[SOLVED] Cannot identify why CPU or MOBO died - Complete mystery

[soutsos]

TLDR; Computer won't boot or enter into BIOS. The motherboard's error CPU LED is red constantly. Physical power button won't turn off the pc when long-pressed and the physical reset button won't reboot the PC.

Question: Is there a way to identify if the CPU or MOBO are faulty? I don;t have a spare motherboard or CPU that I can use, but below are all my troubleshooting attempts.

Build:

• Motherboard: Gigabyte Aorus Ultra x570
• CPU: Ryzen 7 3700X (No overclocking of any form and used the Wraith Prism cooler that came in the box)
• RAM: G-Skill 3200MHz 32GB (4 x 8GB). XMP profile turned on.
• GPU: Gigabyte RTX 2070 Super Windforce OC
• PSU: Seasonic PX-650 Platinum
• OS: Windows 10, latest updates

Context:
I have built my PC in 2020 and it has been working perfectly fine for the past 2 years (since April/May 2020). Yesterday, I turned it on at around 18:00, went to run some errands and came back at 22:00 to find a monitor saying there is no input detected and my PC running, but with the CPU LED light on the motherboard on. The physical power buttons were not working and the fans were continuously spinning (even the GPU's fans were on, and they normally don't spin if there is no load on the GPU). I had to turn off the power supply button for the computer to power off. The computer will not even boot into BIOS. Every component just has power and the fans/leds turn on.

Troubleshooting:
I will add my steps in the order in which I tried them.

1. I turned off the power and unplugged the power cable from the PSU for approx. 10 hours. When I tried powering on my PC then, nothing changed.
2. I changed slots for the RAM sticks, in case I had a problematic RAM stick. When nothing changed, I tried leaving only 1 RAM stick each time (on the correct slot, A1) and I tried all the RAM sticks this way. Still nothing.
3. I replaced the CMOS battery with a completely new one, I cleaned all the dust from the computer and tried powering on. Nothing.
4. I removed all parts, tried to clean everything with compressed air (including the CPU and the AM4 socket). I cleaned the old thermal paste very carefully. I closely inspected the pins of the CPU and they all appear to be in pristine condition and straight as arrows. I reassembled everything with love and care, but still, the CPU LED was turned on and the PC would not boot.
5. Lastly, I upgraded the BIOS using the Q-Flash Plus method (by pressing the Q-Flash button on the motherboard), but the result was the same. I then tried to upgrade the bios once again, but leaving only 1 stick of RAM plugged in, and this didn't help either. The computer was fully assembled when I upgraded the BIOS.

Assumptions:

• Since the BIOS does not boot, it is unlikely that the GPU is the problem. How do I know that it doesn't even boot into BIOS? Because the physical power buttons don't work. If it was the GPU, I just wouldn't have image on my monitor, but I would have heard the "beep" sound when it booted and the CPU LED would not be turned on.
• It is unlikely that the RAM is the culprit, because I tried every single stick and it is close to impossible for all 4 sticks to go bad at the same time.
• The CMOS battery was replaced with a new one. It's not this
• The CPU LED is turned on constantly. All the components seem to receive power, so it is unlikely for the PSU to be the problem. It also seems a bit unlikely for the motherboard to be the problem.

All my components are under warranty and I have already contacted the merchant and AMD to ask for RMA. However, I need the computer urgently for an examination I have next week, and I have been preparing for it for the past 6 months (OSCP). So, I will buy a new component and try to sell the RMA'ed one. However, is there a way any of you can tell for certain if the CPU simply died?????? Just like that?? Is it possible for such durable components to just stop functioning?

Thanks for your time.

UPDATE-1: Swapped the CPU for a brand new one, but nothing happened and the same problem persisted. I have been trying to contact Gigabyte for RMA, but no dice so far.

 

[Lutfij]

The CPU LED is turned on constantly.
it might not even be the board, it could be the CPU. Try taking your CPU onto a known working motherboard(with the right BIOS version).

 

[soutsos]

The CPU LED is turned on constantly.
it might not even be the board, it could be the CPU. Try taking your CPU onto a known working motherboard(with the right BIOS version).

Thank you for your reply. Unfortunately, I don't have a spare MOBO or any friend who owns an AM4 chipset mobo. If there is anyone who can tell me that it is most likely that the CPU is faulty, then I will buy a new CPU and send the faulty one for RMA. However, I've had it only for 2 years. Could a CPU fail in such short time?

 

[Phaaze88]

I don't think anyone could tell you exactly why. Only speculation awaits...

While this is not a form of overclocking, did you set a static cpu core voltage in bios? While it would produce lower core temperatures for some, the cpus didn't seem to like the additional current passing through and some would expire after a few months or so.
4 dimm memory kits is harder on the cpu's Internal Memory Controller than 2 dimm kits. On top of this, the motherboard may have been applying too much SOC voltage to keep it XMP stable. Combined, the 2 could lead to early death of the memory controller.

Is it possible for such durable components to just stop functioning?

Could a CPU fail in such short time?

Man made. Things can, and do happen unexpectedly.

 

[soutsos]

I don't think anyone could tell you exactly why. Only speculation awaits...

