Need a new CPU + MOBO + RAM

drpastah · Jan 10, 2017

Hello, I have an Intel i5-4670k CPU, with a Gigabyte GA-Z87X-D3H mobo, and 8 GB of some DDR3 RAM. I overclocked the CPU to 4.5 GHz with water cooling and after 3 years now it blue screens frequently and also can't startup often. I am not sure if I fried only the CPU, or possibly the MOBO and RAM. But I want an upgrade for my RAM as I'm hitting 8 GB for usage. My mobo only handles DDR3 ram.

I currently play Arma 3 which is very demanding on CPUs, and also sometimes encode with FFMPEG. Should I get an i5-4690k, i7-6600k, or what? What CPU do you recommend? Also what mobo and RAM do you recommend if I want DDR4? I prefer to keep my budget to $500.

Please help me out as I need to get new parts ASAP.

esco_sid · Jan 10, 2017

DId you try undoing the overclock and see if it works ?

J_E_D_70 · Jan 10, 2017

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-7600K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($242.89 @ B&H)
Motherboard: MSI Z270 SLI PLUS ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($149.00 @ B&H)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($93.99 @ Jet)
Total: $485.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-10 18:36 EST-0500

BUT might be better off determining the root cause. The cpu won't slow down or just crash. It's likely a windows, ram, or psu issue.

drpastah · Jan 10, 2017

Undoing the overclock makes it worse. I'm sure the CPU is busted as I changed the multiplier to 45x and the core voltage to 1.3 V.

esco_sid · Jan 10, 2017

drpastah :

If possible i would try and figure out what part is broken as it would be a lot cheaper than getting brand new mobo/cpu/ram the current new gen stuff does not really perform that much better than the older gen you have.

drpastah · Jan 10, 2017

esco_sid :

I want new RAM anyhow, it's not enough and could be faster as well. So I need a new mobo regardless because it only handles DDR3 where DDR4 would be better.

esco_sid · Jan 10, 2017

drpastah :

You should know that in games ddr3 vs ddr4 does not even matter much at all but you can buy new stuff if you want i guess.

If you have microcenter store nearby i would look there first before online usually a lot cheaper.

drpastah · Jan 10, 2017

J_E_D_70 :

I really don't want that mobo as the heat sink looks too close and too big for the graphics card.

esco_sid :

That is true, but I want more than 8 GB of RAM anyhow and I would assume the DRR3 and DDR4 price difference is negligible.

esco_sid · Jan 10, 2017

http://www.microcenter.com/site/brands/intel-processor-bundles.aspx
if you have one nearby i guess

drpastah · Jan 10, 2017

esco_sid :

I live in Canada, I don't think I have any near by.

J_E_D_70 :

I guess I'll search for a different z270. Any reason why that one was chosen instead of the cheaper ones?

J_E_D_70 · Jan 10, 2017

They wouldn't make a mobo where heatsinks block the gpu... at any rate, pick pretty much any ~$150 (USD) mobo and they'll perform too near each other to notice.

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASRock/Z270_Extreme4/15.html
Is fine too. Been very happy with my older Extreme 4.

drpastah · Jan 10, 2017

J_E_D_70 :

I remember one of my old mobos having a heat sink really close along the side (or back) of the gfx card where all the heat from the mobo was transferring more heat to the gfx card. This is why I want to avoid those types of heat sinks.

J_E_D_70 · Jan 10, 2017

Mobo engineering has come a long way.

. Many to choose from.

need4speeds · Jan 10, 2017

The cpu paste is going bad. Replace/remix your cpu cooler paste, make sure the rad is clean and not full of dust and the fans run smooth.
-Often you do not need to buy new cpu paste, you can remove the cooler and just remix it on the cpu heat spreader. Use a glove as some cpu paste could have stuff like lead in it. -4.5ghz might be too much, redo your settings, maybe it's only good for 4.3ghz. Still even a 4.0ghz i5 is fast.

-You should be using Mjpg compression or some other compression. I use msi afterburner, avi container, 1080p, or the same as the source. You must use a video compression codec of some sort or the data size is huge and the computer cannot deal with it. Intel cpus have a H264 and 265 video encoder chip built in, so you will want to look up on how to enable that for recording so that does the work instead of the cpu.

