Computer Hardware and Electronics

[Kurt Fraser]

Motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth 990FX R2.0 (DDR3,USB3.0, 6Gb/s, CrossFireX/Sli)
CPU:AMD FX-9590 Eight Core CPU (5.0GHz/16MB CACHE/AM3+)
RAM: 64GB Kingston Hyper-X Beast Dual DDR3 2400MHz X.M.P (4x16GB)
GPU: 3x 6GB Nvidea GeForce GTX 780 - 2 DVI,HDMI,DP - 3D Vision Ready 
SSD: 1TB Crucial M550 SSD, SATA 6Gb/s 550MB/sR
HDD: 1st&2nd 4th 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 5900RPM 64MB CACHE (RAID)
3rd 4TB WD Caviar Black WD4003FZEX, SATA 6GB/s 64MB CACHE(7200RPM)
PSU: Corsair 1200W Pro Series Platinum AX1200i Digital Modular PSU
Case: Coolermaster Cosmos 2 Ultra Tower (Built in fan controller)
CD/DVD Drive: 1:16x Blu-Ray Writer Drive, 16x DVD ±R/±RW 2: 24x Dual Layer DVD writer ±R/±RW/RAM
Processor Cooling: Corsair H100i Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster ZxR 5.1 PCI-E Soundcard
Firewire: 3 Port IEEE 1394a Firewire PCI Card
USB: 2 Port USB 3.0 Internal PCI-E Card + Standard USB ports
OS: Windows 8.1 Professional

[RadioActivitii]

My laptop overheated playing STO - no idea why, it was properly ventilated, fans cleaned etc, but when I booted it, it kept beeping. When I took the back off, one of the memory sticks had a burn mark on it. When I finally got my laptop on (F8 a few times on the Acer screen, then boot windows normally, weird that it doesn't boot normally without beeping anymore), it said I only had 2GB RAM instead of 4GB.

[Kurt Fraser]

Check your RAM chips to make sure one hasn't fried istelf, easy way is to test with a multimeter you or your dad would have on lying about I assume? If it reads current flowing through it it is fine if not then take your laptop down to a PC specialist and ask them to check it out, you may have cooling issues. STO is not a cause for something to overheat, not under normal conditions anyway.

[Veritas]

My laptop overheated playing STO - no idea why, it was properly ventilated, fans cleaned etc, but when I booted it, it kept beeping. When I took the back off, one of the memory sticks had a burn mark on it. When I finally got my laptop on (F8 a few times on the Acer screen, then boot windows normally, weird that it doesn't boot normally without beeping anymore), it said I only had 2GB RAM instead of 4GB.

You should remove and RMA the dead RAM. Do not leave it in there. If you are running STO at max settings on a laptop that is poorly ventilated, it could overheat, but it's very unlikely it'd get to the point of physically damaging components without shutting down. You should have it returned to manufacturer immediately.

Kurt, we already know his RAM is dead - and you should not use a multimeter on RAM, that won't help or give you any useful information, and may even damage it.

[RadioActivitii]

Only issue now, is that if I move my laptop, the screen "breaks" - my laptop is pretty much held together by tape. Also, the warranty was void when I opened the laptop up. That's Acer for you. (I'm at my parents now so I can use their PC for STO haha)

[Kurt Fraser]

My laptop overheated playing STO - no idea why, it was properly ventilated, fans cleaned etc, but when I booted it, it kept beeping. When I took the back off, one of the memory sticks had a burn mark on it. When I finally got my laptop on (F8 a few times on the Acer screen, then boot windows normally, weird that it doesn't boot normally without beeping anymore), it said I only had 2GB RAM instead of 4GB.

You should remove and RMA the dead RAM. Do not leave it in there. If you are running STO at max settings on a laptop that is poorly ventilated, it could overheat, but it's very unlikely it'd get to the point of physically damaging components without shutting down. You should have it returned to manufacturer immediately.

Kurt, we already know his RAM is dead - and you should not use a multimeter on RAM, that won't help or give you any useful information, and may even damage it.

I have done it before never been a problem, you use it to check the rail voltage is making it to the module via a decoupling capacitor. I learned that whilst finding what was wrong with some RAM chips in my class. (The person who taught me that has a Masters in Computer Engineering)

[Kurt Fraser]

Only issue now, is that if I move my laptop, the screen "breaks" - my laptop is pretty much held together by tape. Also, the warranty was void when I opened the laptop up. That's Acer for you. (I'm at my parents now so I can use their PC for STO haha)

How much tape? This may be the source of your problem Radio.

