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zergesys

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I'm in a bit of a bind at the moment. :(

I recently migrated to a new motherboard ( ASUS M4A785-M ) because of its good performance/price and broad range of compatibility so I wouldn't have to spend much of anything on other new components.
In the process of doing so, when I put the CPU into the new board, something bad happened. The ZIF didn't put up much of any resistance, so I thought nothing was wrong when I locked everything down. After finishing installing all my other components, I tried to turn the system on only to find the power was going (LEDS, Fans, etc), but I got no POST.
I went back in and checked things, only to find that my computer would only boot if I had 2 or less ram sticks put in (Had to be in DIMM 1 & 3. DIMM 2 & 4, the ones that allow dual channel, would not allow it to post with ram sticks in). I swapped through all my ram sticks, and they all check out fine and succeeded memtest as long as they were in the aforementioned slots. I fiddled with the timings and voltages for hours, to no avail. Then it just came to last resort and I took out my cpu to check and see if everything was all right. Lo and behold, 2 of the pins were squashed when I put it in, so I took tweezers and an old giftcard and gently bent them back into place, double checking my work with a magnifying glass.
I plugged the cpu back in ensuring the pins were perfectly aligned this time. The problem persisted. So I swapped in my old motherboard, same issue again.

Am I completely SOL with my processor? it's an AMD Phenom x4 9500, kind of old, but it's served me very well. I'd rather save the money by not buying a replacement, but if there's no other choice then I may go for it, as I have a bunch of old parts (PSU's, Graphics Cards, Motherboards, etc) that I could sell for some extra cash. Hopefully its something completely else I'm missing...

Any help or suggestions is appreciated :)
 

4745454b

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I vote you replace just because that chip is so bad. I'd be willing to bet one of the faster x2 or just about any x3 will outperform that chip. And they don't cost much either. ($75?)

Sounds like you can use the old CPU in the meantime. At least its not totally dead.
 

zergesys

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Only the cpu pins were bent, they simply didn't slide into the holes properly.

Oh well, It was about time I did a reno of the PC anyways, so I guess this is just a good excuse to do it.

I phoned up a local shop and asked them what they could do for me. They said their best price/performance was a Phenom ii 1090t Black that they could get me for about $230. That's a VERY nice processor, and my board supports it fine, so I'll probably spring for it.

The funny thing is this computer was originally an Acer Aspire m5100. The guts have been gradually replaced over the years, the only thing left is this processor and my HDD (A surprisingly good Hitachi 500Gb 7200rpm SATA2.0)... well, and the case, but the case has been brutally modified by my "amazing" band saw and dremel skills to allow things like new fans and a large video card.

Thanks to everyone for the quick replies. I'm completely new here, and I'll probably be sticking around. :)
 

zergesys

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Yes. Well, I guess they would have been very slightly bent before I put them in, not enough for me to immediately notice, just enough so that they didn't line up with the holes. Those two small pins put up little resistance, so by the time I clamped it down they were squashed to a complete 90* angle.
Straightening them out didn't work. Though it fits in its socket perfectly fine now, the problem persists. :/
 

ghnader hsmithot

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Sorry about that..I do hope that you do find a solution.
 
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