Hi all,
About five years ago I was able to get some great advice from forum members here and I built my first PC. It ran on a Q6600 and four whole gigs of RAM, and most indulgently (for me at the time), a 8800 GT 512 MB card. I overclocked it a little bit, and for nearly five years, it was a great little box that got the job done. Never had to replace anything, just occasionally clean the fans and such.
The case got a bit jostled during a recent move, however, and the CPU fan only worked with much cable jiggling because one of the four wires became loose. The particular aftermarket cooler I was using wasn't performing as well as it could, also, and I was planning on building a new computer next year anyhow, so instead of just replacing the fan I also pulled the cooler and ordered a new one.
It arrived yesterday, and I carefully unhooked everything on the motherboard, unscrewed the board from the case standoffs, and removed the old cooler. I then carefully cleaned the processor with rubbing alcohol, attached the new cooling unit, and put everything back in the case as carefully as I could. But it wouldn't POST.
I read through all the guides and tried them all - even with nothing but the CPU and a single stick of RAM (which was working earlier in the day), the computer will only turn on for a split second and then reboot. No BIOS beeps, no nothing. I know I didn't bend the pins on the board, because I spent an hour with a jeweler's loupe looking at each of them individually. So I'm thinking the actual CPU/motherboard is what's busted, and although I didn't want to build a new PC just yet, I think it's the most cost effective option.
My question: I'll be using my credit card points to buy all the parts through Amazon. I know it will cost me a few more dollars than Newegg/whoever's cheapest, but it actually won't, because points, yup. Should I just buy my Z77 mobo/ 3570k processor/ 1600mhz RAM/ HD7870 card now, or wait till later in the month? I am not familiar with how Amazon prices components for Black Friday, and I can keep using my netbook for a few weeks if it'll save me some money.
Thanks!
About five years ago I was able to get some great advice from forum members here and I built my first PC. It ran on a Q6600 and four whole gigs of RAM, and most indulgently (for me at the time), a 8800 GT 512 MB card. I overclocked it a little bit, and for nearly five years, it was a great little box that got the job done. Never had to replace anything, just occasionally clean the fans and such.
The case got a bit jostled during a recent move, however, and the CPU fan only worked with much cable jiggling because one of the four wires became loose. The particular aftermarket cooler I was using wasn't performing as well as it could, also, and I was planning on building a new computer next year anyhow, so instead of just replacing the fan I also pulled the cooler and ordered a new one.
It arrived yesterday, and I carefully unhooked everything on the motherboard, unscrewed the board from the case standoffs, and removed the old cooler. I then carefully cleaned the processor with rubbing alcohol, attached the new cooling unit, and put everything back in the case as carefully as I could. But it wouldn't POST.
I read through all the guides and tried them all - even with nothing but the CPU and a single stick of RAM (which was working earlier in the day), the computer will only turn on for a split second and then reboot. No BIOS beeps, no nothing. I know I didn't bend the pins on the board, because I spent an hour with a jeweler's loupe looking at each of them individually. So I'm thinking the actual CPU/motherboard is what's busted, and although I didn't want to build a new PC just yet, I think it's the most cost effective option.
My question: I'll be using my credit card points to buy all the parts through Amazon. I know it will cost me a few more dollars than Newegg/whoever's cheapest, but it actually won't, because points, yup. Should I just buy my Z77 mobo/ 3570k processor/ 1600mhz RAM/ HD7870 card now, or wait till later in the month? I am not familiar with how Amazon prices components for Black Friday, and I can keep using my netbook for a few weeks if it'll save me some money.
Thanks!