Fried CPU in seconds?

[Dweebs]

I was upgrading my video card, saw how dang cheap DDR RAM (RAM in general), mobos and Athlon processors were so I decided to overhaul my K7-600 based system. I get on Newegg and ordered away.

The details:
DFI AK76-SN
Athlon T-Bird 1.2 GHz (266)
Kingston 256 MB 2100 DDR (unbuffered)
GlobalWIN CAK38
Enermax 350 Watt PS (old one was junk)

For the record this is my 4th mobo upgrade, the last one being some time ago with a FIC VA-503+ (thought I was a master after that one) with a K6-II 450. I bought the K7 system new.

So, I'm a little foreign the the concept of thermal tape, thermal grease and heatsink mounting requiring meticulous procedures. I ordered an OEM CPU and neither the cooler nor the CPU had instructions for seating this heatsink. Mistake #1 -- I didn't stop and get online with my laptop to find some instructions.

I set the voltage and multiplier to automatic (figuring that would be safest), the FSB to 133 and began assembling. The RAM was quite a pain, I've never had to push so hard to get a DIMM to go in (is that unique to DDR or this board?). The heatsink was a major pain in the butt and now, in hindsight and having seen instructions, I'm sure I probably screwed up here (put it in angled, moved it around quite a bit trying to get the darn clip on). I left the pre-applied grease on the heatsink and added some more to the die for good measure (mistake #2 I think).

Anyway, get the thing put together and it won't POST, just a single long beep (not constant). I fool with settings for quite a while and give up to have at it again the next day. I tried reseating the RAM and the CPU -- I did notice what appears to be some scorched thermal grease but figured it was probably because I used too much.

So, I think the RAM is bad, order some Crucial ECC 2100 DDR and pay the premium to get it here today, Saturday. Of course that didn't work. So I have at the CPU again thinking it has to be RAM, CPU or board at this point. This time I notice that the die is chipped (could have been previously).

Now, I'm wondering if I hacked the heatsink install so bad (had the clip backwards for one) that I might have damaged the die then and did the damage so that it wouldn't post. Other thought is there's something wrong with the board or PS. It was doing some freaky things (could never get the case power switch to work right but could be wiring wrong and when I tried to set voltage to 1.85 nothing was happening) or if that is just because I damaged the CPU.

Sorry for the long post but I'm ordering up another CPU and I don't like to make $100 mistakes twice. Any other suggestions for setting up this board (should I set the voltage and multiplier manually, I'm supposed to use 9X multiplier, no?) would be appreciated. I'm keeping the Crucial (should have done that in the first place) and returning the Kingston.

--Dweebs

 

[Jennifer66]

Sorry to hear all these problems.
You have to be very carefull when putting on a heatsink.
Rocking it is a no-no.
Some are alot easier to put on than others.
When using thermal compound you should put a thin layer on the cpu core then set the heatsink on and lift it back off and you should see some of the thermal compound has stuck to the heatsink bottom.
Then wipe it off and get a thin layer again.
Then mount the heatsink with the clip.
Having a helper can make it easier.

When you 1st power on the pc hit bios setup as fast you can and go to the health screen and watch the cpu temp for a min or two (until the temp stops rising).
If you see 57c or over turn it off as fast as possible.

It only takes about 7 seconds to kill the cpu

 

[eLiu]

Automatic or default settings are ok...

When installing the heatsink...did you hear ANY crunching noises? If so...you probably killed the CPU there.

Were there odd smells coming from the CPU? Clean it off...look at it (with a magnifying glass if you have one); check to see if there are any cracks, chips, or a thin white line in the area where die meets ceramic. Any of these things could easily mean you have a dead CPU.

DDR RAM shouldn't be that hard to install...although it does require more push than the other RAM types. (PC133 SDRAM comes close tho)

with the CPU...you closed the socket latch, right? i know that's basic...but people have been known to do it

Globalwin's are notorious for being hard to install...moving around and installing at an angle are BAD things. Moving it around can move scrape off the grease=fry...installing at an angle can crack it.

General instructions for installing heatsink/CPU can be found at AMD's website, here; it requires Acrobat Reader to view.

Putting on too much grease doesnt really hurt, unless you installed the heatsink wrong. Also...on the topic of grease, get arctic silver II. DO NOT use the thermal pad OR thermal tape that comes with stuff...those things are usually godawful. It's the best. You can read about howto apply thermal grease here

Things to try:
unplug EVERYTHING except the mobo power, CPU fan power, CPU, RAM, video, and the connector to the power switch. Attempt to power on, see what happens.

