How to tell if your CPU is cracked?

[CyberChild]

Hey all,

Big thanks to all who have helped me thus far. I'm new to these forums but have gotten outstanding community support. Thanks again. This time around I'm having problems with my new computer that I've put together. I'm wondering if my CPU core (AMD Athlon XP 2800+ w/ Thermalright SLK-800A heatsink) got cracked but here is the back story. Every component is brand new and when I first powered it up the BIOS worked fine and the install of Windows XP went fine right up untill it rebooted. At that point I got a blue error screen that said something about a hardware configuration error and I could not continue or repair the installation of Windows. I tried installing three different versions of Windows and the farthest I got was with Windows 2000 when I actually reached the desktop but it just locked up as soon as it reached it. I've already RMA'd my motherboard after noticing some loose capacitors and what looked like small scratches on the top of the board. However, when I first put the heatsink on the CPU I acidentally installed it backwards. From what I understand, installing the heatsink backwards doesn't automatically crack the core but fortunately I realized my error and installed the heatsink properly before I ever powered the machine up, also I'm using a shim which should have further prevented any cracking of the core. Still, the question I have is when a CPU core gets cracked is it the kind of thing where its either broken or not. Or, when you have a cracked core does your CPU work a little and just give you error messages. How do you know when you've cracked it? It seems to me that if a core is cracked you shouldn't even be able to install Windows. In any case do my hardware errors sound like a bad mobo or cracked CPU. Thanks again.

 

[GoHAnSoN]

if your bios booted up good, then your cpu is safe.
else, let you core RIP.
crack core doesnt need to show facial "crack"

well, it might be other things that prevent you from booting though.
overheating might be your problem too.

 

[JBT]

I have 1 chipped core 1.4 T-Bird that works PERFECTLY but, I have a friend with another 1.4 T-bird with a chipped core that doesn't work at all but I think it died from a static problem not the cracked core.

 

[BG4533]

What are the other components in your system? It is possible that you purchased things that do not play nicely together. What are your temperatures in the bios? If you actually cracked the core I doubt your computer would even boot. Did you put Artic Silver or another compound on the cpu? Is it possible it got onto places it shouldnt have? Do you have a PSU powerful enough to handle your system? People here can likely help you figure out your problem, but it helps if you say as much as possible as it could be anywhere.

Brian

 

[CyberChild]

Thanks for the replies. Here's a little more info on my setup. Abit NF7-S rev2.0, 512MB x2Kingston HyperX DDR333, IBM 180GXP 120 GB, Radeon 9500 Pro, and again all components were purchased new for this machine. I assumed everything was compatible. Thanks for clearing up the cracked core question. It sounds like that isn't the problem since I was able to boot and work in the BIOS. Regarding overheating questions, I checked the BIOS several times including after the botched install of Windows and my CPU never went above 41 C. This makes sense though. I was using Artic Silver 3 (which I verified did not overflow on to the die) and the Thermalright SLK-800A. If anyone out there has gotten the blue hardware configuration error screen please let me know. I'm totally oblivious to what that screen means as I've never gotten it before. Is it commonly indicitive of a certain component? The motherboard got RMA'd today. I suspect it will be a week or so until I get my replacement. Oh yeah, the power supply is a Kingmax 450W. It says all over the packaging that it is compatible with AMD so I didn't think this would be the problem. I suppose there could be an issue with the power supply but I didn't think to swap in another one before I RMA'd the motherboard. Oops. I guess I'll just have to wait for the new mobo. Thanks again.

 

[chocoruacal]

Did you try both sticks of RAM individually? Perhaps the board didn't want to run them dual channel. Did you try lowering the RAM timings. The bad hardware BSOD can be anything, really. Anytime I've gotten it is when I've set my RAM timings too aggressive. Not saying you RMAd the board for nothing...but I would have run Memtest before sending it back.

 

[JBT]

I would bet it has to do with the RAM, I have heard of some people having problems with Hyper X.

 

[CyberChild]

The memory?! Really? I've assembled computers for friends of mine in the past using HyperX and never had so much as a hiccup. Granted those were Intel boards, but I liked the HyperX's price/performance ratio so much I decided to purchase it for my own computer instead of Corsair XMS sticks. I did try the installation with only 1 stick of 512MB installed and I got the exact same error. In fact, when I set up the BIOS I intentionally left the memory timings at "By SPD" to rule out the memory. According to the BIOS "By SPD" was in fact 2-2-2-5. Should I have manually lowered the timings from factory settings? This was a brand new nForce2 board. It shouldn't have had any trouble with aggressive timings, right? Ah well, we'll see what happens when I get the new mobo. Thanks all.

 

[Necrolezbeast]

I have hyperx on my 8rda+ without any problems....I think the hyperx problems you are thinking of are in DCDDR on nforce 2 mobos...single channel should work, and DCDDR worked fine on mine with hyperx