[RadioActivitii]

That was a metaphor.

[Veritas]

I have done it before never been a problem, you use it to check the rail voltage is making it to the module via a decoupling capacitor. I learned that whilst finding what was wrong with some RAM chips in my class. (The person who taught me that has a Masters in Computer Engineering)

Just knowing that current flows through the RAM, even specifically at the rail voltage, doesn't mean anything. Current will flow through anything that is a conductor. You need to know that the RAM is taking in and holding data correctly and is doing so in a valid way. The current is obviously a prerequisite for that, but if the memory blocks themselves aren't working, it doesn't matter whether the DIMM is receiving current or not. Radio said there was obvious physical damage to the DIMM, so there's no point in testing this.

Put another way: If your engine block is busted, it doesn't matter whether there's gas in the car. You're not going anywhere.

[andrewthetechie]

Affording has been done by building this system out over 5 + years. I'm also due for a total overhaul and replace like Veritas in the next 3-4 years.

My monitors...well, the first 3 were bought in 2007. So ya, its been a project.

[RadioActivitii]

I do have an old desktop - I believe I damaged the processor in that though. Perhaps you could help? It was a pretty old system, but hadn't been used for a few years. I cleaned all the dust etc, it worked. I had chrome open and was installing The Sims 2 (because TS2 is great ). Then the system shut off, and wouldn't boot. If it helps, it never made that beep at startup. (Post Beep, I believe?). Old desktop was pretty good - now equal to my laptop on all but processor. Hell, the graphics card is way better than my laptop and it's 4 years older than my laptop xD.

[Kurt Fraser]

Post the specs please, we might be able to help you improve your computer without replacing it, just adding/replacing a few more up-to-date but still compatible parts. (Please post the exact name of the Motherboard)

[RadioActivitii]

How can I know what the specs are? xD All I know is that it had 2GB RAM, although, it is shop bought. Part of the Packard Bell iMedia series - dating to around 2006. Inside it, there isn't any damage to the parts, but like I said, I think I bust the processor, or motherboard. I don't suppose there's a way to test if it is the processor that is bust? (I also don't exactly have a few processors lying around )

[Kurt Fraser]

How can I know what the specs are? xD All I know is that it had 2GB RAM, although, it is shop bought. Part of the Packard Bell iMedia series - dating to around 2006. Inside it, there isn't any damage to the parts, but like I said, I think I bust the processor, or motherboard. I don't suppose there's a way to test if it is the processor that is bust? (I also don't exactly have a few processors lying around )

Typically the Motherboard will go before the cpu, easiest way to test is to try a boot and see what it does, it can quite often boot even if there is an issue as long as the BIOS is undamaged and is receiving power. It will then tell you problems, if there is an issue or it won't boot then you will need to replace the motherboard as it will be the damaged component, you can often save the likes of the CPU by simply getting the same motherboard or a slightly newer model that is compatible with your current components.
A few questions:-
1. How many RAM slots does it have?
2. How many PCI-E slots does it have? (they will be named on the motherboard)
3. What is your motherboards serial code and who makes it? (also on the motherboard, typically in large writing)
4. What is the Wattage of your PSU? (it will be on the bottom of your power supply normally)
5. If it does boot and does not label a CPU fault try and find out what CPU you have
6. HDD/SSD size and number of them?
7. What kind of budget would you have if you were to upgrade/replace the computer? (I might be able to either find you a full replacement or will hopefully be able to get your computer up and running with a better amount of RAM and GPU RAM)
8. What is your current GPU/GPC?
9. Any addon components? e.g. Soundcard, Card Reader, extra USB slots, cooling fan controller etc.
10. How many CD/DVD Drives?

[Veritas]

Kurt, he has no way to know that stuff if it won't boot. The motherboard beep codes don't mean the processor itself is dead, necessarily (in fact they probably don't mean that at all since the processor is required to function to produce a beep code). More likely something else has gone bad - RAM, HDD or power.

It doesn't matter, though. A stock system from 2006 much of anything modern on anything approaching acceptable settings - definitely not STO. The motherboard will be an old model that won't support modern CPUs (if, indeed, it supports anything other than what's already in it). It may not even be DDR3 RAM, and may not be expandable. It almost certainly won't have the space and power requirements for a modern GPU; hell, it's probably AGP or some other non-PCI-Express component.