I think I burned out my CPU. First time computer builder. Please help.

[Guest]

is it bad if there is thermal paste on the die of the CPU?

It should be harmless, even if it's a silver-bearing grease, like
Arctic Silver, which conducts slightly (it's safe for low voltage but
not high voltage).

Recent AMD retail heatsinks come with a layer of brown clay- or
putty-like material applied to them. This material is designed to
melt at approximately 55C and provide better cooling than thermal
grease or rubber thermal pads can, and while no additional material
should be applied, if you added thermal paste anyway it still
shouldn't cause the CPU to overheat.

Was the CPU inserted correctly into the socket?

Did the heatsink fit flat against the CPU, instead of at an angle,
which can cause instant burnout?

What anti-static precautions did you take?

 

[Islander]

this is what you need to do i agree! you got to eliminate whats good
until you find whats bad.

first do make sure that all your connections are polared right.
sometimes if youre using a fdd it would coz the beeps, and the smokes
is just probably nothing, just the mobo waking up. and make sure that
all your screws, lose wires, specially cut wires, in short junks are
all out of the way. for it not to make any contact to the mobo causing
any shorts. make work area clean and spotless and while youre
cleaning, get a small brush and brush the mobo too, top and bottom
with alcohol, lightly! (but if its fried, too late for that. but for
the next built clean and inspect the mobo of any UFOs. FRYING OBJECTS!
)


good luck!

 

[Al Smith]

Hi all,

I think my CPU may have fried out on me, and am writing to see if
anyone can offer some advice on what I may need to do.

I've been reading your thread. My guess, since you're a first time
builder and you smelled smoke, is that you installed the
motherboard incorrectly and shorted part of it out.

 

[Sam]

Jim Campbell:


Ok, pull the CPU and inspect it. Did you remove the plastic from the
bottom of the heatsink? Does the heatsink look like it was making good
contact? Are there any discolorations on the CPU?

I've never burned a processor so I don't know exactly what to look for,
but I've seen pictures of burned processors on the web and they had
discoloration or burn marks.


I have had this happen and after cleaning and reinstalling the CPU, it
worked fine.


Contact the people you bought it from and ask for an RMA. Unless there
are obvious signs of abuse, they should replace it.

Yeah I would first look at the CPU If there are any visible burn
marks.
I Built 95% of my computer except for the CPU/Heatsink which I let
the store actually install. I watch Screensavers and "The pros"
actually ruined a few AMD cpu's a while back. If the cpu looks okay
check the PSU.