A6-3650@3.56ghz, GTX680 and 670physx card AND 4GB ddr3-1600@1833mhz . I am using a 128ssd and 3tb hdd.

-Windows uses as much system memory as it can first as it's the fastest, and then uses virtual memory 2nd. I have mine set up so windows has 16gb of virtual memory on my SSD and 8gb on my 3tb hdd. You can have more than 1 virtual memory.
-If windows is set to auto, set it manually so it has more virtual memory.

drpastah · Jan 10, 2017

need4speeds :

The cpu paste is going bad. Replace/remix your cpu cooler paste, make sure the rad is clean and not full of dust and the fans run smooth.
-Often you do not need to buy new cpu paste, you can remove the cooler and just remix it on the cpu heat spreader. Use a glove as some cpu paste could have stuff like lead in it. -4.5ghz might be too much, redo your settings, maybe it's only good for 4.3ghz. Still even a 4.0ghz i5 is fast.

-You should be using Mjpg compression or some other compression. I use msi afterburner, avi container, 1080p, or the same as the source. You must use a video compression codec of some sort or the data size is huge and the computer cannot deal with it. Intel cpus have a H264 and 265 video encoder chip built in, so you will want to look up on how to enable that for recording so that does the work instead of the cpu.

A6-3650@3.56ghz, GTX680 and 670physx card AND 4GB ddr3-1600@1833mhz . I am using a 128ssd and 3tb hdd.

-Windows uses as much system memory as it can first as it's the fastest, and then uses virtual memory 2nd. I have mine set up so windows has 16gb of virtual memory on my SSD and 8gb on my 3tb hdd. You can have more than 1 virtual memory.
-If windows is set to auto, set it manually so it has more virtual memory.

I checked the CPU temperatures and they stayed below 40 Celsius.

need4speeds · Jan 10, 2017

A i7-4770K would give you 8 threads and is binned a bit higher with a stock speed of 4.0ghz. Or sell the board+cpu+memory and go with a new kabylake i7. It makes little sense to spend money on Haswell, but if your existing system can be made to work, a i5 haswell is still decent for gaming and doesn't need to be replaced.

-I know it sounds stupid but this worked for many boards.
1. Take out the cooler and cpu.
2. Try to start the system, it will beep or not start.
3. Unplug it and try to start it to clear the board's caps.
4. Put the cpu and cooler back on.
6. Plug it back in.
7. It should boot up with the board's default settings for the cpu.

need4speeds · Jan 10, 2017

-This resets the board's bios WITHOUT WIPING THE OTHER SETTINGS AND DATE, when you do a cmos reset everything is reset, creating lots of work.

-The pins, or in the case with intel cpus, the cpu pads, get the pad contacts reseated so if it's just a bad connection on the pad or socket, this gets renewed. Also taking the memory out and putting it back in can reset the memory pins when you have the system powered off when you put the cpu back in.

need4speeds · Jan 10, 2017

Also try unplugging and replugging in the board's ATX and cpu power connectors. It's likely a bad connection or bios glitch. I doubt the whole cpu is fried, that's pretty rare.

drpastah · Jan 13, 2017

need4speeds :

I took mostly everything apart by disconnecting the GFX card, CPU, RAM, and tried running the PC, same thing. I put the CPU back in, and tried using 1 stick of RAM in each different slot, same thing. I tried exchanging the CMOS battery and even shorting out the CMOS CLEAR with a screwdriver while touching it for 1-2 minutes, same problem. I tried using an older (maybe broken too) PSU, same problem.

I am going to order parts tomorrow. But I am worried that my PSU may be faulty too. I was recommended not to do the paper clip test because I never opened a PSU before and it can be dangerous + risky.

EDIT:
After 1-2 hours of letting it turn on and off by itself, the computer finally booted to BIOS and asked me if I wanted optimized settings and reboot (which I picked) and some other options because the CMOS was cleared. I selected the option and the computer turned itself off and is doing the turn on for 2 seconds and turn off loop again. So the CMOS did get cleared.

Need a new CPU + MOBO + RAM

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