I'm an AMD killer (What am I doing wrong?!?)

[Saaby]

I\'m an AMD killer (What am I doing wrong?!?)

Hey guys, I don't know if PC hardware can sense my presence or what but I've been having some BAD BAD luck lately.

Dad's computer has been extremely EXTREMELY unstable. Finally got mad one night and tore it into pieces to find bad caps on the motherboard. He contacted the Mobo manufacturer and they sold us a new mobo cheap. Basically he could send his mobo in for $30, or buy a new one for $40 so he got the new one.

Assembled machine with new mobo and managed to crush the core of his AMD Athlon XP 1800. At least I'm pretty sure that's what happened. Computer was working but the cables needed some tweaking so I set it down on the floor and when I put it back up it wouldn't boot. In denial tried my sisters Athlon 900 and it booted like a champ. With this in mind we decited to order a new CPU.


That was like Monday. Fast forward to Thursday. Athlon 2000 arrives. Install, being SUPER CAREFUL not to crush or anything like that. Turn it on and something smells funny. Tear apart (Gently) and find the CPU has bubbled on the bottom and stinks--BAD!

What did I do wrong? There are no jumpers to set on the motherboard, it's all auto-sensing. The CPU is compatable with the motherboard. I put thermal paste (Arctic Silver) on the CPU. The CPU fan was turning.

Mebbe it just sensed my Mac goodness and refused to work? I donno...all I know is it's a bit upsetting. Do I just suck at building computers? It seems like I have a lot of problems :-(

What I am basically looking for is:
--Yes, the CPU can be defective and boil when you install it
or
--You idiot, you forgot to do this:

I don't know, I've thought about it a lot and I can't think of anything I didn't do. This is so confusing /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[raggie33]

Re: I\'m an AMD killer (What am I doing wrong?!?)

amds are very easy to crush core. some mobos wont boot if the fan and on a fan header on mobo because it belives the fan died. did u try to reset cmos?

 

[Saaby]

Re: I\'m an AMD killer (What am I doing wrong?!?)

PS--I was very careful when I put on the Arctic Silver too. Only on the core. None on the traces. Made it as thin as I could--but if it was applied improperly wouldn't the CPU just run very hot. I mean we're talking boiling within seconds of powering up the computer here.

 

[raggie33]

Re: I\'m an AMD killer (What am I doing wrong?!?)

ya can put the heatsink on backwards btw but it kinda obvies how it goes on

 

[Saaby]

Re: I\'m an AMD killer (What am I doing wrong?!?)

This is one of those mobos. CPU fan plugged into proper spot. Took it apart. Looked at the bubbled bottom in denial. Plugged it back on with a more conservative CPU cooler (Again applying thermal goop). Reset CMOS...same, smelly result.

 

[Saaby]

Re: I\'m an AMD killer (What am I doing wrong?!?)

Yeah I put it on forwards--little cut out with the spot where the CPU arm pivots from.

 

[raggie33]

Re: I\'m an AMD killer (What am I doing wrong?!?)

ya didnt bend a pin on cpu did ya?

 

[Saaby]

Re: I\'m an AMD killer (What am I doing wrong?!?)

Nope.

In other news, if he goes out and buys a commercial system what should he get? I think they all suck but maybe for what he's doing (Just internet+quicken. Nothing too complex) a Dell or Gateway would be fine?

 

[raggie33]

Re: I\'m an AMD killer (What am I doing wrong?!?)

i build pc,s but havent kept up with it , lately i build em for my self.but i leave my pc on 24/7 and i only had one crash .and it was software .also when ya installed mobo did ya make sure memory is seated corectly? and vid card? i always when i build a pc will boot it out of case to test it with just vi card and mem and cpu installed

 

[Sub_Umbra]

Re: I\'m an AMD killer (What am I doing wrong?!?)

I've never built an AMD box but a few months a go I read that AMD only guaranteed their cpus for something like 5 insertions. Even if I've got the number wrong, I'm sure it wasn't over 7 or 10. It still strikes me as pretty scary that even with 'zero insertion force' sockets that they are THAT fragile. Go figure.

 

[Saaby]

Re: I\'m an AMD killer (What am I doing wrong?!?)

