CPU/Mobo dilema

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Some of you may recall that i have looked at a system for someone that randomly locks up....

After a fair bit of diagnosing time i have pinpointed it to the CPU/motherboard.

They are fed up with the random locks and want me to replace them both at once to sort it out once and for all.

They have mentioned that it would be a good time to go the 64 bit route. The problem is that some of the boards don't use AGP anymore and they have £150 ATI graphics card that they want to keep.

Can anyone recommend a good place for CPU/mobo bundles. I have looked at overclockers, they seem good.

Do the AMD Athlon's run cooler than the P4's?

 

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Boyce, I can't help you with the hardware choice, I find it next to impossible to keep up with the newest trends and would always ask someone in the know before I bought something.

Have you tried installing Windows 2000 on their MOBO/CPU? XP crashes my laptop intermittently and it runs slower than W2K on a P3 700. W2K is rock stable, never ever crashes on the same machine. And then there is Ubuntu

Just a thought,

Pete

 

Pete,

thanks for the reply. It is definately a CPU/mobo problem.
Funny you should mention installing another OS because i did show them Ubuntu and it locked up on screensaver!

 

Question - do they want a new toy or a good PC? <grin>

If a new toy then go the 64bit route, otherwise, IMHO, it is a waste of time at the moment.

My *personal* view is to get a good local shop to build a new PC using the cherished graphics card. This way you get a guarantee and someone to shout at if there are any probs.

Buying a new mobo and CPU just means you get to buy a new PSU, memory etc as well - so it is easier (and IMHO more reliable) to get a new base unit. Plus you get to support it - OK if you are in that business, a pain if you are not.

There are several good boards still using AGP rather than PCI-Express, but the ratio will change over time.

Harry.

 

Are you sure it isn't a graphics card issue?

I just never want to admit defeat, I once sorted out a PC that I had played with for months and put up with intermittent crashes. You should ask to keep and play with their old MOBO and CPU, you might just have a thought one day that will fix it. My dodgy MOBO crashes were caused by the RAM slots, they had become slightly tarnished and in a last ditch effort I cleaned them out really thoroughly with WD40. Been fine for the last six months!

 

I think it is down to a replacement fan that was put on. Apparently the CPU was "pulled" off the board. The guy didn't know there was a clip to release it.

 

i find w2k fairly temperamental on the machine's at work, usually crashing after a security update on a/v or windows but then again they have no spy/malware software so i'm guessing that could be a part of it!

 

Pete,

That thought did cross my mind but it turns out that it has been locking up on and off after the CPU fan was changed. I thought the CPU might have been the original problem but it was changed for a quieter one, but the CPU was "wrenched" off the board!

It never brings up a BSOD or any logs in event viewer either!

As an electrical engineer by trade i know that there are tests for this and tests for that but sometimes as you say it is down to part substitution to pinpoint a problem.

I would like to build my "parts toolbox up so i could stick another graphics, mobo, memory etc to trial these harder to find problems

All i hope is that the problem does go with a CPU/mobo change

 

If you think in the slightest that it could be the gfx card, take the one out of your computer and try it before buying the cpu/mb.

May be better than the embarrassment when your brand new motherboard and cpu crashes windows and you have to tell them they now need a new gfx card!


Just a thought.

Neall

 

LOL. I've seen random lockups and all sorts of weird problems just from a dirty computer before. I ran across one that had an extra fan in the bottom of the box that had a clear plastic housing on it about 8" or so long that directed the air directly at the cpu and graphics card. It also blew air on the memory sticks.

This thing would deposit so much lint, dust, and dirt on the ram and graphics card that the inside of the box needed to be cleaned about every 3 months. If it wasn't random lockups and all kinds of other strange erros would start poppin up. The fan lowered the cpu temp by about 15 degrees and lowered the internal case air temps by about the same amount, but the dirt problems were incredible.

The thing was needed because the OEM case had very little accomodation for air flows, but it sure was a hassle. It paid well though.

 

Thanks for the input guys. I might lend them my loan PC while giving theirs a good clean out with Isopropol and a vac!

Got a gut feeling the CPU was damaged after doctor butcher wrenched it out mind! Maybe they are tougher than i think though....