Has anyone else seen quick death on 4170?

[tractorntrainguy]

A few weeks ago I built a new PC with an AMD FX 4170 and it ran great for six days, then died.

First note, I'm not a noob, I've been building PCs since you could build them, early 1980s.

It was a "cheap" build, stock heat sink, 1333 RAM, integrated video, but ALL new components. It was for a church admin, really light load.

It was not overclocked, she didn't need it.

No AMD bashers please, I just need to know if others have seen this.

 

[alvine]

can you give us complete specs

 

[electricfirebolt]

What PSU is the setup using?

 

[WR2]

So the PC died bu the FX-4170 is OK?

 

[electricfirebolt]

Also, what do you mean by "Died". Are you getting anything?, Is it booting? or just completley "Dead"

 

[joeythellama]

If you have been building PC's since the 80's I assume that you have tested each component, and given your own rig listing as an 4100, you have swapped out the CPU and ascertained that it has indeed failed?

If so then this is highly unusual, I build custom PC's for schools from Sempron's to i7's and have never had a chip fail in 100's of builds (and due to often strict cost constrains most have been AMD based), but I am sure it is possible for a chip to fail.

I have just finished 30 A6-3500 based PC's for a school PC gaming club, and all have been torture tested for 48 hours and none have failed.

Suggest you get a swap out part ASAP and not worry, I really don't think there are any concerns over the quality of AMD's parts.

 

[WR2]

Given the 'cheap' nature of the build there's always the chance a cheap PSU let go and took some of the more expensive parts along with it.

 

[rglaredo]

arent those FX chips running hot ?? I hope he was using something to keep it cool not just air !!

 

[13thmonkey]

arent those FX chips running hot ?? I hope he was using something to keep it cool not just air !!

Stock cooling is find for stock speeds. not everyone needs water

 

[tractorntrainguy]

The CPU died. I figured that out once I got another AM3+ motherboard. Since this was my first AM3+ I didn't have another system to check the components on. I ordered another Motherboard, a Biostar running the 990 chipset, 8GB 1600 RAM, and a 4100 for me.

Here's everything but the case, which has two fans, one in the side panel blowing air on the MB the other in the rear for exhaust:

1 x CPU AMD|4-CORE FX-4170 4.2G R
1 x MB ASROCK|880GM-LE FX 880G AM3+ R
1 x MEM 2Gx2|CRUCIAL CT2KIT25664BD160B (DDR3 1600)
1 x DVD BURN LG | GH22NS90B OEM - OEM
1 x HD 500G|WD SATAIII WD5000AAKX %
1 x PSU COOLMASTER|RS-460-PSAR-J3 RT (460W PS)

To clarify a few points:

died = No power up of the motherboard at all, no fan, no nothing.

Yes, I put the 4170 in my new rig and it was dead.

Stock cooler is good for mild overclock, but I didn't overclock anything.

The CPU arrives at Newegg today I expect a replacement next week

The rig listed in my signature is the one I'm using right now. I used better "stuff" on mine because it was my money. The church budget is minimal, I talked a group into donating the cash to buy the parts.

I have Intel and AMD in my home, everything from dual Opteron servers to my wife's slow laptop a 1.8Ghz. Intel dual core. My kids and I all run quads because we do more "serious" work.

Oh, and on the "not just air" issue, my FX4100 runs at 4.1Ghz. all day, mostly at room temperature, never more than 8C above room temperature. The Coolermaster Hyper 212+ is a GREAT cooler for $30.

 

[tractorntrainguy]

For $363.61 the church got a nice fast PC. It replaced one that I donated, a dual core 2.2Ghz. Opteron with 2GB ECC RAM.

 

[amuffin]

1 x PSU COOLMASTER|RS-460-PSAR-J3 RT (460W PS)

There is your problem.

 

[tractorntrainguy]

460 Watt is too small for motherboard, hard disk, DVD?

No video card.

 

[noob2222]

460 Watt is too small for motherboard, hard disk, DVD?

No video card.

no, it just looks like a weak component, doesn't mean it won't work with an equally weak system (cheap rather, $363 is a good price for a cheap build)

Thing is everything has a chance of failure, even had a friend have his I3 2100 poof in a couple of weeks. I let him borrow my Llano htpc while he was RMAing components.

 

[Anonymous_26]

460 Watt is too small for motherboard, hard disk, DVD?

No video card.

460 Watts should be fine it's a cheap build so it's not like you're running a high-end motherboard with two high-end video cards and alot of other demanding hardware. It's more that the PSU is junky and if it took a dump it probably took the motherboard and maybe the CPU with it.

 

[amuffin]

Crap psu, that is why the system blew up. I am sure if you get another mobo and another psu it will all work.

 

[Anonymous_26]

I would replace the PSU first and see if anything happens. If not then I would replace the motherboard next and again see if that fixes the problem. If it still won't start up then I would replace the CPU and that should fix the problem.

 

[noob2222]

you should read

Yes, I put the 4170 in my new rig and it was dead.

 

[tractorntrainguy]

Like Noob said, I DID test the CPU in a known good rig.

Since I didn't have my new rig when it failed I RMA'ed the motherboard first. I haven't had a CPU failure in over 10 years, well unless I did something STUPID. (Like bumping into the power switch before I had the heatsink on an old Duron.)

Eventually I will have a new motherboard and CPU, once Newegg sends them. The motherboard gets here tomorrow.

The other thing I'm going to do is scrape the AMD crap off the heatsink and put some Artic cooler MX-2 on it. That stuff is great. I still can't get over how cool my rig runs on just air. My peak today was 4C over room temperature when I ran a test on my replacement graphics card. I went from a 4850 to a 4870, it got me to a 7.5 on the graphics WEI from 7.3.

I don't play games but I still want something decent. My son will get my old 4850 to go along with his current 4850 in crossfire mode. Yes, he plays games. 4850s are a great value right now $40 or less is what I paid on ebay.

 

[einterlan]

Can you try the 4170 Warranty?

 

[tractorntrainguy]

To get this back on topic:

Is there a higher than normal failure rate for the 4170?

Like I said earlier, I haven't had a CPU fail in over ten years.

 

[amuffin]

Should be the same, all I can think of is it runs a bit hotter/faster.

 

[tractorntrainguy]

Well the replacement parts finally came from Newegg and I reassembled the system. I scraped the AMD compound off and used the Arctic Cooler MX-2 compound. I'm letting it run on the bench for a couple days before I put it back into service. My 4100 has been running flawlessly at 4.1 Ghz.

 

[tractorntrainguy]

So, it's been running for a couple days, basically at idle. My guess is that the AMD CPU cooler sucks. Idle temp is 30C, I ran Prime95 until temp hit 64C and I stopped it to avoid cooking the CPU.

I'm running the latest BIOS, I used Arctic Cooler MX-2 compound, I have a fan blowing are onto the motherboard and another sucking it out of the case. I tried running the system with a video card instead of the on-board unit. I even tried UNDERCLOCKING it!

Nothing helps with the standard cooler. My FX 4100 overclocked to 4.1Ghz. never approaches these temps. I guess I'm going to have to buy a better cooler for this build.

 

[Anonymous_26]

Even if the stock cooler isn't great it shouldn't overheat. AMD and Intel make thier fan/heatsinks to work effectively with their CPU at their given TDP. Did you check to see if the fan/heatsink is seated right? Also how much thermal paste did you apply? To much thermal paste can cause overheating too but to me 64* using Prime 95 doesn't seem that bad.