[SOLVED] Bringing an Old Motherboard Back to Life

[smmm]

Recently my friend gave me an old motherboard and CPU that he found in storage. The CPU is an AMD and has the model A6-3600 and is compatible with the motherboard with an FM1 socket. The motherboard is a Lenovo probably from an old system. I think I found the model of the motherboard on Newegg, the Lenovo CFM1D3M, they look exactly the same. (https://www.newegg.com/p/296-000J-00032) Mine is missing the CPU cooler and that black plastic bracket around the socket. The small black heatsink below the PCIe slot is also missing.

So for such an obscure and random thing like this, is there anyplace where I can find those replacement parts? If not and if it's even worth it at that point, would there be any DIY ways to fix it, like with a different cooler? The AMD Wraith Stealth AM4 cooler looks to have a similar bolt pattern to the holes on the motherboard. I know it's not a direct, miracle bolt on I was just wondering if there would be some way to adapt it or something similar.

Thanks!

Also as side questions I wanted to know what kind of RAM would be likely to be compatible, and if the motherboard is a standard form factor, what would that be?

 

[justin.m.beauvais]

So, giving this thing a new life shouldn't be hard as long as the board is still functional. You're going to want to find an FM1 cooler with a mounting plate, that might be hard. The less hard option is to find a broken FM1 motherboard and take the heatsink mount off of that. That heatsink for the south bridge you can just find a heatsink of the right size with an adhesive thermal pad. The FM1 platform uses DDR3, probably 1066 or 1333.

 

[smmm]

So, giving this thing a new life shouldn't be hard as long as the board is still functional. You're going to want to find an FM1 cooler with a mounting plate, that might be hard. The less hard option is to find a broken FM1 motherboard and take the heatsink mount off of that. That heatsink for the south bridge you can just find a heatsink of the right size with an adhesive thermal pad. The FM1 platform uses DDR3, probably 1066 or 1333.

Ok thanks. Do you have any idea about the small heatsink, which I assume is for the VRM? I've seen similar designs on other motherboards with the offset screws on the side.

 

[justin.m.beauvais]

The small heatsink is for the south bridge. It interfaces the drives and some of the expansion ports and slots with the main bus to the CPU. That is what I was talking about getting the heatsink with the adhesive thermal pad for. Just make sure it completely covers it and you should be fine. I don't know if you can find exactly the right kind of heatsink for that, but I suppose it is possible.

 

[smmm]

Also to test if it's dead or not do you think it would be safe/possible to test it with only the CPU and PSU and no CPU cooler, RAM, or any sort of power button? I don't know how you would even do that.

 

[justin.m.beauvais]

Well, it won't boot without the RAM... so you'd need a stick of it to try this. In order to do it you'd first need to place the board on a non conductive surface, like cardboard or a wooden table. Then hook up your 24 pin ATX power cable and the CPU supplemental 4 pin connection, as well as a keyboard and a monitor. Then you would find the pins for the front panel connectors and momentarily touch a screwdriver across the 2 pins where the power switch would plug into. You'll be looking for a display output indicating the POST or Power On Self Test. As soon as you get an indication, shut it down. You can just flip the switch on the back of the power supply or unplug it from the wall. You'll want to be quick though as you don't want the CPU heating up too much. You've probably got a minute or two in total after you power it on. But like I said, this step requires RAM.

 

[smmm]

Well, it won't boot without the RAM... so you'd need a stick of it to try this. In order to do it you'd first need to place the board on a non conductive surface, like cardboard or a wooden table. Then hook up your 24 pin ATX power cable and the CPU supplemental 4 pin connection, as well as a keyboard and a monitor. Then you would find the pins for the front panel connectors and momentarily touch a screwdriver across the 2 pins where the power switch would plug into. You'll be looking for a display output indicating the POST or Power On Self Test. As soon as you get an indication, shut it down. You can just flip the switch on the back of the power supply or unplug it from the wall. You'll want to be quick though as you don't want the CPU heating up too much. You've probably got a minute or two in total after you power it on. But like I said, this step requires RAM.

Ok cool thanks. Also thank you for clarifying about the south bridge.

 

[smmm]

I found a backplate on Newegg and one on Amazon that is apparently compatible with FM1. Is this the type of back plate for a cooler that uses the AMD style clip system? And if so could you recommend some coolers or the cooler type that goes with it?

Thanks.