Read why I shouldn't be allowed near electronics

[RikuoAmero]

Okay guys, so I got my gaming rig back from the repair shop (they didn't repair by the way, didn't even diagnose it properly).

So, I went to diagnose the problem myself. Remember, I'm a hobbyist, and the guys at the repair shop are supposed to be professionals, who should have seen the problem more or less straight away.

Turns out, it was my Corsair H80 Liquid CPU Cooler. First, check out this video

and go to 8:15.

In the guy's hand, he's holding a fan cable and a molex cable. They're coming from the CPU block/pump of my Corsair H80. A few weeks ago, back when I first put in my motherboard and CPU, I put in the Corsair and connected the fan cable only. Now, me being a complete and total moron, I didn't plug in the molex.

Not only that...but I actually cut off the molex. What the fan cable head had was only 1 wire, enough for the motherboard to read temperature, but not enough to supply power to the pump. The molex had the other 2 wires, for power.

There you have it folks. Go ahead, think up creative ways to call me a moron. A plate full of e-cookies will be given as a prize to the most creative insult. I fully deserve it.

The rest of the components worked by the way. All the fans, the graphics cards, (although I didn't test the hard drives or the blu-ray drive), I was able to get into BIOS, where it kept saying "Turn me off motherfrakker! The CPU's overheating!"

[lemmingllama]

Well, I am glad that you found out whats wrong with your PC. At the same time, *insert doing things to your anus that you cant even concieve of* (If you just had a dirty thought, you concieved of it, therefore that cant be what will happen to his anus) I hope that it can be fixed up soon and you can get this beast of a computer working!

[ZeroPenguins]

O.o oh wow that was a big mistake. But no I would never call anyone a noob or a moron at the first time of trying to build a computer. I say bravo! I commend you for taking on the task, a lot of people I know won't even dare to pop open their computer case or even dreamed of building a computer. So good job, as long as you learn from your mistakes. First time I built, I perfectly read every instructions, double checked everything and when it worked, IT FELT AWESOME!

Though I was right about it being simple to fix (if you know how to fix cables) and those computer IT guys do nothing but BS you. Lol I'm a hobbyist as well and I won't ever trust my computer to any of those professionals that charge you money, since most of them milk you out of your money and lie about stuff. It happened to me one time, when I brought my laptop in to install new RAM that I brought online, they quoted me about 30 dollars for the installation and it was fine by me. Told me to come back tomorrow, so the next day I came by they said I brought the wrong RAM, I was like WTF!? The guy said he will install new RAM for an extra 30 dollars for the correct one if I let them "trade" the RAM stick off me. I told them to give back my money, and he said no, so I started "bitching" (lol not really, but verbally rude without swearing) at them and scared other customers away. He gave back my 20 dollars. I went home and found out that I was able to install the SO-DIMM RAM myself and yes it was the correct one.

Has anyone worked out what they tried to do to me? Lol anybody who is knowledgeable with computers would've never fallen for that simple scam. The guy tried to cheat me out of my money twice, lol I soon found out that those local computer stores have a hard time surviving, since a friend of mines worked at one for a few months before they had to drop him. So be careful when dealing with those IT so called "professional". Anyhow I think I ranted long enough, I hope you're able to fix the cables and all the best to you! Tell me if you are able to fix it.

[RikuoAmero]

O.o oh wow that was a big mistake. But no I would never call anyone a noob or a moron at the first time of trying to build a computer. I say bravo! I commend you for taking on the task, a lot of people I know won't even dare to pop open their computer case or even dreamed of building a computer. So good job, as long as you learn from your mistakes. First time I built, I perfectly read every instructions, double checked everything and when it worked, IT FELT AWESOME!

