Ever buy a computer processor?

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Any suggested sources? The processor is a replacement for a Dell computer.

Ebay has nothing and google only turned-up one vendor with a used one ($100) and one vendor with a new one ($1,200) ...which cracks me up. Dell has one for $385 which is almost as much as I paid for the entire computer!

I thought this would be easy.

-Jeff

[Chuck Wintle]

Any suggested sources? The processor is a replacement for a Dell computer.

Ebay has nothing and google only turned-up one vendor with a used one ($100) and one vendor with a new one ($1,200) ...which cracks me up. Dell has one for $385 which is almost as much as I paid for the entire computer!

I thought this would be easy.

-Jeff

which processor are you referring to? prices vary wildly between brands, intel or amd and how long the part has been on the market. are you sure it is the processor and not the motherboard?
try newegg.com or zoomfly.com

[Jeffrey Makiel]

The computer is a Dell Dimension 5100 about 3+ years old. The Processor is listed on the mfr sheet as:

FC756 Processor, 80547, Pentium 4 Prescott DT, 531, Socket T, EO Male.

I think it is either 2.8 or 3.0 GHz. It seems that the socket is odd ("T"). Perhaps it's proprietary to Dell? Most offerings are either 775 or 478.

I'm not sure if it is the processor or motherboard. It's trial by part replacement. Good thing I'm not a surgeon. So far, I just replaced the power supply with no luck.

-Jeff

[Matt Evans]

The socket t is a bit odd.

You might try looking for the same computer to cannibalize for parts.

I just did a quick Ebay search, and that computer can be bought relatively inexpensively. ($250 or less some buy it now at $250, saw one at $54.00 with a day to go.)

Or, upgrade the motherboard to be compatible with more common processors.

[David G Baker]

I have purchased items from Computer Geeks and have been happy with the products and cost.
I don't want to start a Dell trash post but over the past several years I have personally known 5 friends that have had horrible luck with Dell computers. For around $500 you can get a completely new computer if you shop, it won't have all the bells and whistles but for most general computing needs it will be fine.

[Phil Thien]

I'm not sure if it is the processor or motherboard. It's trial by part replacement. Good thing I'm not a surgeon. So far, I just replaced the power supply with no luck.

-Jeff

More likely the motherboard.

For a machine over three years old, I'd be checking for bulging caps.

Does it POST (Power On Self Test) at all?

[Brad Wood]

I have to concur with everything that thinks the cpu is not the likely problem... and that unless you have the spare parts handy, you are probably better off just buying a new system. in the end, you probably will end up spending less money and certainly less time.
While the possibility exists for a cpu to go tits up, it is way down on the list compared to other items (which have all been mentioned). i've been working with PC's for nearly 20 years and I can't recall ever having a bad cpu.

[Matt Evans]

You can also try tigerdirect.com, or, I can look around if you posted the processor specs/UPC.


I think that it would be well worth your while to make sure it is the processor rather than the motherboard, like Charles said.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

How does one determine if it's a bad motherboard? Visual inspection did not reveal anything like a broken part or bulged capacitor.

Background: One day, the computer kept trying to reboot upon startup. When I cycled the power button and tried to restart it, absolutely nothing happened. No sound, no diagnostic lights, no nuthin'. After I installed a new power supply, I got the following error (on a black screen with white letters) about 2 seconds after I pushed the start button:

RV370 P/N 113-A62801-104 BIOS

Now, it won't even do that anymore. Once again, when I push the button, it makes no sound. Some research on google mentioned this error. The only closure that I found was a bad processor in one instance.

-Jeff

[Dave Johnson29]

How does one determine if it's a bad motherboard?

Jeffrey,

My first test would be to swap out the power supply with a known good one.

What makes you think it is the processor or motherboard?

[Stephen Tashiro]

The simplest hardware fixes to try:

Unplug cables to devices that may have gone bad such as floppy drives, CD drives and even the Hard Drive if we are just trying to get the machine to boot into it's BIOS.