Well I'm certainly not going to argue with you over hardware, the computer of choice for me to build is the one you can't build at all /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinser2.gif


<---Mac

 

[raggie33]

Re: I\'m an AMD killer (What am I doing wrong?!?)

i like mac.after owning a ipod i started to like apple

 

[Charles Bradshaw]

Re: I\'m an AMD killer (What am I doing wrong?!?)

Funny, but I haven't destroyed a cpu yet. I am super careful installing Athlons.

You have a major thermal problem. Why not take it to a local computer shop and have the thing diagnosed and done right?? The actual problem may be the mobo.

Hint: install cpu and heatsink/fan on mobo BEFORE installing mobo into case. When you are pressing down to latch the heatsink onto the cpu socket, you are flexing the mobo. This could cause damage to either cpu and/or mobo. If you do this with the mobo on a table by itself, you are not flexing the mobo or cpu at all. Only exert barely enough pressure to latch the heatsink onto the cpu socket and never press downward on the heatsink itself. Just hold the heatsink in place to keep it from sliding (on side of heatsink, not on top).

Your problem is either internal to the cpu, or it is not making good thermal contact with the heatsink, and/or the heatsink fan is not functioning. Possible but unlikely is damage to mobo.

In any event, the cpu is fried. You may have gotten a bum cpu (I hope this isn't the case).

 

[snakebite]

Re: I\'m an AMD killer (What am I doing wrong?!?)

i am betting on an improperly installed hsf.
amd chips die nearly instantly if you install it wrong and the sink isnt flat against the die.

 

[raggie33]

Re: I\'m an AMD killer (What am I doing wrong?!?)

im always nervess when i install a athlon hsf, specaily cause mine dont have the pads no more on cpu and i i got a volcano 7x hsf. and i oc pretty high.

 

[Saaby]

Re: I\'m an AMD killer (What am I doing wrong?!?)

I think my dad is taking it in today--mainly because the place he takes it to will then be liabe for any hardware they damage /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinser2.gif

CPU installed outside case. It seemed snug but I didn't want to over-tighten like last time, so maybe I was too conservative.

Raggie--I like Apple to. So much I have an iPod on it's way to my door

 

[kakster]

Re: I\'m an AMD killer (What am I doing wrong?!?)

Just out of interest...was the Athlon an OEM unit (sold bare, on its own) or a Retail pack (fancy packaging, bundled with heatsink)?
I have heard of people with problematic OEM units, but mine has been fine so far. And yes, they make a lot of heat...bad heatsinking or a duff fan *will* fry your AMD.

 

[James S]

Re: I\'m an AMD killer (What am I doing wrong?!?)

One of the reasons that OEM units can be problematic is that they can be counterfeit! Older or lower speed chips re-labeled and printed to look like something new. This is becoming more and more of a problem with all electronic components.

The original bad caps on the motherboard might be from that company last year? The capacitor maker that hired the guy that stole the electrolyte recipe but only got the first page? And so all the caps they made cheap failed in short order /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif That could definitely have been responsible for toasting the first one, maybe even before you crushed it... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Got no clue about the other one and why it bubbled. Unless that board has a bad power supply too.

 

[Saaby]

Re: I\'m an AMD killer (What am I doing wrong?!?)

First motherboard is completely gone. Probably bad caps from bad formula. Second motherboard housed both the crushed, and burned chip. OEM unit.

 

[eluminator]

Re: I\'m an AMD killer (What am I doing wrong?!?)

Hey look, I'm not any more fond of Intel then you are, but the Pentium 4 and the Celeron are easy to install, won't overheat even if you remove the heat sink, and generate considerably less heat than the AMD, making them easy to cool and easy to build a quiet computer.

For me, there simply isn't a choice. Your AMD will calculate PI to 4 million digits faster than my machine, but I don't have to wear earplugs, and the lights don't dim when I turn my machine on.

By the way, the current Celerons are simply Pentium 4's with less cache, and they are cheap. I just built a machine for my sister and used a 2 GHz Celeron because it cost $66. It's plenty fast enough, but if I should ever want to speed it up, I can simply spend another $150 and replace the Celeron with a Pentium using the same mobo.

I tested with the super pi program and that 2 GHz Celeron with half the cache and 400 MHz FSB was slightly less than half as fast as a 2.8 GHz P4 with a 800 MHz FSB.