Though I was right about it being simple to fix (if you know how to fix cables) and those computer IT guys do nothing but BS you. Lol I'm a hobbyist as well and I won't ever trust my computer to any of those professionals that charge you money, since most of them milk you out of your money and lie about stuff. It happened to me one time, when I brought my laptop in to install new RAM that I brought online, they quoted me about 30 dollars for the installation and it was fine by me. Told me to come back tomorrow, so the next day I came by they said I brought the wrong RAM, I was like WTF!? The guy said he will install new RAM for an extra 30 dollars for the correct one if I let them "trade" the RAM stick off me. I told them to give back my money, and he said no, so I started "bitching" (lol not really, but verbally rude without swearing) at them and scared other customers away. He gave back my 20 dollars. I went home and found out that I was able to install the SO-DIMM RAM myself and yes it was the correct one.

Has anyone worked out what they tried to do to me? Lol anybody who is knowledgeable with computers would've never fallen for that simple scam. The guy tried to cheat me out of my money twice, lol I soon found out that those local computer stores have a hard time surviving, since a friend of mines worked at one for a few months before they had to drop him. So be careful when dealing with those IT so called "professional". Anyhow I think I ranted long enough, I hope you're able to fix the cables and all the best to you! Tell me if you are able to fix it.

Exactly. I talked to them a few times over the course of a few days and they claimed to have taken out the components and tested them one by one...only, when I got back the rig, I took out the back panel and my cables were exactly as I had left them (I checked with the videos I uploaded). Plus, they even mentioned to me, they thought the problem was the CPU overheating, but thought it was because I hadn't applied thermal compound (I didn't, as everything I had looked at about the Corsair H80 said it came with compound pre-applied). A real professional who knows his stuff would have looked at the cooler, looked at the CPU fan header and scratched his head upon noticing that the cable had only one wire. I only realised what was wrong when I watched that H80 installation video and I said to myself "Wait...molex cable? Didn't I cut that off?"

Anyway, to close this sad tale of idiocy (and yes I am an idiot, for cutting off the molex, even if I had been right in thinking it was useless, I should have just tied it off), I've ordered a new Corsair H80. Should have it by the end of the week.

[ZeroPenguins]

Exactly. I talked to them a few times over the course of a few days and they claimed to have taken out the components and tested them one by one...only, when I got back the rig, I took out the back panel and my cables were exactly as I had left them (I checked with the videos I uploaded). Plus, they even mentioned to me, they thought the problem was the CPU overheating, but thought it was because I hadn't applied thermal compound (I didn't, as everything I had looked at about the Corsair H80 said it came with compound pre-applied). A real professional who knows his stuff would have looked at the cooler, looked at the CPU fan header and scratched his head upon noticing that the cable had only one wire. I only realised what was wrong when I watched that H80 installation video and I said to myself "Wait...molex cable? Didn't I cut that off?"

Anyway, to close this sad tale of idiocy (and yes I am an idiot, for cutting off the molex, even if I had been right in thinking it was useless, I should have just tied it off), I've ordered a new Corsair H80. Should have it by the end of the week.

I never cut cables, always tie them up. Also what are you gonna do with your old CPU cooler? Lol I won't mind taking it off your hands, but I suppose you're gonna sell it.

[playlamegetfame]

i would take it too... its easy to fix that molexcable. why dont YOU just fix it instead of buying a new one?^^

[RikuoAmero]

I would fix it, except I haven't a clue how and I'm not gonna go about messing with wires. The closest I'll get at this stage is just messing with cables and figuring out where they connect.

As for the old cooler...dunno what I'm going to do with it. I would send it to you Ang3lofDarkness but you're in Australia and I'm in Ireland...shipping + customs fee etc would probably end up equalling the cost of a new unit where you are, I'd guess (when I got a PS3 game shipped from Hong Kong to Ireland, the customs fee alone was €40). Eh...I've got a few IT friends here, I'll just give it to them.

[playlamegetfame]

I would fix it, except I haven't a clue how and I'm not gonna go about messing with wires. The closest I'll get at this stage is just messing with cables and figuring out where they connect.

As for the old cooler...dunno what I'm going to do with it. I would send it to you Ang3lofDarkness but you're in Australia and I'm in Ireland...shipping + customs fee etc would probably end up equalling the cost of a new unit where you are, I'd guess (when I got a PS3 game shipped from Hong Kong to Ireland, the customs fee alone was €40). Eh...I've got a few IT friends here, I'll just give it to them.

If you dont mind... i would pay you 20 dollar and shipping shouldnt be that expensiv for me.

I got an Intel eXtream cooler that came along with my i7 990X... it sucks! because it sounds like a hair blower and i cant even overclock that beast CPU.

btw, did you still have the molexpart youve cut off?

[RikuoAmero]

If you dont mind... i would pay you 20 dollar and shipping shouldnt be that expensiv for me.

I got an Intel eXtream cooler that came along with my i7 990X... it sucks! because it sounds like a hair blower and i cant even overclock that beast CPU.

btw, did you still have the molexpart youve cut off?

No, I'm not going to sell it and ship it, can't be bothered. I'll just give it away to one of my friends or throw it in the trash (unless someone can give an environmental reason I shouldn't).

[lemmingllama]

You realize that the wires are easy to fix. If you still have the molex part that was cut off, you just need to tie the wires together and electric tape it

[† L4ugh]

If you're just planning on throwing it away. I would first try to see if you could solder a new molex connector on to it. It seems harder then it really is. I did something similar last year when I installed a replacement plug in my PSU. The worse that could happen is you break an already broken device. If you succeed, you not only learn something but gain a spare cooler as well.

I'm not sure where you could buy the wires and molex connector in the UK, but any place that sells pc modding supplies should have everything you need to attempt to salvage the cooler.

[RikuoAmero]

If you're just planning on throwing it away. I would first try to see if you could solder a new molex connector on to it. It seems harder then it really is. I did something similar last year when I installed a replacement plug in my PSU. The worse that could happen is you break an already broken device. If you succeed, you not only learn something but gain a spare cooler as well.

I'm not sure where you could buy the wires and molex connector in the UK, but any place that sells pc modding supplies should have everything you need to attempt to salvage the cooler.

Okay, people, just please stop telling me to solder or rewire the cooler. If I knew how to do it and, more importantly, had experience, I would have done it. Also, I don't have soldering equipment and neither does anyone I know.

Besides, I've already paid for the new cooler and I've gotten the email saying its been dispatched for delivery.

[ZeroPenguins]

I would fix it, except I haven't a clue how and I'm not gonna go about messing with wires. The closest I'll get at this stage is just messing with cables and figuring out where they connect.

As for the old cooler...dunno what I'm going to do with it. I would send it to you Ang3lofDarkness but you're in Australia and I'm in Ireland...shipping + customs fee etc would probably end up equalling the cost of a new unit where you are, I'd guess (when I got a PS3 game shipped from Hong Kong to Ireland, the customs fee alone was €40). Eh...I've got a few IT friends here, I'll just give it to them.

Lol you be surprised over in Australia no import or customs fee for products =) only shipping. I wouldn't mind paying for shipping, but since you don't want to, don't worry about it and good to know that you're giving it away (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle xD).

Okay, people, just please stop telling me to solder or rewire the cooler. If I knew how to do it and, more importantly, had experience, I would have done it. Also, I don't have soldering equipment and neither does anyone I know.

Besides, I've already paid for the new cooler and I've gotten the email saying its been dispatched for delivery.

Yeah, no point fixing it now, cables aren't that hard to fix. lemming taping it is not a good idea lol (will cause electrical issues). I just probably rebuild the cable, I'm quite good at those kind of stuff and soldering as well. Getting into modding my car as well =), self taught FTW!

Anyways I still would love to see the computer running, so give us an update when you're completed! (Don't mind showing us your HDTV, dual monitor setup as well?) xD

[Dude888]

Okay, people, just please stop telling me to solder or rewire the cooler. If I knew how to do it and, more importantly, had experience, I would have done it. Also, I don't have soldering equipment and neither does anyone I know.

Besides, I've already paid for the new cooler and I've gotten the email saying its been dispatched for delivery.

I won't tell you to do something you don't want or can't do, like repair a component that you are not sure how it work, but WHY WOULD YOU CUT THE CABLE IN THE FIRST PLACE. I never even thought of cutting a cable on something that is in my computer. And why do you think that cable was there for? If they put cables that don't have purpose on everything, they would lose resources and money.