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Alienware x51 R2 CPU Upgrade Problem
Hello!
I'm not sure where to even start but here is the best I can to explain my situation.
A while back (about 3 months ago), I have upgraded my GPU, from a GTX 745, to a GIGABYTE GTX 1650 OC Low Profile edition, alongside my old 180w PSU, to a 330w PSU. No problem there. I have recently purchased a used, but working i7-4790k in order to upgrade my old i3-4150. My PC was working just fine right before I decided to upgrade my CPU (alongside the latest BIOS as well). So I opened up my PC, gently pulled out the cooling fan, and then the CPU itself, while cleaning both of its old stock thermal paste with alcohol. I then put the i7 on there (with the arrow pointing to the right angle), closed and tightened the lid, and put the new thermal paste on it in a dot at the center. Then, I put back the cooling fan (already cleaned from the old thermal paste) and applied it to the i7, making sure the screws were tightened up as well.
I then boot up the PC and the lights flicker white for less than a second before not turning back on again, while the cooling fan and PC itself is still up and running. It won't even display anything on the screen and would simply act like no HDMI is inserted at all. I then decided to turn it off, disconnect it, and try resetting the BIOS with the little gold coin it has inside by sticking it out and sticking it back in after 5 minutes and after turning it on, it still stays the same with no way to boot into the BIOS at all.
So I decide to put back the old i3 CPU i had, reapply the thermal paste, put it back together, and once I turn it on, the lights turn blue like normal, but then the entire PC turns back off all of a sudden, turns back on, and repeats this process over and over again, until I disconnect it completely. I had this turning on and off problem over a year ago, until I upgraded my BIOS and reset it multiple times, which I tried resetting it now, but it still comes up with the same results. I'm not even sure what to do anymore and I'm afraid my PC isn't usable at this point after a failed attempt to upgrade to an i7-4790k, which from what I've gathered, the x51 R2 is compatible with the CPU, as long as the BIOS is up to date. Any other potential alternative solutions would be greatly appreciated! If I may have missed any more details, I'll be sure to provide them for you, if I can.
r72019
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February 6th, 2021 20:00
Did you check for bent pins on your motherboard socket? A bent pin can be one cause of an endless boot loop. It's easy to bend the pins by accident without knowing it, if you apply pressure to the IHS when you remove old thermal paste (e.g., if you wiped down on the CPU to remove the paste while the CPU was installed on the motherboard), install the CPU down at an angle, rock the heatsink back and forth sideways when removing it from the top of the CPU, etc. If so, you can try straightening any bent pins with a sewing needle.
Also, keeping in mind to always discharge flea power before opening up the PC by pushing and holding down the power button several times after unplugging it from the wall so you don't short anything on the motherboard.
You could also try reseating the power cables on the motherboard.
Epsilon77
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February 6th, 2021 20:00
Thanks! I may have found the culprit. There's at least one slightly bent pin where the CPU goes. I'll try the needle advice and see how it goes in the end. I'll update you once I see the results.
Epsilon77
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February 6th, 2021 21:00
It worked! My PC came back to life!! This was with the i3, however. I'm now going to try the i7. Hopefully it'll work.
Epsilon77
5 Posts
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February 6th, 2021 21:00
@r72019 Well, my PC works once again by fixing the bent pin with my old i3, but with the i7, it now turns on and but quickly turns itself off like a fraction of a second. I'm actually thinking that the i7 cpu came defective, even though the eBayer expressed that it was pulled from a working PC. Nothing about the CPU being defective or anything like that. I guess it died after being pulled out. Not sure. Anyways, this is just a theory, but now my PC works normally, just like it did before. Thought it actually died on me after all these years lol.
EDIT: I know there's no way to overclock a CPU on the x51 R2, but is it normal for the PC to act the way it did if it's not compatible? I mean, the i7 4790k in itself should be able to work without overclocking, but do you think is it because it could be defective or incompatible?
r72019
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February 7th, 2021 01:00
It's hard to tell. Turning on and then shutting down immediately could indeed be a symptom of a bad CPU.
Another possibility is that fixing the bent pin was good enough for the i3, but not for the higher power requirements of the unlocked i7.
The 4790K should definitely be supported by the X51 R2, especially on the latest BIOs. If a CPU weren't supported (e.g., 9900K on z370 without the required microcode) you'd expect to turn on and then get stuck with a black screen.
r72019
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February 7th, 2021 01:00
Yeah, sorry I don't think I can give you a definitive answer with this (mobo vs CPU problem). If it were me though yeah I'd probably focus my attention on the i7 next, or just return it if you don't have a way to further troubleshoot it. But definitely good to hear it's working fine with the i3 now!
Epsilon77
5 Posts
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February 7th, 2021 02:00
Yeah I'm most likely going to return it. My mobo should be capable of supplying enough power for an 88w CPU like that though. The i7 is mostly defective as i did more research and came to find out that a typical defective CPU would act the way the i7 did.
Anyway, thanks for the help! I'll try looking for another one and hopefully, it won't come out defective like this one.