Did my CPU fail? AMD FX-8350 :(

[Aritria]

I'm going to preface this by saying I'm a woman who has never built a computer from scratch and I just want to play some games, check my facebook and be a dork online. Approximately 5 weeks ago, I assembled a computer (it's going on 6 now).

I will also add that I have painstakingly done so much to troubleshoot. I follwed the guide here:http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261145-31-perform-steps-posting-post-boot-video-problems

Here are the original specs:
AMD FX-8350 Black Edition Vishera 8-Core 4.0GHz (4.2GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 125W FD8350FRHKBOX Desktop Processor
Gigabyte AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gbps USB 3.0 ATX DDR3 1800 AMD Motherboard GA-970A-UD3P
ASUS Radeon R7 370 STRIX-R7370-DC2OC-4GD5-GAMING 4GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready Video Card
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - CPU Cooler with 120 mm PWM Fan
CORSAIR Vengeance LP 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Profile Desktop Memory Model
Mushkin Enhanced ECO2 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MKNSSDEC120GB
Seagate Barracuda 3TB Hard Drive Internal
BitFenix Computer Case BFC-NEO-100-WWWKP-RP White and Purple

I put everything in the case. Pressed the power button and yay! I'm gaming! NOT over clocked and case totally open.

Two and a half weeks later I came home, turned on the computer, used it for 10 minutes (checking email, facebook and other nonsense) and the processes froze. It was the first time this happened that I remembered so I just hit reset on the case. The computer didn't reset. So I hit the power and that tured it off. When I turned it back on there was no video signal to monitor. Here is where the fun starts.

I went through all of the steps to try to troubleshoot. Since I have no speaker on the mobo or in the case, I have no motherboard beep codes to use. I don't own (and until now didn't know I could own) any diagnostic tools to troubleshoot.
So everything being new, I start returning and replacing components. I exchanged the motherboard for a new one. No change.

I bought a new PSU:
EVGA SuperNOVA 850 B2 80+ BRONZE, 850W Semi Modular NVIDIA SLI and Crossfire Ready 5 Year Warranty Power Supply 110-B2-0850-V1

I got a new video card:
Sapphire Radeon NITRO R9 380 4GB GDDR5 DL-DVI-I / DL-DVI-D / HDMI / DP Dual-X OC (UEFI) PCI-E Graphics Card 11242-07-20G

I got more RAM so I can try another stick from something that wasn't in the computer when it crashed:
Crucial Ballistix Tactical Tracer 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory (with Orange/Blue Light) Model BLT2KIT4G3D1608DT2TXOB

I got yet another motherboard:
MSI MSI Gaming 970 Gaming AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

I got new SATA cables, new thermal paste and a new SSD.

All the same. Powers up, everything spinning, video card fans stop and no video. So I brought it into work and 3 dudes check it out for me. One says I need stand offs. Well, I did install the ones that came with the case AND there are built in stand offs in the case.

The other two look at it for three hours. They test the motherboard, video card, psu...everything is good. They are using Intel so of course the one thing they can't test is the CPU.

I hear AMDs RMA process is a nightmare. So I'm wondering...do I just buy a new processor and see if this is the problem or do I throw the box out the window?
Could something like a power surge in my building have caused my CPU to fry if I wasn't on a power surge protector (yeah I know but the power strip LOOKS like a surge protector so I had no idea that it wasn't until the crash).
I'll admit it's nearly impossible to see if any pins are bent in that CPU and this is my first (and last) attempt at something like this but I am pretty sure I did everything right (all 8 times).

Thanks for reading <3

 

[Aritria]

Yes!

 

[Peanut2013uk]

this thread made me chuckle a few times +! for entertainment 😀

 

[ErickRod]

this thread made me chuckle a few times +! for entertainment 😀

Why? 😀

 

[Peanut2013uk]

this thread made me chuckle a few times +! for entertainment 😀

Why? 😀

the sheer bad luck of the op, and I was waiting for someone to say "have you changed the monitor?"

also the MB having no "beeps" made me do a hearty chuckle, also the guys looking at it for 3 hours was lolz

 

[ErickRod]

this thread made me chuckle a few times +! for entertainment 😀

Why? 😀

the sheer bad luck of the op, and I was waiting for someone to say "have you changed the monitor?"

also the MB having no "beeps" made me do a hearty chuckle, also the guys looking at it for 3 hours was lolz

Well since it's so funny, you must know the real reason for all of this right?

