Questions regarding Althon 64 installation

  • Thread starter Thread starter Shantanu Sen
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Shantanu Sen

I tried to set it up using an Antec Sonata (with the Antec 380W PSU),
a MSI K8N Neo mobo (not the platinum one) but when I hooked the PSU in
and tried a quick bench test, it failed - none of the fans (CPU, PSU)
will spin and I could not see any LED lights on the USB plate supplied
by MSI (hooked on the a USB connector and a power connector) are on -
it's as if no power is going into the mobo. I tried testing it after
taking it out of the case and doing a 'cardboard' bench test, but with
no success.

So, I went to return the case thinking the PSU had problems, but they
tested it (on a different mobo) and it was working there. So, I
brought the case back and tried again - this time after hooking up the
graphics card and one stick of ram - still no success. So, my next
step is to see if the problem is with the mobo.

I have returned the mobo and got a new one. But before I can test
this, I need to clean the thermal paste residue from the processor and
the heatsink bottom and apply a new one. The problem is that the AMD
web site only recommeds 4 the following 4 types of thermal grease:

TIC-3000 (Bergquist)
G751, X23-7762, X23-7783D (Shin Etsu)
TC-350 (Thermoset, Lord CPD).

I could not find any of these in the mainstream stores here in the
silicon valley (Fry's, MSI Micro, Comp USA etc). I'll try to see if I
can contact any of these companies to see if they know of any local
retailer. Any ideas where I can find these and why these are so hard
to find if they are recommended by AMD? It seems that I have to find
someplace online and order it, but I am bit impatient to go ahead and
find what the problem is with my yet-to-be-born system :)

Also, any info of any problem with this MSI board with the Antec 380W
TruePower PSU? After getting the paste and hooking up the board, if it
still does not work , I'll have to try with a different PSU to try to
narrow down the problem, but I was wondering if anyone has faced
similar issues.

Thanks for any info regarding this,
Shantantu Sen
 
I don't have a K8N, but recent mainboards I have used have included an LED
on the board that lights when power is applied, even with the system off.
Does the K8N have one?

I presume that you're familiar with ATX boards. If not, their power supplies
turn on by momentarily connecting the power switch pins on the mainboard.
(This can be done with probes or even a screwdriver, if the board isn't in a
system.)

I don't know what AMD's current heat sink compound (thermal paste, or
thermal grease) recommendations are. The ones you list are probably ancient
(from, say, 1999). I vaguely recall that AMD did not recommend Arctic Silver
on the original Athlons because AS was slightly conductive.

I just applied some Arctic Silver 5 to a 3500+ (socket 939) CPU. Unlike the
old Athlons, it has a metal heat spreader (like an Intel P4). Also, AS5 is
supposed to be nonconductive. If you're really concerned, use a dielectric
compound like Arctic Alumina or Ceramique (both are from Arctic Silver). I'm
not sure how much better any of these are over the silicone oil/zinc oxide
goop from Radio Shack, but at least the AS5 contains enough solids that I
maintain a slight hope that it won't soon ooze out from between the CPU and
heat sink.

Good luck.

Bob Knowlden

Address may be scrambled. Replace nkbob with bobkn.
 
The K8N Neo FSR does not have any LED on the board, but there is an
optional back plate that contains 4 LEDs along with 2 USB ports that
can be hooked on to a USB and a power connector. The LEDs are
supposedly for system diagnostics. But when I attached this and turned
on the power, none of these LEDs were on.

I am not very familiar with ATX power supply. Whatever I have read up
since yesterday suggests that I should not expect the PSU fan to spin
if I just hook up the powercord to a power outlet and switch the
system on. If that is the case, what are the minimum components
required to be hooked up to test the power supply - I hooked up the 2
connectors to the mobo and the board had a RAM stick and a graphics
card on the AGB slot, and the CPU heatsink fan was also connected.
Is'nt this enough to start the fans?

Can you elaborate a little more or point me to some info regarding
your following statement? Is this the 20 pin connector on the
mainboard that you are referring to? If so, how do I do this trick?
their power supplies
turn on by momentarily connecting the power switch pins on the mainboard.
(This can be done with probes or even a screwdriver, if the board isn't in a
system.)
Click to expand...

Thanks for your suggestions.

