'll just RMA it back to AMD on your own anyway.

good luck

 

[erang]

Thanks for the reply Severian.

I would've already done what you suggested, but I don't have a Socket A board I could test, and don't really want to buy one just for this purpose.
Also, I can't RMA the CPU to AMD- I'm not in the states, I have to go through my local channel.

-E-

 

[redbeard1]

It has been posted before that people have eventually come to the conclusion that their AMD cpu can kill motherboards.

I have a board that I'm pretty sure I killed it testing a cpu for a friend. It worked normally with my 1500+ cpu, but after I tested his 2000+, which came out of a system that had probably taken a lightening strike, the system still posts, but I can't get the existing windows install to load, or even get it installed on a new hard drive installed in the system.

So I guess I'm a believer now.

 

[Fern]

You might try lookin around at old posts etc. But a few years back when everyone had these CPU's there were some stories about this happening. Had to do with the position of the thermal probe in the socket (under the CPU).

Try leaving the CMOS battery out overnight and see if you can resurect the mobo.

Fern