Reseat the memory.
Reseat the CPU.
"Reset the CMOS" by removing the battery on the motherboard or using the jumper near it.
Replace the motherboard battery.

I've had batteries, motherboards, memory and CPUs go bad on computer systems. Sometimes when other components go bad they can also cause problems.

I agree with Ken Garlock's suggestion. Make your first goal to get into the BIOS setup. Some example methods of doing this are given at:
http://michaelstevenstech.com/bios_manufacturer.htm

It will be difficult to diagnose the cause of the problem if you can't get the machine to boot. I think the only way a computer shop could do it is to swap parts in and out between your system and a similar system that is known to be good.

I also agree that pricewatch.com's section on CPUs is a good source. It's listings include dealers that sell used CPUs that are pulled from working machines.

[Jim Becker]

My first test would be to swap out the power supply with a known good one.

That was my thought, also...

[paul cottingham]

How does one determine if it's a bad motherboard? Visual inspection did not reveal anything like a broken part or bulged capacitor.

Background: One day, the computer kept trying to reboot upon startup. When I cycled the power button and tried to restart it, absolutely nothing happened. No sound, no diagnostic lights, no nuthin'. After I installed a new power supply, I got the following error (on a black screen with white letters) about 2 seconds after I pushed the start button:

RV370 P/N 113-A62801-104 BIOS

Now, it won't even do that anymore. Once again, when I push the button, it makes no sound. Some research on google mentioned this error. The only closure that I found was a bad processor in one instance.

-Jeff

If it was the processor it never woud have posted at all. Same with the motherboard. If it was me, I would replace it, Dell stuff is not worth fixing, unless it is the very high end equipment.

[Greg Peterson]

I'd unplug the machine, all cords, cables ....

Open the case and blast all the dust out. Get in and around the hard drive, floppy and CD/DVD drive. Blast out the power supply. Pull the shroud off the CPU and blast the heck out of teh cooling fins.

Next, pull out the memory sticks, one at a time and hit those slots with compressed air. Next, pull out any daughter cards (NIC, VGA, MODEM...) one at a time and clean out their slots.

Pop the CMOS battery out of its recepticle, blast the recepticle with air, clean both sides of the battery (could check to make sure it isn't deficient or replace I guess).

Make sure all cables are securely connected to the motherboard and their devices.

Try booting into the BIOS (on Dell press the F10 key after powering up).

I'm sure CPU's can go bad. I've never seen it. And I doubt your CPU has suffered from heat creep. The CPU sockets do a pretty effective job of locking CPU's into place so they are the one component that is least likely to creep out of their physical interface.

If the CPU did go bad I'd be concerned that there may exist a condition in the motherboard that would simply take out the next CPU.

Worst case scenario would be you just end up buying a motherboard/CPU combo set.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Wow. Lots of suggestions. This is what I did from the suggestions above:

- I thoroughly cleaned the inside of the machine as suggested. It was very dusty. It's spankin' clean now. I also inspected for anything loose or bulged capacitors on the motherboard. All looked OK.

- I disconnected the CD/DVD drives, graphics and sound cards and tried to reboot. Absolutely dead.

- I removed one pair of memory cards (two pairs total). Then tried with the second pair of cards only. Absolutely dead.

- The power supply was replaced with a new OEM supply. However, I have not checked to see if the new power supply is OK.

- From what's been said above, it sounds like the CPU is likely not the problem. If it is, I have learned from above that a socket "T" is the same as a socket LGA775. This means that a replacement processor can be had at dirt cheap prices from Ebay.

If the new power supply is really working OK, I'm leaning towards the motherboard being the problem. The computer is stone dead. I cannot get into the BIOS.

Buying a new machine is the other option. However, I would like to stay away from Vista (at least until Windows7 comes out). I've found the 'XP compatibility mode' within Vista to not work on some of my software. Besides, my Dimension 5100 ran really smooth and quiet until it quit. Throwing it out seems wasteful.

-Jeff