Motherboard Problem

[Fonzy]

I feel like such an idiot.

Last night I began having some computer problems (not even booting to the "beep"), so I decided to start pulling pieces out to test them.

Memory: WINTEC AMPO 512MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820161615
Video Card: GeForce 6600 http://www.evga.com/products/moreinfo.asp?pn=256-A8-N340-TX
Motherboard: ASUS P4P800SE Socket 478 Intel 865PE ATX Intel Motherboard
http://usa.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=12&l3=31&model=179&modelmenu=1

Long story short, I had to unseat the video card to get the memory off the motherboard. After checking the memory, I put the memory back in the slot and went to reseat the video card, forgetting that I hadn't fully engaged the plastic locks on either side of the memory slot. Because the my video card sits way too **** close to the memory (IMO), I accidentally snapped the plastic upright off the lock on the memory card slot. My question is, does anybody know for sure if I'm going to need to buy a new motherboard now in addition to whatever else is wrong with my machine?

I have used my leet MSPaint skills to make a picture illustrating which part I broke. The plastic snapped right at the base of the upright. Meaning that the part still parallel with the motherboard is there, just the perpendicular section broke.

head
hit
desk

EDIT- Also, while I was messing around, I noticed that the the greenish square directly to the left of the circled item (don't remember what it's called and my manual is at home) was hot (my heat probe read around 130 F when I put it on top of it). Should I be concerned about this or is this normal? The processor runs around 100 F, according to the same probe.

 

[Alvin.C]

Re:

Hello,

Having one of the DIMM retention clips snapped of just means a higher risk of the module wiggling out of the slot, is all. It should still be okay to put a module in the slot so long as you know it's securely in place and won't be knocked out.

As for the greenish square, that's the southbridge chipset. It's normal for it to get hot.

 

[Fonzy]

You rock, man. Thanks for the quick reply.

*breathes a sigh of relief*

 

[RicoDirenzo]

That broken clip will not be a problem if you PC stays in one place. If you move it around alot you will need to make sure you inspect that memory module for a secure fit. I have done the same thing and there has never been a problem.

 

[fausage5440]

hey bud just quick question. My mobo I have an Asus A7N8X and my computer has started acting funny lately. To the point now where I dont get even get a first bios beep. Have you fixed your problem yet. I did everything else with mine as well, unseat and reseating everything with no avail.

 

[Fonzy]

I didn't have time to go through the full range of tests last night.

I got as far as unseating/reseating and testing the drives last night before it got late. Tonight I'm going to try to swap processors and then try out some new memory sticks if the processor thing doesn't work. If that fails, then I guess I know where the problem is and it's time to get a new mobo.

I'll let you know what I come up with.

 

[Fonzy]

Ok.

Now I'm very confused.

I have another, older, machine:
Processor: http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sspec=sl679
Motherboard: http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/d845ebg2/sb/cs-008635.htm

And here's my newer processor: http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sspec=sl7e4

Obviously, my processor wouldn't work in the old board, but it stood to reason (at least in my mind) that the older processor should work in the newer board, right? Well, it doesn't.

I monitored the temperatures, too. The older processor heats up on the new motherboard (see first post), but the new processor doesn't heat up on the new motherboard. This lead me to think, at first, that maybe it's my processor. So, out of sheer curiosity, I decided to do the unspeakable and plug the new processor into the old board. Sure enough, the new processor heated up like it's supposed to.

So now I'm completely stumped. I suppose I'll probably wind up with a new mobo and processor eventually, but I figured I'd post this just in case anyone had some insight that could help me figure out whether this is a processor issue or a motherboard issue.