Is my computer connected to my television somehow killing my motherboards?

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VinnieP
Is my computer connected to my television somehow killing my motherboards?

Great thread Matt. I've had no trouble connecting my PC to my LG LCD television using a VGA cable and it looks great.
However, after I had it on there for a few weeks, the motherboard in my computer died. It's an ASUS Motherboard P5GC-MX/1333. No trouble, I ordered a new motherboard and got an RMA on the old one. The new mobo is a GIGABYTE GA-MA770-UD3. About 2 weeks later this motherboard died as well!
I've been using a XFX GX260NADBF GeForce GTX 260 Black Edition graphics card and all the drivers are updated. There's been no trouble with that.
My question to you is: Do you think having my computer connected to my television may somehow be killing my motherboards??

Matt Whitlock
I seriously doubt it, but if

I seriously doubt it, but if you've lost two boards, there may be something else going on. First, what else is your system comprised of?

VinnieP
The full specs:

The full specs:
Processor - AMD Athlon II X2 250 Regor 3.0GHz (w/ the Gigabyte mobo)
Mobo you know
Graphics card you know
Memory - 2 Mushkin 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667
Power Source - PC Power & Cooling S75CF 750W

Case is a cooler master with 3 120mm fans.
OS is Windows XP professional.

The ASUS mobo I had for about a year and then the network card died. I bought another and everything worked fine until it just wouldn't respond one day.
Similar story with the Gigabyte mobo - it was fine the night before, then I go to turn on the PC and no POST. I removed the memory to force a POST and heard nothing. Then I removed the graphics card, the CPU and still nothing. All of my fans work fine including the one cooling the processor. I just don't get it...

Matt Whitlock
VinnieP said:

VinnieP said:
The full specs:
Processor - AMD Athlon II X2 250 Regor 3.0GHz (w/ the Gigabyte mobo)
Mobo you know
Graphics card you know
Memory - 2 Mushkin 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667
Power Source - PC Power & Cooling S75CF 750W
Case is a cooler master with 3 120mm fans.
OS is Windows XP professional.
The ASUS mobo I had for about a year and then the network card died. I bought another and everything worked fine until it just wouldn't respond one day.
Similar story with the Gigabyte mobo - it was fine the night before, then I go to turn on the PC and no POST. I removed the memory to force a POST and heard nothing. Then I removed the graphics card, the CPU and still nothing. All of my fans work fine including the one cooling the processor. I just don't get it...

Nothing stands out as wrong with that setup, which means you're in for a hell of a time troubleshooting. 

I would actually start by making sure you have the motherboard standoffs properly installed, and in the correct spots. If they're not, they could be shorting out the board. Look for any bad capacitors on the board surface, and make sure there's no debris in the case.

Next,  I'd check your power supply. It may be worth the investment to pick up a PSU tester and make sure that it's outputting the proper volatages.  

You could try different RAM (I don't see those sticks on the supported memory list), just in case it's a weird incompatibility, and possibly try a different graphics card temporarily.

Hopefully that gets you started. 

VinnieP
It's interesting you mention

It's interesting you mention the standoffs. With the ASUS, it wasn't until I put it in the new case that I had any trouble and there were no standoffs for that case.
When I bought the Gigabyte, I put the standoffs in everywhere but the corner by the memory. (I blame this on my laziness. I should have removed the mobo and put the last standoff in instead of just leaving that area hovering.)
I wasn't aware this could cause a short. When I get my board back, I'll be sure to install them everywhere. Are there other precautions I could take to ensure I don't short another mobo? Maybe grounding it somehow?

Matt Whitlock
VinnieP said:

VinnieP said:
It's interesting you mention the standoffs. With the ASUS, it wasn't until I put it in the new case that I had any trouble and there were no standoffs for that case.
When I bought the Gigabyte, I put the standoffs in everywhere but the corner by the memory. (I blame this on my laziness. I should have removed the mobo and put the last standoff in instead of just leaving that area hovering.)
I wasn't aware this could cause a short. When I get my board back, I'll be sure to install them everywhere. Are there other precautions I could take to ensure I don't short another mobo? Maybe grounding it somehow?

Refer to the installation manual for your Motherboard. It will show you exactly where to put the standoffs. Don't put them anywhere it says not to, and make sure they're installed everywhere it says they should be. You should need to do anything other than that. 

Of course, you should ground yourself before working inside your PC.  I recommend an anti-static wrist strap, but touching something metal inside your case before handling components is a bare-minimum must.

VinnieP
Will do. Thanks a LOT for

Will do. Thanks a LOT for your advice! I was boggled over what was causing the problems. Techlore.com is now in my favorites.

Matt Whitlock
VinnieP said:

VinnieP said:
Techlore.com is now in my favorites.

Woo Hoo!

Glad to help. You can also be a fan on Facebook, if you're into the whole "Facebook thing." Smile

 

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