 

[Peanut2013uk]

this thread made me chuckle a few times +! for entertainment 😀

Why? 😀

the sheer bad luck of the op, and I was waiting for someone to say "have you changed the monitor?"

also the MB having no "beeps" made me do a hearty chuckle, also the guys looking at it for 3 hours was lolz

Well since it's so funny, you must know the real reason for all of this right?

obviously finding out how many beeps are present would help, but it has already been answered in relation to the cmos battery removal.. also I don't get why the mb didn't sound out the beeps I don't know any mb that comes without the possibility to sound beeps. should of had 10 short beeps obviously.

 

[ErickRod]

this thread made me chuckle a few times +! for entertainment 😀

Why? 😀

the sheer bad luck of the op, and I was waiting for someone to say "have you changed the monitor?"

also the MB having no "beeps" made me do a hearty chuckle, also the guys looking at it for 3 hours was lolz

Well since it's so funny, you must know the real reason for all of this right?

obviously finding out how many beeps are present would help, but it has already been answered in relation to the cmos battery removal.. also I don't get why the mb didn't sound out the beeps I don't know any mb that comes without the possibility to sound beeps. should of had 10 short beeps obviously.

Believe me it doesn't beep at all, that's why I have no idea what's the real problem with my PC

 

[LeKeiser]

I'm sure it's because it's a FX processor.
Wondering how come no one thought of that before... mmmh...

 

[ErickRod]

I'm sure it's because it's a FX processor.
Wondering how come no one thought of that before... mmmh...

Could you elaborate?

 

[LeKeiser]

I'm sure it's because it's a FX processor.
Wondering how come no one thought of that before... mmmh...

Could you elaborate?

do I really need to? You just have to read the posts on this forum to realise that buying/using a FX is stupid and indecent
wondering why there are still some out there... really wondering how come AMD is still a business.

 

[synphul]

That's not accurate LeKeiser. Yes intel do have better performing cpu's at higher price points but it's not automatically a bad cpu because it's amd. Many thousands of people with fx cpu builds prove otherwise. There can always be issues with any parts.

From my experience a number of problems that seem to arise comes from a budget build. People looking to spend as little on a pc as possible so they tend to go with lower cost parts. Pairing a cpu with a low end motherboard that doesn't have the vrm phases to handle it or using a really inexpensive cooler. In terms of price the fx 8350 is generally more affordable. That doesn't mean it's not an 8 core cpu with a 125w tdp, it needs proper power starting at the power supply, a solid motherboard with vrm that can handle it and a cooler capable of handling it.

I would assume no one builds a pc with low quality parts on purpose. Many people don't know, which is what the forums are for. It's easy enough to think ok, the fx 8350 is an am3+ cpu so just pair it with an am3+ motherboard. They don't realize the importance of heatsinks on the vrm or of having something better than 3+1 or 4+1 power phases for an 8 core cpu. That not all 500w power supplies are equal and there may be some 450-500w power supplies of higher quality better able to handle the power requirements than a low quality inexpensive 600w psu.

 

[LeKeiser]

No disrespect Synphul, but your thoughts don't reflect what 99% on this forum are thinking about AMD. No matter the use you want to have with your computer, the only recommandation, whatever the question might be, is to change everything and buy an Intel because they're so much better for everything, including stuffs you don't even know. An i3 beats the crap of a 8370 under any situation, ANY. I've often asked "Benching and playing one game are the only thing you do with your computer?" Never got a reply to that question, so I guess yes, benching and playing one game are the only things people do with their computer. And I wrote ONE game, because that's all that's gonna run on the computer at that moment. Nothing more.
So yeah, an i3 beats the crap of a 8370 then, let's call it a day.
Yes, a FX 83XX is power hungry, it needs a good mobo and a good PSU. But like you said, why buying something cheap if you intend to keep it a few years?
People don't realize that the FX isn't a bad CPU at all if you think it's 4 years old, and it's still a good match to actual Intel CPUs. It would have been way better if devs had tried to use its architecture. But they went for Intel's, can't blame them.
So now the main talk is how good the IPC of Intel is, compared to the IPC of AMDs, when it could/should have been different. And so FXs are crap, because people bench and play one game.
Oh well. Soon, there'll be Intel CPUs at high price because they will be the only reference to play games, and for the rest, there will be... Intel? Ah yes, Intel

 

[Peanut2013uk]