Clear the CMOS...sometimes this does it.

Remove the CPU. Plug a fan into the motherboard. Power on, see if the fan comes on/power lights on the mobo come on. If they dont, then you probably have a dead mobo.

Try to underclock the CPU..say 9x multiplier and 100fsb, or something like that. Don't change the Vcore.

Warning: if you're using the default fan for that HS...DO NOT plug it into the mobo. That fan can short out the fan headers...buy a 3pin-4pin converter, and plug it into the PS.

On that note, does your mobo power on if there's no fan plugged into the CPU fan header? some boards wont...

Next time...if you're unsure about the HSF being installed right...after you install it, take it off--see if there's a good "footprint" on it's base. If not, you did something wrong. If there is, you can 1) clean off/reapply, or 2) just reinstall it w/o reapplying.

Tbirds burn out REAL fast. BUT, your screen should have come on, and it should have begun to post, before shutting itself down again. With 256MB RAM, the RAM count won't even finish before it dies.

-eric

 

[Dweebs]

<< When installing the heatsink...did you hear ANY crunching noises? If so...you probably killed the CPU there. >>



Quite possible, I might have also pushed down on the HS (I know, after reading AMD's instructions I feel majorly stupid and deserving of losing $107).





<< Putting on too much grease doesnt really hurt, unless you installed the heatsink wrong. Also...on the topic of grease, get arctic silver II. >>



One ahead of ya, on order with the new CPU (although can't make up my mind between 1 GHz, 1.2 GHz or 1.33 GHz now).



<< Warning: if you're using the default fan for that HS...DO NOT plug it into the mobo. That fan can short out the fan headers...buy a 3pin-4pin converter, and plug it into the PS. >>



Are you sure? I know this board supplies +12V to the CPU fan with sensing of the fan speed. I thought that was probably the best way to go. Everything was working with the fans, drives would try to spin up, etc.



<< Tbirds burn out REAL fast. BUT, your screen should have come on, and it should have begun to post, before shutting itself down again. With 256MB RAM, the RAM count won't even finish before it dies. >>



That's just the thing, this thing never posted once. But, again, in hindsight now I think it's a darn good possibility I chipped or damaged the die when mounting the HS and by that point it didn't really matter. Just wish I would have noticed it sooner, I didn't take a close look at it until several other changes and tries.

Thanks for the other instructions, I'll definitely follow them this time. Think I'm going to order a retail CPU this time so I can check out that heatsink and see which I want to try -- damn CAK38 is real expensive though to just give up on because I was a moron.

--Dweebs

 

[eLiu]

I would get a 1ghz or a 1.2 ghz and overclock it. 1.33 and above are really too expensive, considering that just about any 1.2ghz will reach 1.33, and most 1ghz CPUs also get that high.

On the fan, the fan that comes with the CAK38 is a very powerful, and very loud 60mm. It has been known to short out fan headers--it wants a lot of power (for a fan). To be on the safe side, I would plug it into the PS, however it doesnt short out all mobos, some of'em can handle the load...maybe check with your manufacturer (to be safe, plug it into the PS, unless you're sure it'll work). The fan is a Delta 60mm outputing ~38CFM.

Don't order retail, unless you want a 100% secure 3 year manufacturer warranty. Even so, www.monarchcomputer.com has OEMs with 3 year warranties (non-manufacturer warranty). So far, their service seems to be good--they're processing my RMA...b/c my dad and I installed the shim wrong and killed our tbird. The heatsink they give you is basically a piece of junk...and, there's not guarantee of installing it correctly either.

On warranties, generally CPUs won't fail within their useful lives (by the time they die, you'll be overdue for an upgrade). Buut, if you're like me, get a warranty for security I bought my cpu from monarch...mainly b/c they have the 3yr, but it doesnt cost as much as retail.

A few last notes: if you scratched up the bottom of your heatsink, make sure you get 600+grit WET sandpaper, and flatten it up some.

If there is a thermal pad on the bottom of the heatsink...remove it. This can be done with heavy duty cleaners (NO oil based stuff), or scraping it off with a razor blade (be careful...very easy to scratch it)

And...if you dont wanna dish out more $$ for another CPU...it could never hurt to RMA your current one...you never know, worst answer you could get is a no.

-eric