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Noob needs advice on old rig

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BrumieMatt

New Member
Joined
Feb 19, 2020
Hi ladies and gents

I'm a big noob to all of this so please excuse ant stupidity on my part.

I've always wanted to have my own built gaming PC and I've recently acquired an old rig for 50 quid of a friend of a friend.

It came with a few things, water cooler system GeForce GTX 280, AMD GV-R797TO-3GD.

The person I bought off is quite well versed in computers and let me know everything was working except two possible things that are stopping it from displaying anything.

Either processor or motherboard has burned out.

I've recently taken apart the water cooling system and have taken out the processes which is an Intel '06 Q9650. The motherboard is a generation 1 Rampage Extreme.

I've taken the processor to be tested but because it's an old CPU a lot of places dont have the equipment.

So the only thing I thought I could do is buy a cheap second hand processor that is compatible with the motherboard. So I've bought a Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 - 2.33GHz Quad-Core (LGA775) Processor SLG9S - SLB5M for fiver - my logic being if it boots up it is a CPU problem not a motherboard one, meaning I can invest in a proper replacement.

I'm prepared to scrap it if the problem is with the motherboard, but my hope was I can use this as a small project and hopefully get a year or so out of the rig. Before going off and buying new.

So I guess my question is will my 5 quid processor work to test the motherboard.

Cheers
Matt
 
If you can find a CPU that is compatible for 5 Quid (Apx $6.50US) you're doing good. Here in the states it's difficult to find for those prices. If this is just a summer project then I say go for it. If you're looking for this to be your daily use system then it is severely dated and you would be better served saving up for a modern rig. JMHO.
 
Since the system has two discrete video cards then no display could be from the video cards failing instead of the CPU. Have you connected a display to both cards? It is unlikely that both cards are dead but possible.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Core...195182?hash=item4b7490d1ee:g:pQcAAOSw9J9dwDYY is the best price I see for direct replacement of the CPU. You could go with a less powerful CPU for less money as long as it was compatible with the motherboard.

But the other possibility is in fact a failed motherboard. Since you don't know what is failed you would have to start replacing components until you found the bad one. It would not seem to be cost effective to me. I think your friend just saved himself a trip to the recycling center by giving the system to you.
 
If you can find a CPU that is compatible for 5 Quid (Apx $6.50US) you're doing good. Here in the states it's difficult to find for those prices. If this is just a summer project then I say go for it. If you're looking for this to be your daily use system then it is severely dated and you would be better served saving up for a modern rig. JMHO.

Thanks for the reply. I found the cheap one on eBay and it has the same socket as my motherboard, but I understand that sometimes if the CPU doesn't have the same BIOS that can make it incompatible. Anyway I've made a punt with it and for a fiver i dont mind so much but I dont want to spend much more on testing it so I guess I'll need to wait to test it.

Will I 100% need thermal paste to test the CPU, of course I'll put water cooler back on for the test but is the paste needed for a 2 minute test?

Matt

- - - Auto-Merged Double Post - - -

Since the system has two discrete video cards then no display could be from the video cards failing instead of the CPU. Have you connected a display to both cards? It is unlikely that both cards are dead but possible.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Core...195182?hash=item4b7490d1ee:g:pQcAAOSw9J9dwDYY is the best price I see for direct replacement of the CPU. You could go with a less powerful CPU for less money as long as it was compatible with the motherboard.

But the other possibility is in fact a failed motherboard. Since you don't know what is failed you would have to start replacing components until you found the bad one. It would not seem to be cost effective to me. I think your friend just saved himself a trip to the recycling center by giving the system to you.

Thank you. As mentioned the guy whom I bought it off is quite well-versed in computers so I believe him when he says CPU or motherboard - he's done other tests elsewhere so I dont think it's GPU.

I bought the fiver CPU, which is the same socket so I'm hoping I can test it using this CPU and then look to buying a proper replacement when I have diagnosed the problem.

If I isn't that then I'm prepared to sell the parts off because as you said it starts getting costly testing everything else!
 
Here's a few things to note.

Thanks for the reply. I found the cheap one on eBay and it has the same socket as my motherboard, but I understand that sometimes if the CPU doesn't have the same BIOS that can make it incompatible. BIOS is purely on the motherboard. There is no BIOS on CPU's. It is either compatible, or it is not.

Anyway I've made a punt with it and for a fiver i dont mind so much but I dont want to spend much more on testing it so I guess I'll need to wait to test it. For a Fiver it's worth a shot.

Will I 100% need thermal paste to test the CPU, of course I'll put water cooler back on for the test but is the paste needed for a 2 minute test? Yes. You should use thermal paste anytime the system is turned on. It's inexpensive and readily available pretty much everywhere.

Matt

- - - Auto-Merged Double Post - - -



Thank you. As mentioned the guy whom I bought it off is quite well-versed in computers so I believe him when he says CPU or motherboard - he's done other tests elsewhere so I don't think it's GPU. I'm pretty sure statistically motherboards die more often than CPU's but don't quote me on that.

I bought the fiver CPU, which is the same socket so I'm hoping I can test it using this CPU and then look to buying a proper replacement when I have diagnosed the problem.

If I isn't that then I'm prepared to sell the parts off because as you said it starts getting costly testing everything else! Not to cause too much concern, but we have seen dead or even false CPU's come from eBay, especially coming out of China, though it is rare.
 
Is this a custom built PC or factory (Dell, HP, Gateway, etc.)?

When you press the power button, do any lights or fans come on?
 
I highly doubt it's a factory rig.

BM said:
I've recently taken apart the water cooling system and have taken out the processes which is an Intel '06 Q9650. The motherboard is a generation 1 Rampage Extreme.
 
Here's a few things to note.

Thanks mate. That's really informative, just bought some thermal paste so I'll update when it gets here!

- - - Auto-Merged Double Post - - -

Is this a custom built PC or factory (Dell, HP, Gateway, etc.)?

When you press the power button, do any lights or fans come on?

Custom built. All lights and fans come on... water cooling system starts pumping. Lights on motherboard come on too.
 
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