It blew up

gte619n · Post by **gte619n** » Sat Oct 10, 2009 6:02 am

Hey guys,

After a massive power surge yesterday I can't get my HTPC to boot up anymore. I did some trouble shooting for a while but then decided that, you know what? This would be a super time to upgrade!

Basically, I'm looking to replace the motherboard and cpu, as it's extremely old as is. I have 4GB of 6400 DDR2 from another build that I'd like to use. The case is a Silverstone LC13. Seasonic S12 300W power supply. CPU cooler is an Arctic Cooling Super Silent Ultra TC L, but I'm not too concerned about that guy. Video is an MSI FX5200-TD128LF which is perfectly adequate.

I'm planning on running XP. As the unit will be headless, I'd like really good RDP performance (current performance SUCKS). Something with onboard 802.11n would be nice, but not required. I'd like to be able to use the machine to run my home Airport system and do basic fileserving. Additionally, I've got an nVidia DualTV guy that I'd like to run, but without HD it's way down on the priority list.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! These things change SOO fast that I have no idea how you guys keep up with it!

Thanks again!

Evan

Post by **CA_Steve** » Sat Oct 10, 2009 7:22 am

If the PSU was part of the system hit by the surge...how do you know it's ok and the mobo/cpu aren't?

gte619n · Post by **gte619n** » Sat Oct 10, 2009 7:26 am

It powers on and I can boot into safe mode, but I cannot get the audio drivers to load at all. It hangs on the WinXP splash screen when it attempts to load the drivers and just won't get past it.

I'm pretty sure it knocked out some piece of the motherboard. But, Steve, c'mon! let me justify upgrading it!

lm · Post by lm » Sat Oct 10, 2009 7:49 am

Surge protector seems like a good investment for you...

Isn't the need for a HTPC upgrade dictated by whether the current one can play back 1080p video at the most demanding encoding or not?

gte619n · Post by **gte619n** » Sat Oct 10, 2009 7:52 am

I completely agree, but I've found that my viewing habits really haven't been watching ANYTHING coming out of the HTPC at all lately. I don't have an HD source to encode and I bought a Blu-ray player, so it's sort of like a machine without a country these days.

I'm planning on using it more as a music/file/torrent server at this point.

swivelguy2 · Post by **swivelguy2** » Sat Oct 10, 2009 11:41 am

I'd replace the PSU. Even if it seems to be working now, you never know if it sustained some invisible damage that could fry more components later.

lm · Post by lm » Sat Oct 10, 2009 1:25 pm

gte619n wrote:I'm planning on using it more as a music/file/torrent server at this point.

You could use any old POS for that purpose - upgrading won't give you any improvement in user experience, besides replacing faulty parts.

Post by **CA_Steve** » Sun Oct 11, 2009 7:51 am

So, this is more of a "I finally have an excuse to spend money and play with a new build" thing?

A music/file/torrent server requires hardly any horsepower. You could buy a mobo and dual core cpu for $100-150 and call it a day. Undervolt and underclock it and still have more than enough hp for any multitasking you'd want to do.

Possibilities:
AMD Regor + a gigabyte 685g mobo. $150
Overkill for the graphics side and you'd have to get ddr3 memory. There's also the 740G and 760Gmobo's (cheaper, less gpu hp), save $20-40.

Low end Intel dual core ($50-80)+ gigabyte mobo with intel gfx ($50-70)

jackylman · Post by **jackylman** » Sun Oct 11, 2009 3:32 pm

Have you tried disabling the onboard audio in the BIOS?

I have 4GB of 6400 DDR2

Overkill for your application, especially if you run 32-bit XP.

gte619n · Post by **gte619n** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 6:42 am

Hey guys,

Ok so I'll hang onto that RAM for something else. I've got 2x1GB PC25400 RAM here as well, would that be adequate for this build?

Between the Regor + 685g and the E5200 + ES2H systems, are there any differences from a cooling/noise sandpoint? Will I be able to run these guys quietly (not silently, but quietly) with their OEM heatsinks or should I fire on an aftermarket one?

For this type of use, is there any reason to go with the AMD system for $20 more?

Thanks a lot for everyone's help!

Trav1s · Post by **Trav1s** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 7:03 am

gte619n wrote:Hey guys,

Ok so I'll hang onto that RAM for something else. I've got 2x1GB PC25400 RAM here as well, would that be adequate for this build?

Between the Regor + 685g and the E5200 + ES2H systems, are there any differences from a cooling/noise sandpoint? Will I be able to run these guys quietly (not silently, but quietly) with their OEM heatsinks or should I fire on an aftermarket one?

For this type of use, is there any reason to go with the AMD system for $20 more?

Thanks a lot for everyone's help!

