Curse

*Darcy* · Sep 08, 2011, 09:59 PM // 21:59

Last spring my liquid cooling pump burnt out (actual black spot on the transparent case). Since then I have had constant problems with my pc.

Is it possible that the pump sent a surge through my components that damaged all of them? So far, I have either replaced myself or had pc tech determine need for:

monitor
memory strip
reformat HD and reload Vista 64
power supply (800W)

And now the pc works fine for about one to one and a-half hours, then starts to slow down until it freezes. No blue screens and repair disk finds nothing wrong with windows. So now I am contemplating a new HD.

Anyone have any ideas?

Quaker · Sep 08, 2011, 11:50 PM // 23:50

It's not likely that burning out the pump would affect anything else - the only connection that the pump has to the rest of the computer is that it draws power from the power supply. Unless it's a really cheap power supply, the pump burning out should at most just put the power supply into a shut-down mode.
However, the pump could have burned out because of a surge in the power supply or spikes caused by nearby lightning- which could cause problems with many things. If you had to replace the monitor, that would make me lean toward lightning.

In any case, it sounds like you have a thermal problem - this could be "over heating" or a fault that gets worse during normal heating. I would assume that during your troubleshooting you cleaned all the dust out of the heatsinks and checked that all the cooling fans run properly.
This leads to a preliminary diagnosis of a bad motherboard and/or CPU. (It's easy for power spikes to damage the electrolytic capacitors on the motherboard)
You didn't say if you actually replaced the power supply, though. If you haven't, trying another power supply would be the first thing to try.

*Darcy* · Sep 09, 2011, 01:36 AM // 01:36

It was a NZXT 800W that came with the case. And, yes it's been replaced. Looks like my original diagnosis of a failing motherboard from my previous thread was more right than I believed.

Instead of replacing it, which was looking like throwing away money to standstill techwise, I took the pc to a pro to get it checked out. He diagnosed a bad RAM stick that time and that Windows was corrupted. Then I took it back again and he diagnosed a bad power supply and replaced it.

The monitor went at the same time as the pump, so, yeah, while I don't remember any bad storms, it's a logical possibility.

-----------------

Any recommendations for a new mobo? Something to go with an Intel i5 CPU I will also need to purchase. I have a mid-size case.

Quaker · Sep 09, 2011, 02:30 PM // 14:30

Personally, I never recommend specific motherboards, for several reasons like, I don't know what features you want or need, I could recommend a board that turns out to be bad, and I'm too lazy to do the work for you.

Basically, get a good brand like ASUS, Gigabyte, EVGA, ASrock, etc., don't pay extra for features you don't need, and read reviews.

*Darcy* · Sep 09, 2011, 06:46 PM // 18:46

I don't blame you, Quaker. Thank you for the list of good brands. That was more in line with what I needed. I should have been clearer in my wording.