Shantanu Sen
 
Shantanu Sen said:
The K8N Neo FSR does not have any LED on the board, but there is an
optional back plate that contains 4 LEDs along with 2 USB ports that
can be hooked on to a USB and a power connector. The LEDs are
supposedly for system diagnostics. But when I attached this and turned
on the power, none of these LEDs were on.

I am not very familiar with ATX power supply. Whatever I have read up
since yesterday suggests that I should not expect the PSU fan to spin
if I just hook up the powercord to a power outlet and switch the
system on. If that is the case, what are the minimum components
required to be hooked up to test the power supply - I hooked up the 2
connectors to the mobo and the board had a RAM stick and a graphics
card on the AGB slot, and the CPU heatsink fan was also connected.
Is'nt this enough to start the fans?

Can you elaborate a little more or point me to some info regarding
your following statement? Is this the 20 pin connector on the
mainboard that you are referring to? If so, how do I do this trick?


Thanks for your suggestions.

Shantanu Sen
Click to expand...
The power button on your case connects to a small plug marked 'power'
which has 2 holes which connect to the 'power ' header pins on your
motherboard. You need to read the motherboard manual to locate this, other
wise nothing will happen when you push the power button. The motherboard
also has pins for the Reset button, Power LED and HD LED to connect to.
Mike.
 
Another poster already responded, but I'll give my version.

I refer to the panel connector, not the 20 pin ATX power connector. The
panel connector is for the front panel controls and indicators (power
switch, reset switch, power LED, IDE LED, speaker, perhaps more). (Just to
make things slightly confusing to discuss, the panel connector block may
also have 20 pins.) The power switch uses 2 pins. (See your manual, or
download the .pdf version from MSI. I assume that they have one on their web
site.)

To turn on the board, the two pins must be momentarily connected. (If you
connected them with alligator clips, it would be equivalent to holding down
the power button. I think that the machine would shut down again, after a
few seconds.)

I believe that you're right about what's needed to start up: CPU with heat
sink and fan, a stick of RAM, a graphics card, the 20 pin ATX power
connector, and the 4 pin ATX 12 V connector. If you have one of the newer
high-performance graphics cards, don't forget the Molex power connection to
the card itself. A keyboard would be nice, too, plus a monitor connected to
the graphics card so that you can read the BIOS settings. I have never
personally done a benchtop board check, but I'm pretty sure that your list
is the minimum.

The manual probably includes a step-by-step installation procedure.

HTH.

Bob Kn.

Shantanu Sen said:
The K8N Neo FSR does not have any LED on the board, but there is an
optional back plate that contains 4 LEDs along with 2 USB ports that
can be hooked on to a USB and a power connector. The LEDs are
supposedly for system diagnostics. But when I attached this and turned
on the power, none of these LEDs were on.

I am not very familiar with ATX power supply. Whatever I have read up
since yesterday suggests that I should not expect the PSU fan to spin
if I just hook up the powercord to a power outlet and switch the
system on. If that is the case, what are the minimum components
required to be hooked up to test the power supply - I hooked up the 2
connectors to the mobo and the board had a RAM stick and a graphics
card on the AGB slot, and the CPU heatsink fan was also connected.
Is'nt this enough to start the fans?

Can you elaborate a little more or point me to some info regarding
your following statement? Is this the 20 pin connector on the
mainboard that you are referring to? If so, how do I do this trick?
Click to expand...
(snip)
 
The K8N Neo FSR does not have any LED on the board, but there is an
optional back plate that contains 4 LEDs along with 2 USB ports that
can be hooked on to a USB and a power connector. The LEDs are
supposedly for system diagnostics. But when I attached this and turned
on the power, none of these LEDs were on.

I am not very familiar with ATX power supply. Whatever I have read up
since yesterday suggests that I should not expect the PSU fan to spin
if I just hook up the powercord to a power outlet and switch the
system on. If that is the case, what are the minimum components
required to be hooked up to test the power supply - I hooked up the 2
connectors to the mobo and the board had a RAM stick and a graphics
card on the AGB slot, and the CPU heatsink fan was also connected.
Is'nt this enough to start the fans?
Click to expand...

PC Power & Cooling has a test jig for testing power supplies.
 
Have you checked the state of the Bios clear jumper on the mobo
itself? I've built a few systems in my time and I seem to recall some
manufs ship the boards with the jumper shorted, gives the same
symptoms you describe.

Worth checking...

A
 
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