New build + impatience = dead cpu?

[Billage]

Hi there, quick question. Decided (stupidly) to test a new mobo (biostar n6853+) without putting a cooler on my CPU (AMD phenom II 555).

Upon powering up the mobo, there was not even a beep and the monitor did not flicker or show any sign of receiving data (yes, it was definitely plugged in )


I'm assuming the CPU is dead, but I'd like to be sure that it isn't the mobo. I have another motherboard that is compatible, if the CPU is dead, will it kill the mobo?

What are the chances that I fried the CPU?


Thanks a bunch for any responses, I searched everywhere for answers to these exact questions and couldn't get anything precise enough for my situation. (I know CPU is probably dead, but need to be sure).

 

[madchemist83]

Im pretty sure it wont start if you don't have cooler hooked up

 

[jeremyp1979]

You turning on your new system without a heatsink and fan has absolutely nothing to do with their being no post. The heatsink and fan keep the cpu cool. It has to be running for a bit to get warm(30-45 seconds would be a guess without a heatsink/fan at all, though ive never actually tried that). So don't worry, you didn't fry the processor by starting it without a heatsink/fan on it. While this is possible to do, it is much more likely the cpu would shut the system down for being too hot before it gets to the point where it will damage itself.

One thing, before taking anything apart, make sure if your PSU has a selector switch for voltage, that it is set right.

1 If you have a spare power supply, or another system you can rob one of for a test, toss another PSU in the system and see what it does. If this works, RMA the PSU.

2 Since you dont have a fan/heatsink on your cpu go ahead and pull it out, and make sure there are no bent pins. If there are bent pins, that is your problem. I wouldn'y try to straighten them yourself, take it to a computer shop(they may or may not want to straighten them), or buy a new processor. It is most likely not going to be returnable if it has bent pins.

3 Being a new build, go through and make sure everything you've done is done right(make sure ram is seated correctly, all plugs are in their correct spots, video card is seated correctly). A really good way to do this is to take it apart and put everything back on the board. In your case. wait until you have a heatsink and fan on the processor, it is gonna get hot very quickly without one, though not as soon as you turn it on. I worked for dell for about 2 years, and my job was to make sure the computer would post before going to the install phase. 95% or better there was no video on a new system, it was because either an addon card(video card, etc) or a stick of ram wasn't properly seated.

4 If this doesnt work, start trying to isolate the problem. For example, take out one stick of ram at a time, then try to start, if nothing changes, put it back in. Do this with as much as you can( the system will even post with drives/video card removed, and you can tell if you have a case fan hooked up)

5 If there is still nothing changed after doing all of this, you've narrowed it down to the Mobo or processor. The quick easy way would be to RMA both of them together, unless you have another processor you can try on the board.

 

[Billage]

Jeremy thank you for the thorough answer! I hope you're still on once I send this message!

I used the PSU on my other PC (which requires much more wattage) and it worked like a charm. I have read that ram isn't required for a post. This thing isn't even giving me a single beep. I just want to get the BIOS up that's why I've forgone the RAM for now.

The next step was going to be to throw the CPU into my functional PC's MOBO but I don't want to fry it (in the case that the CPU is, in fact, the problem). I cannot use my functional processor (X4 1050T) because the MOBO isn't rated for the wattage (95W mobo, 140W CPU).

Basically, I need to know if putting the 'broken' CPU into a working MOBO can destroy it.


Thank you so much!

 

[Billage]

Best answer selected by Billage.

 

[jeremyp1979]

If the cpu is in fact faulty, it shouldn't let the system do anything. There is virtually no chance of it destroying your working motherboard. Everything that your motherboard does is routed through the processor, so if it's bad, the motherboard shouldn't do anything.

 

[kinggraves]

You turning on your new system without a heatsink and fan has absolutely nothing to do with their being no post. The heatsink and fan keep the cpu cool. It has to be running for a bit to get warm(30-45 seconds would be a guess without a heatsink/fan at all, though ive never actually tried that). So don't worry, you didn't fry the processor by starting it without a heatsink/fan on it. While this is possible to do, it is much more likely the cpu would shut the system down for being too hot before it gets to the point where it will damage itself.

This is pretty terrible advice. That massive block of metal called the heatsink is needed to spread the heat out to something that can be cooled. Without any heatsink at all, it only takes a few seconds for the CPU to heat up because there's nowhere for the heat to move to. A CPU can in fact overheat before the system can shut down.

Never,ever, under any circumstances, have a system running without a heatsink at least on it. The system will not beep without a heatsink, because it does not DETECT the heatsink. It detects the fan plugged in, heatsinks have no direct connection to any monitoring.

 

[jeremyp1979]

I stand corrected, King is right, a motherboard will not start without a fan plugged into the cpu fan header. My apologies for putting you through the paces for nothing...