3 boards and my e6400 = single core...?

[menlatin]

Alright. This has been a frustrating journey with no end in sight.

I've been through 5 boards actually, but the last 3 have only partially worked.

first 2 ds3's worked fine. Even after i removed my IHS.
Then came the problematic 1st p5b. This would only boot with certai bios, and even then would not overclock AT ALL, and would only recognize 1 core. It would also require a cmos reset in order to post. So every single reboot would be a power down and reset cmos.

The 2nd p5b was the same.

Now i'm on a ds3 again, and it's even more unusual tha the p5b's. I had been running the p5b with an 805D working fine. I swapped to the ds3 and e6400 and was greeted to a nice, first power up post. I set my overclock to 3.6ghz right off the bat with spectacular 30c idle. But once i tried to boot into XP, i get a blue screen. Just the generic one(windows has found a problem and has shutdown to prevent damage to your computer). Wtf? i bring down my overclock. Same thing. Then stock settings. same thing. So somethings wrong. I try to go into safe mode, and it stops @ mup.sys then reboots. Consitantly.
I try different ram, single sticks, disable usb, lan, and all the cpu options. Still hangs. I put the 805D in and it does the same thing. But with the 805D i am able to start in Directory Service Mode, and it goes into the installation i had started earlier. Sweet, so DSM works. I put the e6400 back in and it still errors. I tried chkdsk and rewriting the boot sector and mbr. Nothing.

Next i try an installation that i installed with my opteron 144 single core. And it boots!!! SWEET. But only seeing one core. Ok, it just needs a reboot. Install some drivers and such and reboot. Blue screen... Now its reboots @ Jogo.sys or something like that. The 805D works though. Sees both cores and everything.

Now, does this sound like my cpu is gone bad? or atleast the 2nd core is crapped??? I really dont understand this. I the core is not crushed, there is great contactand like i said really good temps. idle @ stock was 27c with 25 ambient. this is with a storm rev1, mcp655 mcr220 and 2x 78cfm fans. @ 5v on the fans idle was 30c. So i know temps are not the problem.

Any suggestions folks?

[Cappie]

Well if you have been through 3 boards and had the same problem on each of these boards then I think you can dismiss bad luck. Sure seems like your CPU is f'ed up, when did you buy the CPU and do you still have warranty? If I were you I would stop trying diff mobo's and just get a replacement CPU, hands down it will solve your problem.

[menlatin]

No more warranty. IHS is removed.
Win2k does the same thing. ALso Win NT 4 installation doesn't even finish copying the very very first set of setup files before it reboots.

Whats an easy to install and small linux package i can try?

[Durzel]

Maybe you damaged one of the cores removing the IHS?

[menlatin]

Not during removal. I tested it right after that on the 2nd ds3. Both cores 3.52ghz @ 1.45v and 65c load.

[Cappie]

why waste the time man, if both windows OS fail to install and detect your CPU, then linux will be no different:LOL:

[775911]

Glue the IHS back on..

[Durzel]

Not during removal. I tested it right after that on the 2nd ds3. Both cores 3.52ghz @ 1.45v and 65c load.

Perhaps the fact the heatsink has been been reapplied a number of times could've caused damage to the core even if it isn't visible as a crack?

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but there's no reason that Windows XP wouldn't detect both cores on install unless there was something physically wrong, especially as you've tested it on 3 boards.

[Mr Footlong]

I was just about to say internal damage due to heatsink pressure across the core. You take a gamble and sometimes it doesn't pay off I am afraid

[menlatin]

true true. Hmm... i guess i can live with this 805 til the end of the month...

[Falkentyne]

Damaged chip. These chips are not designed to have the IHS removed. And even though people have succeeded, anyone who does that *must* make a shim (this is why ATI video cards have shims around the GPU) to prevent damaged cores, and getting the thickness right is going to be hard for anyone without the right equipment or who has never worked metal before.

[Lestat]

(this is why ATI video cards have shims around the GPU) to prevent damaged cores

true but its too bad the shim doesnt even touch the heatsink(or barely does)
and nvidia does this too.

but it is there to do exactly what you said.

and yes ihs removal is a tricky and dangerous thing especially on the conroe.
and you WILL fubar the core.. i guarentee that you will do it sooner or later.
the core is small enough that all it takes is one time of the HSF to rock back and forth off center as you install it to crack the corner of the core. and that my good friend is all she wrote... chips may die cores may disappear and overclocking may and usually does go south.

you got your self a Core 2 Dud now... enjoy...

[menlatin]

LOL...

yea, whatever. My next ones getting the same treatment. Call me crazy, wasteful, or stupid, but its my money.

[Lestat]

your not going to gain anything by pulling the IHS.
the risk vs benefit isnt even worth it
what do you gain 5 deg Celcius ? just to fry a 200+ cpu?

silly .. just plain silly.

but to each their own.. its your money.

[menlatin]

$224

[bing]

Well its your money and if you still insist, some tips from olde duron's days.

Recipe :

- High Temp Epoxy or Putty, don't use non high temp one since they might melt or expand too much when heated. Just go to hardware store like Ace Hardware, they have many types of putty or epoxy.
- A piece of flat thick glass, don't substitute with acrylic or thin glass.
- A can of WD-40 , yep you read it, not a typo, a WD-40 !

Method :

- Mix the epoxy and put four small dabs on each corner on the CPU subtrate, that green stuff around the cpu die, and position it like those 4 tapes as you did before.

- Watch those epoxy position closely so they wont make any problem with the CPU locking mechism, those metal frame when you lock the cpu, since you will squeeze those dabs with a glass.

- Tear some very thin paper just enough to cover those 4 slabs, no not news-paper, its way too thick, a facial grease/fat absorbing paper is ideal, just ask your mom or gf !

- Spray & cover that cleaned glass surface with WD-40, make sure you cover with thin layer and NO DRIPPINGS. This to minimize the risk of sticking your CPU permanently to the glass cause some type of epoxy might sip out from those paper and make contact to the glass surface.

- On a flat surface, now press those WD-40 covered side of glass to the CPU, it will squeze those 4 slabs of epoxy and make them almost perfectly align with the CPU die surface, use some heavy books to press them and let it cured. Again, watch those slabs position and their size when squeezed.

One crucial note about that paper, it is actually make that epoxy surface "a bit lower" than the CPU but enough to prevent those hsf/cooling block from crushing the die at the corner. If they're aligned "exactly" like the die surface (without paper), once they got heat up and expand, they will actually reduce the pressing force or worst lift your hsf/block from the CPU.

IHSless CPU with Epoxy.PNG


One thing to ensure its working perfectly, practice those glass, paper and epoxy not on CPU first to see how they behave. Your half brain dead CPU is good for practice to see if the epoxy will stick to the subtrate effectively.

Good luck with your next quest, btw thanks for sharing it with us, really appreciate it !