Advice sought on repairing, updating, or replacing (beloved) older build

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CycloneGen

n00b
Joined
Oct 16, 2023
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Hello all -

Long time since I've posted at [H], but I'm hoping to ask for some advice.

I built a new PC back in early 2015 that I have upgraded here and there over the years, but still use today. I use it primarily for work (desk job, no fancy software needs), run a home PLEX server off of it, and also play games sometimes - although (obviously) not pushing cutting edge graphics or anything. Still, with the upgrades over the years I can still play the recent titles I'm interested in with useable graphics performance. I've loved this build for years and still love it.

When I was away from home a couple weeks ago, we had some sort of power surge or spike or something. The PC was plugged into a CyberPower UPS, but it still got messed up somehow. The UPS appears to be fried, and the PC will not POST (although all components "look" and "sound" like they are powering up correctly). I have fully disconnected it from power (obviously not running it through the UPS anymore), and I've fully removed and re-seated all major components. Still no luck on POST.

So, I need to go about either fixing the existing build or building new. So, I have a few questions for the experts here.

If this issue hadn't happened, I don't think I'd be looking to upgrade. As old as the build is, it worked generally pretty good for me on a daily basis. This thing has been a rock-solid, dependable work horse.

If anyone has any ideas or advice about additional troubleshooting I could be doing to try to fix the current build, I'd greatly appreciate it. At this point, not sure how to go about testing individual components to figure out what is causing the problem. Some parts would not be easy to find replacements for at this point.

I'd also like to list my current components to see if there are good suggestions people would have for a few key parts to change/upgrade and still maybe be able to keep a lot of the hardware I already have.

And then finally, if I consider just a brand new build, would love to hear some general suggestions for good, more recent, build ideas. I don't need today's cutting edge - probably something fairly moderate but a lot newer would end up still being a lot more powerful than what I have (probably?).

Thanks! Will try to list current build below:


PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-5960X 3 GHz 8-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black Edition 42 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Asus X99-DELUXE II ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 32 GB (4 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL15 Memory
Storage: Samsung 870 Evo 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Storage: Samsung 980 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive
Storage: Seagate IronWolf Pro 4 TB 3.5" 7200 RPM Internal Hard Drive
Storage: Seagate IronWolf NAS 12 TB 3.5" 7200 RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: MSI GAMING X GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6 GB Video Card
Case: Nanoxia Deep Silence 3 ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 850 G2 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
Optical Drive: Pioneer BDR-209DBK Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro OEM - DVD 64-bit
Sound Card: Asus Essence STX II 24-bit 192 kHz Sound Card
Wired Network Adapter: Intel EXPI9301CTBLK Gigabit Ethernet PCIe x1 Network Adapter
Monitor: LG 27MB85R-B 27.0" 2560 x 1440 60 Hz Monitor
Monitor: LG 27MB85R-B 27.0" 2560 x 1440 60 Hz Monitor
Monitor: LG 27MB85R-B 27.0" 2560 x 1440 60 Hz Monitor

Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-10-16 21:16 EDT-0400
 
Man, that's tough. Lightning strike, maybe? Do you maybe have a local, not Best Buy/Geek Squad computer shop that could take a look at it? But given what you describe even if it got running again I'd have a hard time trusting that system or any of its individual components.

I'd suspect the PSU is fried, and try swapping in a replacement to see if the situation improves. If you're very lucky it absorbed everything and didn't pass the surge over to the mainboard, GPU, and other components.

According to the manual your mainboard has some diagnostic LEDs as well as a two-digit display for codes. There's also a button to run a memory check, as well as one to clear the CMOS and reset the BIOS/UEFI. I'd try all of these.

If those lead nowhere and the PSU is known-good (i.e., a different unit) I'd probably try disconnecting everything but the GPU (since you have no iGPU, if you still have an old GPU that was not in the system use that instead), one display, and a single DIMM to see if you can at least get the BIOS/UEFI to come up. If that works, add components one at a time and reboot, starting with the remaining DIMMs and then the OS drive.
 
That's still a really solid rig, sorry to hear it took a hit. I too grow attached to my gear so I feel your pain.

The good news is your not out of luck regarding replacement parts. Used X99 MBs are very easy to find here on [H] and on eBay. The rest of your rig is easily sourced new, except for your PSU :( EVGA doesn't sell the G2 850s anymore but your 10yr warranty has that covered if needed. If worst comes to worst, we can help you find a top notch replacement.

You may just need to clear the cmos (or pop the battery out, with the PSU disconnected) if the UPS did its job on it's way out. Your rig may have only been jolted off and a cmos clear is all that's needed. If the UPS completely failed, like Blue said, you'll have to start the dreaded component swap dance. In that case your MB and or PSU likely took the worst of it. It's hard to say without knowing what happened to the UPS.

Definitely use the diagnostic LEDs and display codes BlueLineSwinger (major kudos for looking that up for him!) mentioned via your MB manual if the clear cmos doesn't help. They can narrow things down quickly and easily.
GL!
 
Perhaps check the cmos battery state of charge as well. A rig that old may need a new one by now. I doubt that would cause a no post but can't hurt to check it.
 
Hi All,

Wanted to say thanks to those that were able to respond. The diagnostics LEDs and error code display on the motherboard were helpful, even if they did not point directly to the issue. Had an error code ("ASUS Q CODE") of "b6" - which cross references to "clean up of NVRAM" in various online manuals. Also had the "DRAM_LED" diagnostic light stay on and solid.

Tried a bunch of the suggestions - used the onboard MEM test button - that didn't resolve anything or result in a POST. Cleared CMOS by button and by putting a new battery in. Tried different RAM stick combinations, etc.

Anyway, doing a lot of additional google searching and considering the suggestions posted here, began to have a sense it could be the CPU rather than anything memory related. So, used the opportunity to order a 6950X from ebay (instead of my existing 5960X), and just got it installed this morning. Booted right up!

A part of me had began to get excited about maybe needing to put together a whole new build, but a bigger part of me is happy to be back up and running with the existing gear. This machine should still serve my needs very well for some time yet. Thanks again for the advice and suggestions!
 
Nice.

It might be worthwhile now to run the system through some tests to ensure it's up to task. Something like MemTest86 at the least I'd say. Maybe also pull down the Samsung Magician app for the SSDs as well as one for the HDDs if available, or at least run the long/extended SMART tests on them. Not sure of the best way to test the GPU for issues, maybe push it in some game or some kind of Blender run?
 
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