Hey everyone
Last week Friday I had the misfortune of having my house and by extension - my PC - being hit by a random bolt of lightning.
After thoroughly examing my fried system, I reached the conclusion that I had lost either the motherboard or the CPU. Perhaps both were affected... Sadly, I don't have any spare DDR3 RAM available, so I can't check whether or not the memory was hit as well. At the end of this thread I'll describe the exact problem that I'm currently facing with my "dead" PC.
Regardless of the exact cause for the demise of my rig, I'm now in need of a new motherboard and CPU - perhaps even some RAM. I've always wanted to switch from AMD to Intel, and now I have the opportunity - though I wish the circumstances were different.
I am planning to purchase the i5 2500K 3.3Ghz but I'm still uncertain as to which motherboard is the best compliment for it.
My primary concern is to find a motherboard that has two/three PCI-E 2.0 slots so that I can eventually run my GTX 560 Ti in conjunction with a dedicated PhysX card (9800GT). My current PSU is 620Watt - so I know for that dream to happen I'll need a stronger PSU, I'd guess around 1000W?
Anyway, given that I currently possess a 620W PSU - I'm concerned that this "limitation" may have a direct impact on my motherboard/CPU choice?
I have only briefly searched the web for potential motherboard candidates and I have compiled a list that fits my price range - approximately $100 - $200. However, the above price-range isn't a true reflection of the price that I'll be paying in South Africa, as consumers are totally ripped off and pay, at least, an extra $70-$100 for the same products.
Here's what I've currently looked at:
ASUS P8P67-M Pro
ASUS Maximus IV Gene-Z (V. expensive in SA ~ $312, see what I mean
)
MSI P67A-GD65-B3
MSI P67A-GD53-B3
Gigabyte Z68AP-D3
I would greatly appreciate it if people could comment/praise/criticise the brief list that I have posted below and perhaps even suggest a name or two?
--------
As promised earlier, I will just briefly detail the aftermath scenario following the lightning strike.
1. I cautiously press the on-switch, miraculously the PC actually starts, makes all the right beeping sounds - so the PSU is intact as all fans start spinning normally.
2. My monitor doesn't show the motherboard logo screen and eventually I get the message "Check Display Adapter"
3. Okay, maybe the GPU got fried? I hold down the power-switch...but instead of turning off, my PC merely reboots (as if I had pressed Reset).
4. Several more failed hard-off attempts and I switch off the PC at the PSU.
5. After removing/replacing my GTX 560 Ti, I repeat the start-up process - I even switched monitors just in case.
6. The same problem as in Step 2 occurs.
7. Now I check the HDDs, I have Windows 7 on another HDD and so I exchange it (physically swap it out, not in BIOS) for my main HDD which runs XP
8. Nothing changes.
And that's the story, as I said earlier I have not / cannot check whether the RAM is blown - anyone think that this might be the problem?
Any thoughts on which component(s) got fried?
Last week Friday I had the misfortune of having my house and by extension - my PC - being hit by a random bolt of lightning.
After thoroughly examing my fried system, I reached the conclusion that I had lost either the motherboard or the CPU. Perhaps both were affected... Sadly, I don't have any spare DDR3 RAM available, so I can't check whether or not the memory was hit as well. At the end of this thread I'll describe the exact problem that I'm currently facing with my "dead" PC.
Regardless of the exact cause for the demise of my rig, I'm now in need of a new motherboard and CPU - perhaps even some RAM. I've always wanted to switch from AMD to Intel, and now I have the opportunity - though I wish the circumstances were different.
I am planning to purchase the i5 2500K 3.3Ghz but I'm still uncertain as to which motherboard is the best compliment for it.
My primary concern is to find a motherboard that has two/three PCI-E 2.0 slots so that I can eventually run my GTX 560 Ti in conjunction with a dedicated PhysX card (9800GT). My current PSU is 620Watt - so I know for that dream to happen I'll need a stronger PSU, I'd guess around 1000W?
Anyway, given that I currently possess a 620W PSU - I'm concerned that this "limitation" may have a direct impact on my motherboard/CPU choice?
I have only briefly searched the web for potential motherboard candidates and I have compiled a list that fits my price range - approximately $100 - $200. However, the above price-range isn't a true reflection of the price that I'll be paying in South Africa, as consumers are totally ripped off and pay, at least, an extra $70-$100 for the same products.
Here's what I've currently looked at:
ASUS P8P67-M Pro
ASUS Maximus IV Gene-Z (V. expensive in SA ~ $312, see what I mean
)MSI P67A-GD65-B3
MSI P67A-GD53-B3
Gigabyte Z68AP-D3
I would greatly appreciate it if people could comment/praise/criticise the brief list that I have posted below and perhaps even suggest a name or two?
--------
As promised earlier, I will just briefly detail the aftermath scenario following the lightning strike.
1. I cautiously press the on-switch, miraculously the PC actually starts, makes all the right beeping sounds - so the PSU is intact as all fans start spinning normally.
2. My monitor doesn't show the motherboard logo screen and eventually I get the message "Check Display Adapter"
3. Okay, maybe the GPU got fried? I hold down the power-switch...but instead of turning off, my PC merely reboots (as if I had pressed Reset).
4. Several more failed hard-off attempts and I switch off the PC at the PSU.
5. After removing/replacing my GTX 560 Ti, I repeat the start-up process - I even switched monitors just in case.
6. The same problem as in Step 2 occurs.
7. Now I check the HDDs, I have Windows 7 on another HDD and so I exchange it (physically swap it out, not in BIOS) for my main HDD which runs XP
8. Nothing changes.
And that's the story, as I said earlier I have not / cannot check whether the RAM is blown - anyone think that this might be the problem?
Any thoughts on which component(s) got fried?
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