Curse

*Darcy* · Jul 19, 2011, 12:38 PM // 12:38

My pc started shutting down this morning and the only problem I can find is the Northbridge chip cube (NVidia 750i (C72P)) is very hot. I'm assuming this means buying a new motherboard.

My CPU is an Intel Core 2 Quad 6600 which I would prefer not to replace until next year at least. Is there a board that will allow me to use that one now and then upgrade to a new model chip?

Draca · Jul 19, 2011, 01:51 PM // 13:51

how hot?

First try to take out on any dust and check if all fans are spinning.
Also try opening the case and put some kind of table fan pointing into the case.
All this should determine if it's a heat issue.

Hopefully this will fix the issue getting a LGA775 socket motherboard for the q6600 might be hard. Also all new intel processors use other sockets so a LGA775 will NOT support a core i3/5/7

*Darcy* · Jul 19, 2011, 02:04 PM // 14:04

I've got the case open and the fans are all running fine. The water-cooling system was just replaced and that is running cool except where the tubes cross the Northbridge cube. It is very hot, by the way, burn your fingertip hot.

Well, I'm sorry to hear that I have to replace the CPU and the motherboard. Keeping in mind that my income is limited at the moment (I usually save up for this stuff.), does anyone have any recommendations?

Draca · Jul 19, 2011, 02:33 PM // 14:33

even worse then that the DDR2 ram you most likely have now doesn't fit in a new motherboard since we now use ddr3.

I wonder if there might be a other fault here tho. Like PSU starting to give up.
is your cpu overclocked? I assume it is if you are watercooling , then do you have a waterblock on the North bridge? Then you can also try putting down the the overclock and see if it fixes the problem.

Quaker · Jul 19, 2011, 02:34 PM // 14:34

Well, the LGA775 socket is 2 generations old now - 1156/1366 and 1155/xxxx - and it may be hard to find a new one. However, it's still possible that some local computer repair shops may have some new or used ones. You could consider checking local buy/sell sites or papers for a good used one.
Just make sure that any new/used board has the proper type and number of RAM slots and any other features - IDE, SATA, PCIe, etc. - that you need.

*Darcy* · Jul 19, 2011, 02:44 PM // 14:44

@Draca - as far as I know it is not overclocked. I bought the system from ibuypower and, as my house is not air-conditioned and I had temperature problems with my last PC, I took the water-cooling option. Thank you for letting me know about the ram problem.

@Quaker - yes, it looks like I will be searching for another LGA775 board, unless I find a good deal on a newer one and can convince my kids to give me cash for my birthday. Today is my birthday and this seems to have been my personal luck's present for me.

Draca · Jul 19, 2011, 02:58 PM // 14:58

Doesn't look like it's impossible to get a new LGA775 mobo. Just see that it's the right size ATX or mATX. ATX is standard so that's the most likely.

*Darcy* · Jul 19, 2011, 04:26 PM // 16:26

I'm not doing too well on the search for an exact replacement; only Tigerdirect seems to have one, but only in-store. I guess I will call around the repair shops. If anyone knows a source, let me know.

I did find this one - any bad opinions on this maker?
http://www.amazon.com/XFX-nForce-750.../ref=de_a_smtd

Quaker · Jul 20, 2011, 01:49 PM // 13:49

That seems quite expensive. You don't need an exact replacement, but for the least hassle when restarting Windows, try to get one with the same chipset. If you don't know and/or can't find the chipset, get one with an Intel chipset.

Newegg seems to have lots of them:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...name=LGA%20775

Also: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati..._1235 9_12359

I'd recommend Gigabyte, ASUS, ASRock, MSI, Biostar, Zotac, or Foxxcon

Be sure to get one with the proper RAM slots. Most likely you're RAM is DDR2-800, but some of those boards use DDR3. Also, if your case only fits mATX, be sure to get an mATX model. (If the case can take a full ATX, then it doesn't matter - ATX or mATX.)

*Darcy* · Jul 20, 2011, 02:11 PM // 14:11

This is what I have now which has NVidia chipsets.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130175

Thanks for the brand recommendations, that is just what I needed.

Quaker · Jul 20, 2011, 06:36 PM // 18:36

The main issue I can see would mostly be the number of RAM slots, but if you only have 2 RAM sticks almost any of the ones on the list would do.
The best thing to do before you swap it might be to uninstall the chipset (and audio) drivers. But even if worse comes to worst, you should only need to boot off the CD and run Windows in Repair mode and use the driver CD that comes with the new motherboard, if required.

*Darcy* · Aug 04, 2011, 10:59 PM // 22:59

An update on the situation. I decided to take the whole pc to a shop and get it diagnosed before spending any money on parts. It turned out to be a bad RAM stick. So something new to add to my list of things that cause your pc to randomly shut down.