Overheating nightmare

mcm151201

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5
I am having some problems with a system that I built, and would greatly appreciate any help from anyone who can give advice. First off, here are the specs for the system in question:

Mobo: ASUS P5VD1-X Socket T (LGA 775) VIA PT880 Ultra ATX Intel
Processor: Intel Pentium 4 531 Prescott 800MHz FSB LGA 775 EM64T
Video Card: SAPPHIRE 100106SR-RD Radeon X850XT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16
System Memory: 4x 512 MB DDR 400

Unfortunately, I did not have the sense to use enough fans to cool off the system, so after about two weeks of gaming I heard a horrible noise (one which I never wish to hear again), followed by a flash of light from the power supply. I had been playing a very intense game at the time (Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion at the highest possible graphics settings for those who care).

The first thing I did was replace the power supply. Out of fear of not having enough power to feed all of the peripherals as well as the new fans I bought, I bought a 580 W power supply. Was this a mistake? Is it possible to have too much power? All in all I have the following in the system drawing power:
-4 x 80mm fans
-1 PCI slot fan
-Video card
-2 x HDD
-DVD-RW drive
-Mobo

Even after replacing the power supply, the system is not starting. First I thought it was the processor or the video card, so I tried using a different processor (of the same socket) in its place, and it was still behaving the same way (I am reasonably sure that this processor worked). I also tried switching out the video card with an AGP card that I knew worked, but it was still doing the same thing.

By the 'same thing' I mean you hit the power button, all the fans go on (including cpu fan), but absolutely nothing else happens. No beeps from bios (unfortunately I cannot remember if it even beeped before it stopped working) or anything like that. I cannot tell if the hdd is getting any activity, as I cannot feel any movement or hear anything inside of them. The light on the DVD drive also blinks.

I thought that maybe it was the mobo now that was bad, so I replaced it with a refurbished one of the same model- it fixed nothing. I am truly at a loss. I should also note that even when there is no system memory plugged into the mobo and/or the processor is removed, the system does not beep like it should (you know- that repeated 'beep beep beep' that happens when you start a system with no memory).

I really hope there is someone out there who can help me, thank you advance.

-mcm
 
Check your memory, that could be a possible copret. Also, make sure you have the CPU power connections tight (stupid question, I know, but I have a story regarding this....)
 
venividivici said:
You should've water cooled.

I considered it, but I knew very little about it and after looking around newegg at the prices it looked like I would have to spend upwards of $150 to get water cooling, and that just seemed pretty expensive for me.

So you think the memory could have been damaged when it overheated? Well I'll give that a shot then, thanks. Anyone else who has any ideas, please share them.
 
Are you sure all of the connections from the power supply are plugged in? One time I forgot to plug in the extra 4-pin connector and this happened.
 
Jamxx said:
Are you sure all of the connections from the power supply are plugged in? One time I forgot to plug in the extra 4-pin connector and this happened.

Yes, I'm positive. This is really a drag :( I'll make sure all of the connections are perfect, flash the bios, and if it's still not working I'll try new RAM. If it's still not working after that, I'll try replacing the processor.
 
Hmmm well running 4 sticks of ram was a bad idea from the start. It kinda stresses out the processor but its an intel and it handles more ram sticks a little better than amd's. I think running elders scroll oblivion at highest settings was a bad idea. Especially on an agp card. you should probaly check your hard drive.
 
Well first off, the motherboard won't produce any beeps to signify its working correctly if the processor/RAM isn't plugged in as well, since this is all needed for a working system, and thats what the BIOS is checking at boot up.

I know this may not seem a very good question, but have you by any chance used the same kettle lead to power this new PSU as you did the old one?
It might be worth switching to another with the same Amp output as the power supply suggests.

I'm lost at what else it could be as you replaced everything else, though if the memory was bad, I don't tihnk it'd boot up either, since it'd be like nothing was in it.

Though the video card could also be a culprit, since this won't display anything on screen if anythings up, and may stop the boot process as well, so try taking this out and powering up (don't think it'd have the same effect of it not working)

Feircepc: What you said wasn't right. AMD could handle 4 sticks just as well as a Pentium system...
And also, running Oblivion at highest settings on an AGP card... why not?
It depends all on the AGP card at hand.
 
Thanks for your reply Kage, by kettle lead you mean the three-pronged wire from 120vac in the wall to the power source right? I always thought they were all the same...

And just to clear up the issue about the video card, as I said in my original post, I was using a higher-end PCIE card while playing the game. I only switched to an AGP after the overheating so I could see if the video card was working or not. I think I'm going to go ahead and buy some new memory, two 1GB sticks.

Also about liquid cooling, is there any place I can get it online for a little cheaper ? Say, less than $60 or $70? Thanks.
 
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