Dead CPU

[Scottser]

My greatly anticipated PC build has been nothing short of a nightmare!

My build consists of:
CPU: Intel i7-4770k
Motherboard: ASUS Deluxe Dual
Graphics Card: ASUS GTX 760
Power Supply: Rosewill Platinum 750W
RAM: 16GB, 2x 8GB Trident 2400MHz
SSD Intel 520 Series 240GB
Case: ANTEC P280

Here is all the fun so far:
Built the system, running fine for ~1 week, played Bioshock infinite for hours no problem. I ran ASUS AI Suite 3, which is their auto-tuning program to tune the CPU and fans. After powering the system off, the next day it will not power on, the CPU fan spins for 1-2sec, then stops. No error LED's light up, no Beeps etc.

At this point I removed the board from the case and disconnected everything but the CPU and CPU fan, and saw the same issue, CPU fan spins for 1-2sec. I tried a different power supply and still saw the same result. Now I suspected the Motherboard, so I RMA'ed the motherboard. New board arrives, the issue still repeats. Now I am left with just the CPU as the culprit, so I RMA the CPU.

Now I get my replacement CPU in the mail, and pop it in and I'm up and running again, so I know the problem was due to a dead CPU. Now I'm playing games and running fine again for a few days. Then I run AI suite 3 again, only this time I optimize only the fan suspecting that the CPU settings it came up with were too aggressive or something like that. I come back after putting the computer to sleep, and I'm back to the same fail mode: will not start, CPU fan only spins momentarily, then powers itself back off. Dead CPU. Also, now that it has happened twice, the odds are very small that I was unlucky enough to get two bad CPU's. So now I think there is a problem somewhere in the system that is killing the CPU. Also it's worth noting that I had the same problem with two different motherboards, since it happened after the first one was RMA'ed.

This time I called ASUS tech help, and the technician told me to RMA the CPU again, and this time don't run the optimizer in AI Suite 3 at all. So I get my new CPU in the mail, and pop it in, and I'm running fine again for a few days.

Now I power off the computer, and come back and the exact same thing has happened again. Dead CPU, when I press the power button the fan just spins quickly, then turns back off. So now I know it wasn't the AI Suite, but I'm running out of ideas on what it could be. Any ideas on what could kill a CPU this way?

 

[Nec_V20]

Have you updated the BIOS on the motherboard?

To have a CPU die once is a rare occurrence twice strongly suggests something wrong with the motherboard. Well actually it is about the only thing which would account for your problem.

So make sure you have the latest BIOS and before you do anything else flash the motherboard.

ASUS tech-support sucks the big one, and I am in a position to judge having been Senior German Engineer for Enterprise Disaster Recovery Tech-Support. It is the main reason why I do not take ASUS motherboards into consideration when building a new system.

 

[Scottser]

I'm going to be pissed at ASUS tech support if it turns out to be the BIOS needed to be updated to support my CPU. I was asking those types of questions, and they tried to sell me some BS about letting the CPU "rest" after spending a few hours playing games.

 

[John Dime]

As you folks can see here, the 4770K is supported since BIOS 0903, which appears to be the first BIOS out of three (0903 -> 1008 -> 1405). That wrote, it's unlikely the issue relates to that.

By the description and due to it being the second motherboard and third CPU, the problem is likely elsewhere, however an inadequately installed CPU comes to mind, but that happening thrice, doesn't sound to convincing and it would potentially cause trouble while logged on. Nevertheless, make sure this isn't the issue and also that the heat sink is properly installed.

It could come down to a faulty PSU and/or fluctuations on power delivery. Are these a possibility?

Finally, if none of the above suggestions are of any help, try booting with one stick of RAM at a time (try both). Good luck.

JD

 

[Ketchup]

I am suspecting the power supply on this one. But a very odd issue, for sure.

 

[John Connor]

Power supply is shit!

A basic list of Good/Bad brands of PSU's...
Good:
Akasa PaxPower....... Antec
Astec.......................... AOpen
Channel Well.............. Coolermaster
Corsair........................ Enermax
Enlight......................... Fortron Source (Sparkle)
Gigabyte..................... HEC Compucase (excluding the lower-end Orion line)
Hi-Power.................... Hiper
Jeantech..................... Lian-Li
Mushkin...................... NSpire
OCZ Technology.......... PC Power & Cooling (now owned by OCZ)
PowerMan................... Seasonic
SilenX.......................... SilverStone
Tagan (ABS)................ Thermaltake
TTGI/SuperFlower...... Vantec
Xclio............................. Zippy / Emacs Verax
Zion.............................. Zalman
Xigmatek ....................

Bad:
A GBP Athena.............. Athena Power/Athenatech
Aspire/Apevia............... Allied
Apex.............................. A-Power
Atop............................... Broadway Com
CoolMax......................... Chieftec
DEER.............................. Dynapower
Eagle Tech...................... EYE-T
Foxconn.......................... KingStar
Inwin.............................. Linkworld
L&C ............................... Logisys
MGE................................ PowerMagic
Powertek........................ PowerUp
Powmax.......................... Q-Tec
Raidmax.......................... Rosewill
Skyhawk......................... Star
Startech ......................... Sunbeam
Turbolink......................... Ultra


I just go with Antec or FSP. Never had a failure with one of those.

 

[Scottser]

A power supply problem would make sense because I just temporarily changed to a different power supply to troubleshoot the issue, then went back to the original one, so I was using the same power supply each time the issue happened.

