1. #1

    Need a new motherboard?

    Hello everyone!

    A few days ago I spilled a little bit of liquid on my computer and some got into the case through the top vent/fan. Of course it hit the motherboard and I am pretty sure it fried some of the board. I pointed a fan at the open case and let it dry out for 24 hours.

    When I boot it up, the LEDs on my RAM go, my GPU fan turns on and everything else seems to be running except for a few things.

    - USB ports are not working (Front and back)
    - Monitor output not working (Through GPU (HDMI))
    - Heatsink fan not turning on


    You think I need a new motherboard? If so, which one should I get to replace?

    Specs:
    Processor: Intel Core i7 CPU 920 @ 2.67GHz (8 CPUs), ~2.7GHz
    Motherboard: ASUSTeK P6T SE
    RAM: Crucial Ballistix DDR3 PC3-10700H (667 MHz) 2GB (x3)
    Graphics: PowerColor PCS+ AMD Radeon HD 7870 Myst Edition 2GB GDDR5
    Hard Drive(s): OCZ-Vertex4 128GB SSD
    WD Black 500GB
    WD Blue 1TB

  2. #2
    Moderator chazus's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    Las Vegas
    Posts
    17,222
    A few things

    1) What kind of liquid was it? Have you tried to actually clean it?
    2) Have you tried reseating everything?
    3) Do you know what actually came in contact with the liquid?
    Gaming: Dual Intel Pentium III Coppermine @ 1400mhz + Blue Orb | Asus CUV266-D | GeForce 2 Ti + ZF700-Cu | 1024mb Crucial PC-133 | Whistler Build 2267
    Media: Dual Intel Drake Xeon @ 600mhz | Intel Marlinspike MS440GX | Matrox G440 | 1024mb Crucial PC-133 @ 166mhz | Windows 2000 Pro

    IT'S ALWAYS BEEN WANKERSHIM | Did you mean: Fhqwhgads
    "Three days on a tree. Hardly enough time for a prelude. When it came to visiting agony, the Romans were hobbyists." -Mab

  3. #3
    1) Was a little bit of beer. (Sam Adams Pumpkin Spice :-)) I cleaned it a little bit with an earswab and water.

    2) I've taken everything apart and put stuff back together. Tried a few different cables and peripherals.

    3) The top part of the motherboard, above the processor, came in contact with the liquid. As well as a drop on the GPU case and the heatsink radiator/fan

  4. #4
    Anyone else have any input? I could post pictures if it would help with the case.

    Otherwise I think I am leaning on getting a new motherboard. What would be a good replacement to the ASUSTeK P6T SE?

  5. #5
    Deleted
    Well I think it's going to be really hard finding any X58 motherboard that isn't used, basically the only one I could find was this:

    ZOTAC X58SLI-A-E $160 from Ebay

    Perhaps it's time to replace board/CPU/RAM? You'd be looking at around ~$350-400 for a Z77+i5-3570k+heatsink or Z87+i5-4670k+heatsink

  6. #6
    Ugh That is not the answer I wanted to hear lol. Worst case scenario has to happen once in a while I guess, huh.

    /sigh and to think I am planning on buying a new car. Time to figure out priorities.

    Edit: Also, feel free anyone to suggest a decent mobo/cpu/ram combo. I want to keep it under $400 max. Also, is there any new techs coming out to wait a bit for? Such as a new line of AMD/Intel chips or anything?
    Last edited by OmegaSkittle; 2013-08-16 at 11:14 PM. Reason: ADD

  7. #7
    Deleted
    Cheapest, IvyBridge, no SLI.

    PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

    CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.98 @ Outlet PC)
    CPU Cooler: Enermax ETS-T40-TB 86.7 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ Newegg)
    Motherboard: ASRock Z75 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($84.99 @ Amazon)
    Total: $339.96
    (Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
    (Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-08-16 22:50 EDT-0400)

    Better overclocking, IvyBridge and SLI support.

    PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

    CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.98 @ Outlet PC)
    CPU Cooler: Enermax ETS-T40-TB 86.7 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ Newegg)
    Motherboard: MSI Z77A-GD55 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($121.49 @ Amazon)
    Total: $376.46
    (Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
    (Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-08-16 23:18 EDT-0400)

    Haswell, no SLI support.

    PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

    CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.00 @ Amazon)
    CPU Cooler: Enermax ETS-T40-TB 86.7 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ Newegg)
    Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Pro4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($104.99 @ Newegg)
    Total: $358.98
    (Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
    (Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-08-16 23:20 EDT-0400)

    Haswell, better overclocking, SLI support.

    PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

    CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.00 @ Amazon)
    CPU Cooler: Enermax ETS-T40-TB 86.7 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ Newegg)
    Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($120.99 @ Newegg)
    Total: $374.98
    (Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
    (Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-08-16 23:23 EDT-0400)

  8. #8
    main differences between Ivybridge and Haswell? I know Haswell is newer of a chip but I am reading that its only ~3% increase in performance. Also I am reading that some users are reporting that the Haswell is running a bit hot.

    Should I be safe with an Ivybridge or does going with Haswell make the build a little more future-proof? I am not sure what the Haswell has over IvyBridge when it comes to future software applicability.

    Thanks for everyone's help by the way. MMO-Champ is awesome

  9. #9
    Deleted
    You're right Haswell requires better cooling when overclocking. As for performance I'd say there is a ~10% difference when running at the same clocks. The IvyBridge CPU will most likely (never certain) overclock better with the Enermax heatsink.

    Haswell is LGA1150 and so will Broadwell be so in theory you're more future proof in that sense but I doubt it would really be worth "upgrading". You have the option though. I would either get the cheapest IvyBridge combo (if you want to spend as little as possible) or the SLI supported Haswell combo. Z87 on the higher end boards also have better onboard sound, then again if that's important you can always buy a dedicated sound card ($30-60) later on.

  10. #10
    Deleted
    Just to throw in an AMD suggestion

    PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

    CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($144.99 @ Amazon)
    CPU Cooler: Gelid Solutions CC-TranQ-01-A 58.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($31.25 @ Amazon)
    Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($99.99 @ Newegg)
    Total: $276.23
    (Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
    (Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-08-17 10:21 EDT-0400)

    Performance for MMOs is less than that of the intel, but it will perform good. For other games (FPS etc) the difference in performance is/should be small.

  11. #11
    Well since I think I am gonna be going with the Haswell with the ASRock Z87 Extreme3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard, should I invest in a better cooling solution for the chip?

  12. #12
    Quick tip (not exactly on topic): Keep your pc far enough away from you and preferably under a table if you have tendency of spilling liquids and that will never happen again.
    I have my pc under the table on the left about half a meter from me and always keep liquids on the right of me.

  13. #13

  14. #14
    Deleted
    I'll go back to the original question - whats so bad about gettin a used motherboard from ebay?

    I also fried mobo in my last computer (Core 2 Duo gen.) but wasn't ready to do complete MB+CPU+RAM rebuild just yet. So I bought a cheap secondhand motherboard - it worked flawlessly for three years, it still does but I finally decided to build brand new Haswell-based system.

    So instead of going with as-cheap-as-possible Ivy Bridge build, I'd choose what I described above and do a complete rebuild when you have enough money for components that are up-to-date and will last for a while.

  15. #15
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by OmegaSkittle View Post
    Well since I think I am gonna be going with the Haswell with the ASRock Z87 Extreme3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard, should I invest in a better cooling solution for the chip?
    The Enermax should be able to do medium+ overclock no problem - but a better cooling solution is definitely an option if you're one to push things a little further.

    NZXT HAVIK 140
    Corsair H60 (2013)
    Be Quiet DARK ROCK PRO 2 (silent option)
    Noctua NH-U12S (silent option)
    Zalman CNPS9900MAX-B

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •