Booting a PC without a CPU Cooler

[Michael McChesney]

Is it OK to boot a PC without attaching a CPU Cooler while trying to troubleshoot?

 

I recently attempted my 2nd PC build.  If I ever get it working right it will be a HTPC for my bedroom.  After assembling it, I couldn't get it to post.  It has a Gigabyte B450 DS3H WiFi Micro ATX motherboard and a Ryzen 3200G CPU.  My troubleshooting was hampered because I had no other AMD CPUs or motherboards to use to isolate the problem component.  That particular B450 mobo is only $90 and includes both integrated WiFi and an m.2 slot.  I think I might like to build with it again, so I bought a 2nd one as well as an Athlon 3000G.  My plan is to see if the Athlon CPU will work with the original board and whether the Ryzen will work with the new one and hopefully that will let me see if one of them is the problem.  But I had a great deal of difficulty separating the cooler from the Ryzen CPU as the thermal compound seemed to like acting like an adhesive. 

 

What I would like to do is to install the CPUs and see if the system will post before I install the coolers.   If they work, I will go ahead and install the coolers.  If not I will try something else.  I figure I should plug the cooler into the CPU fan header to keep the bios happy.  But is there any danger in booting the system with a bare IHS?  I figure to run the system like that for less than 5 minutes

[Void Master]

4 minutes ago, Michael McChesney said:

But is there any danger in booting the system with a bare IHS?  I figure to run the system like that for less than 5 minutes

Nah there is no danger.....

As long as u don't boot into windows...

I guess in your case u will check if it posts or not, so go ahead it's 100% safe.

 

[Fasauceome]

does the box have this badge on it?

 

 

If not, the BIOS is not compatble. All third gen CPUs require an up to date BIOS, including both the 3000G or 3200G.

[kontradictions]

I usually just sit the cooler on top without installing it but with the fan plugged in to troubleshoot. it doesn't even have to be the right cooler. Just something on top

[Statik]

1 hour ago, Void Master said:

Nah there is no danger.....

As long as u don't boot into windows...

I guess in your case u will check if it posts or not, so go ahead it's 100% safe.

 

This information is 100% false

1 hour ago, Michael McChesney said:

-snip-

OP, never boot your computer without some sort of cooling system properly attached to your CPU.

[Tibon]

Don't need the cooler to be properly mounted i think, as long as there's contact with ihs and the cooler you could press it down with your hand or something. I don't think there'll be any permanent damage since there's overheating protection.

 

[Void Master]

2 minutes ago, Statik said:

This information is 100% false

OP, never boot your computer without some sort of cooling system properly attached to your CPU.

He needs to check if it posts.....

man linus did it in a video a while ago

and an athlon 3000g consumes rlly low power

[mariushm]

The cpu will overheat within 5-10 seconds or so, without any heatsink.

If you don't have a cooler a bit of aluminum foil from the kitchen and a cold can of something from the fridge on the aluminum foil is enough to act as a heatsink for a few minutes of testing.

 

Yes, it's low power, but the cpu will still consume around 10-20w in bios and before booting windows... without a heatsink, the package can probably dissipate up to around 5w ... more than that and you need some metal heatsink on top of the cpu... doesn't have to be a fan, just something to slow down the heating up and dissipate some heat.

[Statik]

1 minute ago, Void Master said:

He needs to check if it posts.....

man linus did it in a video a while ago

and an athlon 3000g consumes rlly low power

Just because Linus did it doesn't mean you should too. I've seen Jayz spray water on a GPU on a running system. Didn't fry it, doesn't mean you should do it too.

 

Telling someone that there is "no danger" and booting a PC with a bare CPU is "100% safe" is the very definition of spreading false information.

[Kilrah]

Put your finger on the CPU, when you can't hold it anymore turn off. Will probably be after 10-15sec or so.

[Void Master]

Just now, Statik said:

Just because Linus did it doesn't mean you should too. I've seen Jayz spray water on a GPU on a running system. Didn't fry it, doesn't mean you should do it too.

 

Telling someone that there is "no danger" and booting a PC with a bare CPU is "100% safe" is the very definition of spreading false information.

first of all there is overheat protection....

second of all he just needs to check if it posts....(a few seconds )

third of all am not telling him to flash the bios with no cooler.....

or install windows...

yeah it's 100% safe for a few sec... 

just chill dude i am not jay 

I don't enjoy killing 1650 gpus 

 

 

[Guest]

The stock coolers are super easy to install and remove.

 

Im with @Statik, use a cooler. 

 

But whomever tells you its safe can replace your cpu of it gets damaged or early degredation.

 

Its like an auto mechanic telling you ita safe to run the engine with no oil for 5 minutes. Would you really chance it? Sure the motor may not lock up.... But why? Dont take your car back to that mechanic......

[Tan3l6]

bad, bad, bad.

[Michael McChesney]

10 minutes ago, Fasauceome said:

does the box have this badge on it?

 

 

If not, the BIOS is not compatble. All third gen CPUs require an up to date BIOS, including both the 3000G or 3200G.

The box doesn't say that, but the NewEgg product description said it was.  I was thinking I could use the Athlon to update the bios if the product description was wrong.  Any idea what the least expensive AMD chip I could get that would let me update the bios if the Athlon won't work?  

[Statik]

Just now, Void Master said:

first of all there is overheat protection....

second of all he just needs to check if it posts....(a few seconds )

third of all am not telling him to flash the bios with no cooler.....

or install windows...

yeah it's 100% safe for a few sec... 

just chill dude i am not jay 

I don't enjoy killing 1650 gpus 

 

 

I'm not saying he's going to melt his CPU instantly. But that doesn't take away from the fact that it's not safe. It's not hard to recommend that he takes 2 minutes and throws a stock cooler on it as not to risk anything.

 

All I'm saying is people come to places like this with little to no computer knowledge, and when people vaguely tell them to boot their PC into the bios without a cooler, it's a recipe for disaster.

[Guest]

Just now, Michael McChesney said:

The box doesn't say that, but the NewEgg product description said it was.  I was thinking I could use the Athlon to update the bios if the product description was wrong.  Any idea what the least expensive AMD chip I could get that would let me update the bios if the Athlon won't work?  

The athlon 200ge is supported by ever single motherboard release bios. And its the cheapest.

And AMD ships this cpu for updating bios on boards that need it to supprt new gen chips. 

[Void Master]

7 minutes ago, Statik said:

I'm not saying he's going to melt his CPU instantly. But that doesn't take away from the fact that it's not safe. It's not hard to recommend that he takes 2 minutes and throws a stock cooler on it as not to risk anything.

 

All I'm saying is people come to places like this with little to no computer knowledge, and when people vaguely tell them to boot their PC into the bios without a cooler, it's a recipe for disaster.

Well for a few seconds it won't hurt.....

and according to his saying he seems to have some knowledge, otherwise i would have changed my attitude.

and new cpus are much more durable they can operate for a long time at 90 degrees .

Anyways i acknowledge that i goofed up there  

 

[Michael McChesney]

3 minutes ago, ShrimpBrime said:

The stock coolers are super easy to install and remove.

 

Im with @Statik, use a cooler. 

 

But whomever tells you its safe can replace your cpu of it gets damaged or early degredation.

 

Its like an auto mechanic telling you ita safe to run the engine with no oil for 5 minutes. Would you really chance it? Sure the motor may not lock up.... But why? Dont take your car back to that mechanic......

I new a guy that got his oil changed, got in his car and started the engine, only to see the oil light come on and stay on.  He told me he immediately turned off the engine.  The guy that changed his oil, forgot to add the fresh oil.  My friend ended up needing a new engine.

 

I saw that video of Linus which is probably where I got the idea.  But since it was Linus I thought I should ask here before trying it.  Thank you for the all input.  Would it be ok if I just rest the cooler on top of the CPU without adding thermal compound?  The thermal compound was what was giving me the trouble anyway.

[Void Master]

3 minutes ago, Michael McChesney said:

I new a guy that got his oil changed, got in his car and started the engine, only to see the oil light come on and stay on.  He told me he immediately turned off the engine.  The guy that changed his oil, forgot to add the fresh oil.  My friend ended up needing a new engine.

 

I saw that video of Linus which is probably where I got the idea.  But since it was Linus I thought I should ask here before trying it.  Thank you for the all input.  Would it be ok if I just rest the cooler on top of the CPU without adding thermal compound?  The thermal compound was what was giving me the trouble anyway.

Yeah it's better than nothing for the peace of mind.

But not longer than 1-3 minutes..

 

[Statik]

1 hour ago, Michael McChesney said:

I new a guy that got his oil changed, got in his car and started the engine, only to see the oil light come on and stay on.  He told me he immediately turned off the engine.  The guy that changed his oil, forgot to add the fresh oil.  My friend ended up needing a new engine.

 

I saw that video of Linus which is probably where I got the idea.  But since it was Linus I thought I should ask here before trying it.  Thank you for the all input.  Would it be ok if I just rest the cooler on top of the CPU without adding thermal compound?  The thermal compound was what was giving me the trouble anyway.

How was it giving you trouble? All you should have to do is place it on, screw a few screws down.

[Fasauceome]

17 minutes ago, Michael McChesney said:

The box doesn't say that, but the NewEgg product description said it was

Compatible, but only with a BIOS update. The cheapest second gen or first gen CPU you can possibly find is the only way to update a B450 motherboard, or contact AMD customer support with your proof of purchase to obtain a loaner CPU.

 

18 minutes ago, Michael McChesney said:

I was thinking I could use the Athlon to update the bios

The Athlon you obtained is a third gen Athlon, it requires the same BIOS version as any other third gen CPU.

[Michael McChesney]

8 hours ago, ShrimpBrime said:

The athlon 200ge is supported by ever single motherboard release bios. And its the cheapest.

And AMD ships this cpu for updating bios on boards that need it to supprt new gen chips. 

I took a look at the AMD Bootkit option, but I need to try and get Gigabyte to fix the issue before I can get AMD to send me a loaner CPU.  Gigabyte will respond to me in 3 to 7 business days.  Woopee! I was curious what it would cost to buy an athlon 200ge and for some reason it's more expensive then the 3000G.  I paid $56 for the 3000G and the cheapest I've seen the 200ge is $75.  I looked at used CPUs on ebay and they don't seem significantly cheaper.  I wonder if I bought a 200ge if I could make my money back renting it out to people that need to update their bios?  That's not a serious idea btw.

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, Michael McChesney said:

I took a look at the AMD Bootkit option, but I need to try and get Gigabyte to fix the issue before I can get AMD to send me a loaner CPU.  Gigabyte will respond to me in 3 to 7 business days.  Woopee! I was curious what it would cost to buy an athlon 200ge and for some reason it's more expensive then the 3000G.  I paid $56 for the 3000G and the cheapest I've seen the 200ge is $75.  I looked at used CPUs on ebay and they don't seem significantly cheaper.  I wonder if I bought a 200ge if I could make my money back renting it out to people that need to update their bios?  That's not a serious idea btw.

Yea walk into micro center and get that 3000G 44.99$ - the 200ge was once priced that low online. 

Not sure why it's 75 bucks (roughly) now. Seems steep, the cpu is pretty weak.

I'd lend you mine, but it's de-lidded and has had nearly 1.6v shoved through it. lol