I cannot speak to the Regor/685g combo but I can to the e5200/ES2H.

I have that processor/board combo along with 2 gigs of DDR2 as my machine at the office. This is the second board and it is in an old mini tower along with a Seasonic ATX PS, SATA HD and SATA DVDburner.

I wanted to reuse the PATA HD from my old system but could not for my life get it to work with the first board. I RMA's the first one and the second one behaved the same way and would not detect PATA devices. Out of frustration I pilfered the SATA HD and DVD Burner from a machine at home and it went together without a hitch. Overall I am happy with it after 5 months of use. Stock Intel HS will fit the bill and is quiet. As a former AMD junkie I have found the current stock of 775 processors (Celeron 430, e2200, e5200 & e5300) to be more than enough for the work I do. After hanging out here I really appreciate the fact that the are cool and can be easily incorporated into a quiet system.

gte619n · Post by **gte619n** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 7:12 am

I wanted to reuse the PATA HD from my old system but could not for my life get it to work with the first board. I RMA's the first one and the second one behaved the same way and would not detect PATA devices.

Ouch! I definitely want to use my old drives (Samsung Spinpoints, PATA IDE). Is this a known issue with that M/B or do you think you were just lucky? Google doesn't seem to have anything about it...

Trav1s · Post by **Trav1s** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 7:34 am

gte619n wrote:
I wanted to reuse the PATA HD from my old system but could not for my life get it to work with the first board. I RMA's the first one and the second one behaved the same way and would not detect PATA devices.
Ouch! I definitely want to use my old drives (Samsung Spinpoints, PATA IDE). Is this a known issue with that M/B or do you think you were just lucky? Google doesn't seem to have anything about it...

I think I was unlucky... What gets me is that I have been building machines (new and frankensteins) since the early 90's and I have never fought with hardware like I did on this build. I read and reread the Newegg reviews and noone had a similar experience. Funny thing is I installed the PATA drive (WD 120GB) in another machine and it worked fine.

gte619n · Post by **gte619n** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 7:45 am

Alright! I pulled the trigger on that Intel E5200 + Gigabyte board.

Thanks for all the recommendations guys! I can't wait to get it up and running!

Post by **CA_Steve** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 8:20 am

->Will I be able to run these guys quietly (not silently, but quietly) with their OEM heatsinks or should I fire on an aftermarket one? <-

Maybe Trav1is can speak to that...does the G41M-ES2H have cpu fan rpm control in the bios? If it does, you s/b able to quiet down the intel stock fan. You'll have to decide whether it's quiet enough for you

Here's the SPCR takeon the stock Intel aluminum HSF. Note that they used a 95W TDP processor in the test rather than your much lower power e5200 (65W).

Trav1s · Post by **Trav1s** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 9:02 am

CA_Steve wrote:->Will I be able to run these guys quietly (not silently, but quietly) with their OEM heatsinks or should I fire on an aftermarket one? <-

Maybe Trav1is can speak to that...does the G31M-ES2H have cpu fan rpm control in the bios? If it does, you s/b able to quiet down the intel stock fan. You'll have to decide whether it's quiet enough for you

Here's the SPCR takeon the stock Intel aluminum HSF. Note that they used a 95W TDP processor in the test rather than your much lower power e5200 (65W).

Under the "PC Health Status" in the bios there is an option for "CPU Smart Fan Control" which I have set to enable to control the fan. It will throttle up the fan speed as load demands. Also, the EasyTune5 software allows you to tweek settings on the machine from windows.

FWIW - Running the processor slightly OC'd at 2.8 (by speeding up the FSB to 224) and slightly lower voltage (I forget what it is) I have never heard it ramp up the fan. Much more OC than that and it gets cranky and will randomly reboot.

Shamgar · Post by **Shamgar** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 10:37 am

power surge=damaged parts=excuse to upgrade. No wonder why so many folks don't bother with surge/power protection.

In any case, people should be investing in a good quality on line/line interactive UPS, which doesn't necessarily mean expensive. Good models have good surge suppression. Bad ones tend not to. I'm using one designed for Australian conditions by an Australian company. Do likewise in your country if you can. You avoid untested cheap rubbish that way. I got mine for $79. One of the best things I've ever bought. The updated model still only goes for around $109. I'm surprised that not more people don't view UPSs as an essential part of any computer system. When the power goes out, it's funny when people ask you, "Hey, how come your computer's still working?" "Um, well, you see, I have a UPS. It gives me at least 10 mins run time (usually much more) so I can shut this thing down safely." And do they rush out and buy one after that? No. Priorities, oh people. Get them right.

Oh, well. At least you can "use up" your excuse to upgrade. Hopefully, you do sort out your power protection issues from now on.