# Can't tell if its my CPU or Mobo thats dead.



## Account (Aug 30, 2010)

Built a comp of 2 months, died today.

Removed everything except the CPU with Heatsink, GPU, PSU and 1 stick of ram.

It doesn't give any beeps, there is no post and the monitor doesn't give any signal.

Specs:
Gigabyte MA770-UD3 mobo
4gb OCZ ram
AMD Phenom x2 555 BE
500W PSU
VTX HD5770

Things I know for sure:

It isn't the PSU, I tried another one.
It isn't the RAM, I ran a memtest before it broke
It isn't the GPU, it worked before on another comp
It isn't the monitors fault, it works fine with other stuff

Things I have tried:

Reset CMOS
Changed ram slots and different ram
Unmounted the mobo and placed it on the box to test
Reseated everything
Reseated the CPU and re-applied thermal paste

I do not have any other parts to swap and test, the mobo doesn't have an onboard video which makes things hard.

Is there anything else I should try before buying one of these?

Thanks.


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## freaksavior (Aug 30, 2010)

Account said:


> Built a comp of 2 months, died today.
> 
> Removed everything except the CPU with Heatsink, GPU, PSU and 1 stick of ram.
> 
> ...



Check what I bolded. 

Try again in another machine. Does it boot at all?


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## erocker (Aug 30, 2010)

Does the heatsink on the motherboard get hot while it's on?


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## Account (Aug 30, 2010)

freaksavior said:


> Check what I bolded.
> 
> Try again in another machine. Does it boot at all?



I know for sure it isn't the memory, I've tested other RAM also.

I'm pretty sure it's not the GPU, but I don't have anything to test it with. (Before was tested on my cousins computer which it worked fine)

I've left the computer on running for awhile, when i felt the heatsink it was warm but not hot


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## ShiBDiB (Aug 30, 2010)

my moms computer wasnt posting and it was the ram. So make sure thats not ur problem before you go buying stuff..

Also, try a different monitor/vga or dvi (whichever it is) cable just incase.


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## overclocking101 (Aug 30, 2010)

does the board start up at all?? like lights come on post loop etc?? if so its not the cpu. when a cpu dies absolutely nothing happens when you hit the power button


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## Gzero (Aug 30, 2010)

Take out everything, including the cpu! Power just the motherboard. It may light up, then you can hazard a guess that the cpu is at fault. But without another cpu to test your a bit stuck.


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## ShiBDiB (Aug 30, 2010)

My moneys still on the ram


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## twilyth (Aug 31, 2010)

Gzero said:


> Take out everything, including the cpu! Power just the motherboard. It may light up, then you can hazard a guess that the cpu is at fault. But without another cpu to test your a bit stuck.



After that, try just the cpu/hsf and no memory at all.  I've been told that will sometimes work.

Right now, my money is on the mobo.  I've gone through 4 or 5 in recent months and that is always how it goes - no post, no beep, nada.  If you shut the psu off a for 20 secs and turn back on, then press the power button, you will get the fans to turn a quarter turn and then die.

If you have to bet on one part or another, my money is on the mobo.  To get a quality m/b that can  really take some abuse, you have to go high end these days.  Mid-range boards seem to be crap for overclocking.  I'm sure some are still decent, but I've had this problem with a couple different brands - mainly MSI.


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## ShiBDiB (Aug 31, 2010)

twilyth said:


> After that, try just the cpu/hsf and no memory at all.  I've been told that will sometimes work.
> 
> Right now, my money is on the mobo.  I've gone through 4 or 5 in recent months and that is always how it goes - no post, no beep, nada.  If you shut the psu off a for 20 secs and turn back on, then press the power button, you will get the fans to turn a quarter turn and then die.
> 
> If you have to bet on one part or another, my money is on the mobo.  To get a quality m/b that can  really take some abuse, you have to go high end these days.  Mid-range boards seem to be crap for overclocking.  I'm sure some are still decent, but I've had this problem with a couple different brands - mainly MSI.



it runs it just doesnt show anything on the screen.. u on the other hand seem to be killing ur mobo's.. check ur standoffs.


I still say its probably the ram


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## Mathragh (Aug 31, 2010)

I had the same issue when i was building a pc for someone this weekend, turned out i forgot to insert the CPU prolly .

So might aswell be the CPU.


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## TechnicalFreak (Aug 31, 2010)

A friend of mine, his son's system died this way. We were lucky however, I managed to test part after part on my system (s775), and all worked except mobo..

His just "died" one day. Refused to boot. But it was an HP however.

Oh, and one more thing. This might sound a bit stupid, but make sure the power & reset cables from mobo to buttons are correctly placed on it. Once it happend to me, it would not start because one of them was turned the other direction.


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