While this is not a form of overclocking, did you set a static cpu core voltage in bios? While it would produce lower core temperatures for some, the cpus didn't seem to like the additional current passing through and some would expire after a few months or so.
4 dimm memory kits is harder on the cpu's Internal Memory Controller than 2 dimm kits. On top of this, the motherboard may have been applying too much SOC voltage to keep it XMP stable. Combined, the 2 could lead to early death of the memory controller.


Man made. Things can, and do happen unexpectedly.

Hey Phaaze, I left all the values at their default settings. I only enabled virtualization and the XMP profile for RAM. I got higher-end components so that i didn't have any performance/voltage issues.

Anyway, seems I'll have to cough up $350 for a new processor. I hope it's not the mobo that died

 

[Phaaze88]

My only experience with dead mobo is from a Z390 Aorus Pro: all the LEDs flashed on and then off in a split second. No response.
Took everything out of the case, barebones setup - same behavior. Returned it for another, and it works just fine.

 

[soutsos]

My only experience with dead mobo is from a Z390 Aorus Pro: all the LEDs flashed on and then off in a split second. No response.
Took everything out of the case, barebones setup - same behavior. Returned it for another, and it works just fine.

I'm picking up a new CPU tomorrow and I'll update this thread

 

[soutsos]

TLDR; Computer won't boot or enter into BIOS. The motherboard's error CPU LED is red constantly. Physical power button won't turn off the pc when long-pressed and the physical reset button won't reboot the PC.

Question: Is there a way to identify if the CPU or MOBO are faulty? I don;t have a spare motherboard or CPU that I can use, but below are all my troubleshooting attempts.

Build:

• Motherboard: Gigabyte Aorus Ultra x570
• CPU: Ryzen 7 3700X (No overclocking of any form and used the Wraith Prism cooler that came in the box)
• RAM: G-Skill 3200MHz 32GB (4 x 8GB). XMP profile turned on.
• GPU: Gigabyte RTX 2070 Super Windforce OC
• PSU: Seasonic PX-650 Platinum
• OS: Windows 10, latest updates

Context:
I have built my PC in 2020 and it has been working perfectly fine for the past 2 years (since April/May 2020). Yesterday, I turned it on at around 18:00, went to run some errands and came back at 22:00 to find a monitor saying there is no input detected and my PC running, but with the CPU LED light on the motherboard on. The physical power buttons were not working and the fans were continuously spinning (even the GPU's fans were on, and they normally don't spin if there is no load on the GPU). I had to turn off the power supply button for the computer to power off. The computer will not even boot into BIOS. Every component just has power and the fans/leds turn on.

Troubleshooting:
I will add my steps in the order in which I tried them.

1. I turned off the power and unplugged the power cable from the PSU for approx. 10 hours. When I tried powering on my PC then, nothing changed.
2. I changed slots for the RAM sticks, in case I had a problematic RAM stick. When nothing changed, I tried leaving only 1 RAM stick each time (on the correct slot, A1) and I tried all the RAM sticks this way. Still nothing.
3. I replaced the CMOS battery with a completely new one, I cleaned all the dust from the computer and tried powering on. Nothing.
4. I removed all parts, tried to clean everything with compressed air (including the CPU and the AM4 socket). I cleaned the old thermal paste very carefully. I closely inspected the pins of the CPU and they all appear to be in pristine condition and straight as arrows. I reassembled everything with love and care, but still, the CPU LED was turned on and the PC would not boot.
5. Lastly, I upgraded the BIOS using the Q-Flash Plus method (by pressing the Q-Flash button on the motherboard), but the result was the same. I then tried to upgrade the bios once again, but leaving only 1 stick of RAM plugged in, and this didn't help either. The computer was fully assembled when I upgraded the BIOS.

Assumptions:

• Since the BIOS does not boot, it is unlikely that the GPU is the problem. How do I know that it doesn't even boot into BIOS? Because the physical power buttons don't work. If it was the GPU, I just wouldn't have image on my monitor, but I would have heard the "beep" sound when it booted and the CPU LED would not be turned on.
• It is unlikely that the RAM is the culprit, because I tried every single stick and it is close to impossible for all 4 sticks to go bad at the same time.
• The CMOS battery was replaced with a new one. It's not this
• The CPU LED is turned on constantly. All the components seem to receive power, so it is unlikely for the PSU to be the problem. It also seems a bit unlikely for the motherboard to be the problem.

All my components are under warranty and I have already contacted the merchant and AMD to ask for RMA. However, I need the computer urgently for an examination I have next week, and I have been preparing for it for the past 6 months (OSCP). So, I will buy a new component and try to sell the RMA'ed one. However, is there a way any of you can tell for certain if the CPU simply died?????? Just like that?? Is it possible for such durable components to just stop functioning?

Thanks for your time.

UPDATE-1: Swapped the CPU for a brand new one, but nothing happened and the same problem persisted. I have been trying to contact Gigabyte for RMA, but no dice so far.

FINAL UPDATE: The motherboard was to blame. I bought a new ASUS motherboard and everything is working smoothly, even better than before (zero fan-speed spikes, no noise from chipset fan, faster boot time, much lower temperatures). After one month of trying to contact Gigabyte's RMA, I managed to do it. Surprisingly, after the I got in touch with the correct RMA team, they were extremely polite and responsive. I hope everything ends well and they either fix the board, or give me a new one.