No disrespect Synphul, but your thoughts don't reflect what 99% on this forum are thinking about AMD. No matter the use you want to have with your computer, the only recommandation, whatever the question might be, is to change everything and buy an Intel because they're so much better for everything, including stuffs you don't even know. An i3 beats the crap of a 8370 under any situation, ANY. I've often asked "Benching and playing one game are the only thing you do with your computer?" Never got a reply to that question, so I guess yes, benching and playing one game are the only things people do with their computer. And I wrote ONE game, because that's all that's gonna run on the computer at that moment. Nothing more.
So yeah, an i3 beats the crap of a 8370 then, let's call it a day.
Yes, a FX 83XX is power hungry, it needs a good mobo and a good PSU. But like you said, why buying something cheap if you intend to keep it a few years?
People don't realize that the FX isn't a bad CPU at all if you think it's 4 years old, and it's still a good match to actual Intel CPUs. It would have been way better if devs had tried to use its architecture. But they went for Intel's, can't blame them.
So now the main talk is how good the IPC of Intel is, compared to the IPC of AMDs, when it could/should have been different. And so FXs are crap, because people bench and play one game.
Oh well. Soon, there'll be Intel CPUs at high price because they will be the only reference to play games, and for the rest, there will be... Intel? Ah yes, Intel

while some points are valid for having an intel over AMD (I will never buy an AMD processor personally) you need to think that not everyone has a budget to suit paying almost 50% for a decent cpu, by the time you get a decent psu (EVGA 650W 80 PLUS GOLD) decent processor £200 you have already increased the price of a system build by £100.

 

[ErickRod]

No disrespect Synphul, but your thoughts don't reflect what 99% on this forum are thinking about AMD. No matter the use you want to have with your computer, the only recommandation, whatever the question might be, is to change everything and buy an Intel because they're so much better for everything, including stuffs you don't even know. An i3 beats the crap of a 8370 under any situation, ANY. I've often asked "Benching and playing one game are the only thing you do with your computer?" Never got a reply to that question, so I guess yes, benching and playing one game are the only things people do with their computer. And I wrote ONE game, because that's all that's gonna run on the computer at that moment. Nothing more.
So yeah, an i3 beats the crap of a 8370 then, let's call it a day.
Yes, a FX 83XX is power hungry, it needs a good mobo and a good PSU. But like you said, why buying something cheap if you intend to keep it a few years?
People don't realize that the FX isn't a bad CPU at all if you think it's 4 years old, and it's still a good match to actual Intel CPUs. It would have been way better if devs had tried to use its architecture. But they went for Intel's, can't blame them.
So now the main talk is how good the IPC of Intel is, compared to the IPC of AMDs, when it could/should have been different. And so FXs are crap, because people bench and play one game.
Oh well. Soon, there'll be Intel CPUs at high price because they will be the only reference to play games, and for the rest, there will be... Intel? Ah yes, Intel

Maybe you won't say that with the ZEN architecture (;

 

[ErickRod]

That's not accurate LeKeiser. Yes intel do have better performing cpu's at higher price points but it's not automatically a bad cpu because it's amd. Many thousands of people with fx cpu builds prove otherwise. There can always be issues with any parts.

From my experience a number of problems that seem to arise comes from a budget build. People looking to spend as little on a pc as possible so they tend to go with lower cost parts. Pairing a cpu with a low end motherboard that doesn't have the vrm phases to handle it or using a really inexpensive cooler. In terms of price the fx 8350 is generally more affordable. That doesn't mean it's not an 8 core cpu with a 125w tdp, it needs proper power starting at the power supply, a solid motherboard with vrm that can handle it and a cooler capable of handling it.

I would assume no one builds a pc with low quality parts on purpose. Many people don't know, which is what the forums are for. It's easy enough to think ok, the fx 8350 is an am3+ cpu so just pair it with an am3+ motherboard. They don't realize the importance of heatsinks on the vrm or of having something better than 3+1 or 4+1 power phases for an 8 core cpu. That not all 500w power supplies are equal and there may be some 450-500w power supplies of higher quality better able to handle the power requirements than a low quality inexpensive 600w psu.

WOW! Great response, I have a question though, is an EVGA 80PLUS 500W PSU good?

 

[ErickRod]

So the solution here is that IF you have an AMD FX-83xx CPU and a MSI 970A- G46 Motherboard and you are getting NO POST with only 1 CPU PHASE LIGHT ON, it's because that MSI Motherboard does NOT really support THAT CPU.

PROOF: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/330572-30-970a-warning

This motherboard does not have the vrm phases to handle an FX-83xx or above

My Solution was to RMA both the CPU and the MOTHERBOARD and upon receiving both items back, sell that motherboard and buy an ASUS 970 Motherboard (which definitely DOES support an FX-83xx CPU)

ASUS MOTHERBOARD: https://www.amazon.com/970-PRO-GAMING-AURA-Motherboards/dp/B01A33PHLA

Thank you everyone!