I'll swap out the power supply and try one of the ones on the good list above. BTW, how are you choosing which ones are good vs bad, and for the bad manufacturers, does it apply to their entire line, or just some models?

 

[Ketchup]

I usually go by brand, sometimes reviews. I have always had good luck with Antec, but there are several other good manufacturers out there. Usually if one brand is significantly cheaper than the others, there's a reason.

I have put Rosewills in builds before, didn't have a problem, but that doesn't mean ever one is perfect. You couldn't pay my to use an OCZ though.

 

[John Connor]

A power supply problem would make sense because I just temporarily changed to a different power supply to troubleshoot the issue, then went back to the original one, so I was using the same power supply each time the issue happened.

I'll swap out the power supply and try one of the ones on the good list above. BTW, how are you choosing which ones are good vs bad, and for the bad manufacturers, does it apply to their entire line, or just some models?

I got the list from another site. I would go with an Antec.

 

[st_7]

Wow!, two times you RMA'ed CPU(you should be thankful to Intel for accepting the dead CPU, if they are indeed dead as you presumed). And it sucks to go through all that after investing so much in a new build. But as others said, it must be PSU or RAM, so, check both of them if possible.

 

[sm625]

Can you post the link to that PSU model? If it is the one I'm thinking of it is not a cheap PSU and it has decent ratings.

 

[Scottser]

Here is the Power supply I am using. It did have decent reviews on newegg. I would have to assume it is a rare defect or many more people would have seen problems like this.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182084

And the replacement I just ordered:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371065

 

[John Dime]

If you don't mind me asking, is there a particular reason why you went with an even higher rated PSU, where wattage is concerned? You should be fine with a 500-550 W unit and a 600-650 W one would plentifully handle steep CPU and GPU over-volt'ing/clock'ing. I merely want to ascertain whether our suggestions influenced your decision, because your current 750 W PSU just happens to be a faulty unit, apparently, and this doesn't pertain to said specifications, whatsoever.

In any case, let us know if the replacement unit does solve your problem.

JD

 

[Scottser]

I could have just as easily gotten a 750W Antec supply. I plugged all my components (a few more drives than listed above) into a calculator on ASUS' site, and it recommended 750W, and I thought that some future proofing for future upgrades would be good since I am replacing it anyway. Also I thought that a higher rated supply will have larger caps which might help if my house voltage has anything to do with it, not really based on data, just the paranoia of not understanding the problem

 

[John Dime]

Understood.

It's certainly more than your system can draw right now, but if you add a second GPU, it will have been a good call. Hopefully, and most importantly, that second unit will be fine. Good luck with that and keep us posted, please!

JD

 

[Scottser]

I'm up and running now with my new power supply. It will be ~2 weeks before I'm ready to call it fixed, will let you know how it goes. Thanks for all the good input!

 

[Ketchup]

Glad to hear it's working. Very nice power supply, BTW.

 

[cubby1223]

In working computer repair for my primary job for the past 15 years, only twice have I ever seen a dead cpu.

And this includes a wide range of system failures, lots of blown power supplies, even one putting out 2x the voltage!, computers that were completely submerged in water during floods, the cpus came out of them working just as good as the day they were purchased.

The only time I've had a cpu go bad was when (1) cabling got in the way of the cpu fan causing it to overheat, and (2) pin was completely bent in shipping. CPUs are far and away the most stable piece of hardware in the computer. So much so that I would believe the cpu you sent back for replacement was in fact working perfectly, another component (power supply) was giving intermittent problems sometimes working sometimes not working.

 

[JEDIYoda]

It did have decent reviews on newegg.

Dude...Newegg reviews are the shiza...they are not reviews at all...they are peoples uneducated opinions!!

 

[Scottser]

The only time I've had a cpu go bad was when (1) cabling got in the way of the cpu fan causing it to overheat, and (2) pin was completely bent in shipping. CPUs are far and away the most stable piece of hardware in the computer. So much so that I would believe the cpu you sent back for replacement was in fact working perfectly, another component (power supply) was giving intermittent problems sometimes working sometimes not working.

My background is in reliability, so I have seen things fail in bizarre and unexpected ways, however I was still shocked at this problem and would have been skeptical too had I not seen it myself.

Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.
Arthur Conan Doyle

 

[Scottser]

Still going strong with the new power supply after 2 weeks, so I think that solved the problem. It's fortunate that Intel has such great customer service, it wasn't their fault, but I could have been out of luck if they weren't willing to help. I will definitely pay more attention to which power supply I am using from now on.

 

[Virgorising]

In working computer repair for my primary job for the past 15 years, only twice have I ever seen a dead cpu.

And this includes a wide range of system failures, lots of blown power supplies, even one putting out 2x the voltage!, computers that were completely submerged in water during floods, the cpus came out of them working just as good as the day they were purchased.

The only time I've had a cpu go bad was when (1) cabling got in the way of the cpu fan causing it to overheat, and (2) pin was completely bent in shipping. CPUs are far and away the most stable piece of hardware in the computer. So much so that I would believe the cpu you sent back for replacement was in fact working perfectly, another component (power supply) was giving intermittent problems sometimes working sometimes not working.

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: For me, very important offering!

 

[monkeydelmagico]

Good news bro. I always thought rosewill was budget but decent. I'll have to re-think that.