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Faulty mobo or CPU ?

Posted: 2018-02-08 11:18
by pawRoot
Hi

Family member had a problem with his PC, one day the PC suddenly wouldn't boot, the fans inside were running at full speed. There was some error at boot saying something like the settings were resseted, press F2 to skip, cant remember exactly now.

I decided to clear CMOS, after that there was no signal output from video card at all, fans running full speed (i think video and cpu fans, not 100% sure), computer resetting itself.

He decided to give all parts to me, and i am thinking of resurrecting it back to life, (i7-2600k, would be a waste to not do it), but i have no idea if it's mobo or CPU.

I read that faulty CPU can give similiar symptoms to faulty mobo.

Opinions? :roll:

Re: Faulty mobo or CPU ?

Posted: 2018-02-08 11:23
by dcihon

Re: Faulty mobo or CPU ?

Posted: 2018-02-08 12:13
by n_hologram
I've observed similar symptoms from faulty ram.

Re: Faulty mobo or CPU ?

Posted: 2018-02-08 12:18
by pawRoot
I swapped RAM to my main PC already and it was working fine.

Re: Faulty mobo or CPU ?

Posted: 2018-04-05 02:44
by Fernando Negro
I once took a malfunctioning computer to a technician, saying that I had made several tests with components, and had come to the secure conclusion that it had to be either the CPU or the motherboard that was faulty.

His immediate response, without looking at it, was to say that it was almost surely not the CPU... (Which turned out to be right - and, the problem was with swollen capacitors in the motherboard.) And, reading later about it, on the Internet, I learned that the life expectancy of CPUs is about 20-30 years.

CPUs rarely brake down. (I never had one that did.) While, on the other hand, I have had to change my motherboards every few years, because of them starting to malfunction.

So, (from what I know) unless the computer was assembled by some amateur that didn't place the thermal paste well, it's highly likely that the problem is with the motherboard.

Re: Faulty mobo or CPU ?

Posted: 2018-04-05 04:46
by NFT5
Fernando Negro wrote:CPUs rarely brake down. (I never had one that did.) While, on the other hand, I have had to change my motherboards every few years, because of them starting to malfunction.
Agreed. I'm currently transferring a Phenom II CPU into its third motherboard. Getting harder to find now but the last one developed what I suspect was faulty solder joints.

The thing that kills CPUs is heat. Good cooling and careful application of thermal paste are the keys to making a CPU last.