Mobo died

tau_neutrino · 08-13-2006, 06:09 PM

My motherboard died a fiery death today. I hit the power button and one of the IC's on the mobo went up in flames. So now I'm hoping yall can help me w/ a few things:

1. Is there a chance that the other stuff plugged into the mobo were damaged too (CPU, GPU, RAM, HD, etc)? I don't have another computer here to help test them out (posting on my laptop right now).

2. My motherboard was an Epox 8RDA+ which I read makes heavy use of the +5V rail. My PSU is an Antec PowerSmart 450W which has a relatively low +5V amperage of 30A. Could this be the reason my mobo got fried?

3. This would probably be a good time to upgrade my system. Which CPU offers the best 'bang for the buck'? I'm tentatively leaning towards the Core 2 Duo E6300 (cheapest Conroe chip). I'm worried that socket 775 mobos that are Conroe-compatible are not as feature-rich as the AMD mobos w/ nForce chipsets. Is this true?

Thanks in advance!

Spyder · 08-13-2006, 07:16 PM

#1: Anytime the mobo goes out there's a chance that something else went with it. There is also a chance that nothing else went with it. Depends on a number of things, but you won't know until you can test individual components. If it was the mobo and not the PSU that went, then I'd say your HDD's/ROM drives are safe, but the CPU/GPU/RAM should be checked.

#2: 30A is not relatively low amperage for a 5V rail, it's relatively high. The vast majority of stuff built now has done away with using the 3.3v and 5v rails, and instead steps down what it needs from the 12V rail directly. In short, no I don't think that was your problem. The only issue with the antec's is that after 3-4 years if the PSU wasn't ventilated well enough some of the caps can go due to heat stress.

#3 I'm an AMD man myself, but for cost effectiveness it appears those new Intel Dual-Core's are the way to go currently.

tau_neutrino · 08-13-2006, 07:50 PM

Thanks for the reply Spyder.

The PSU is only 3 months old - it came w/ the Antec Sonata II case I bought back in May. The reason I thought it was low was that I compared it to a few other brands (BFG, Dynex, Fortran/Sparkle) which all had >35A 5V rails.

08-13-2006, 06:09 PM	#1 (permalink)
tau_neutrino Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Age: 26 Posts: 1,038	Mobo died My motherboard died a fiery death today. I hit the power button and one of the IC's on the mobo went up in flames. So now I'm hoping yall can help me w/ a few things: 1. Is there a chance that the other stuff plugged into the mobo were damaged too (CPU, GPU, RAM, HD, etc)? I don't have another computer here to help test them out (posting on my laptop right now). 2. My motherboard was an Epox 8RDA+ which I read makes heavy use of the +5V rail. My PSU is an Antec PowerSmart 450W which has a relatively low +5V amperage of 30A. Could this be the reason my mobo got fried? 3. This would probably be a good time to upgrade my system. Which CPU offers the best 'bang for the buck'? I'm tentatively leaning towards the Core 2 Duo E6300 (cheapest Conroe chip). I'm worried that socket 775 mobos that are Conroe-compatible are not as feature-rich as the AMD mobos w/ nForce chipsets. Is this true? Thanks in advance! __________________ TacticalGamer TX LAN/BBQ Veteran:

08-13-2006, 07:16 PM	#2 (permalink)
Spyder Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: MN (Middle of Nowhere, MN) Age: 25 Posts: 984	Re: Mobo died #1: Anytime the mobo goes out there's a chance that something else went with it. There is also a chance that nothing else went with it. Depends on a number of things, but you won't know until you can test individual components. If it was the mobo and not the PSU that went, then I'd say your HDD's/ROM drives are safe, but the CPU/GPU/RAM should be checked. #2: 30A is not relatively low amperage for a 5V rail, it's relatively high. The vast majority of stuff built now has done away with using the 3.3v and 5v rails, and instead steps down what it needs from the 12V rail directly. In short, no I don't think that was your problem. The only issue with the antec's is that after 3-4 years if the PSU wasn't ventilated well enough some of the caps can go due to heat stress. #3 I'm an AMD man myself, but for cost effectiveness it appears those new Intel Dual-Core's are the way to go currently. __________________ a.k.a. NinjaPirateAssassin Celibacy is not Hereditary. Everybody should believe in something - I believe I'll have another drink. Happiness is like wetting your pants, everyone can see it but only you can feel the warmth. Flying is easy, Just throw yourself at the ground and miss!

08-13-2006, 07:50 PM	#3 (permalink)
tau_neutrino Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Age: 26 Posts: 1,038	Re: Mobo died Thanks for the reply Spyder. The PSU is only 3 months old - it came w/ the Antec Sonata II case I bought back in May. The reason I thought it was low was that I compared it to a few other brands (BFG, Dynex, Fortran/Sparkle) which all had >35A 5V rails. __________________ TacticalGamer TX LAN/BBQ Veteran:

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