Her processor was blown because the heatsink never got cleaned for 3-5 years (yeah, I know right?). Would the power supply be fine? Would the motherboard be fine aswell?

In most cases they should be ok, but there's no real guarantee without getting them checked. If she has access to an identical cpu it would be worth a try.

Cheers

Hi,

Most likely the PSU will be alright. You did not give enough hardware specifications to really assist you in the diagnosis.

You said the CPU blew, how did you come to that conclusion? Intel or AMD?

It is an AMD Athlon 64 processor (do not know the speed) running in a 754 socket. The heat sink was just choaked with dust and the machine was makine odd sounds as well. It would run for a bit, then shutdown, then restart again (which I think is a classic overheating problem). She never get it looked at and then it just froze and shutdown, then didn't run again. It would turn on, the fans would run, but no POST. So, I think it is the processor. I cannot find a 754 socket CPU on newegg, so I got her a new board, processor and ram just to be safe. After I fix everything (since I know windows will not want to boot after ward) I am going to put Ubuntu on it so she has a computer. Then when she gets her friend to install windows, she can kick ubuntu. I do not feel like hunting and sniping to fix windows.

If the only cause was dust on the processor heatsink, then the power supply will be fine. The motherboard will probably be fine, but it depends how hot it got and for how long - probably the thermal protection will have saved it, but some of the early thermal protection systems didn't really work.

OTOH, if the problem was that the power supply blew up and the voltages were too high, the the power supply will be bad and it may have taken the motherboard and processor with it (and the dust on the processor heatsink is a coincidence).

no, the processor was choked with dust so no air could get through. Also, it a ASUS K8U-X M/B

Hi,

You seem to have more than a dust bunny problem. It does sound like a thermal problem initially but I would check the PSU for output with the old MB in place with a DVM. If you do have a PSU problem then try a new MB with CPU you could fry it.

If you had the dust problem with the HSF for the CPU then I would wonder how the PSU looks. It too has a fan that moves the same dirt through the system.

The processor can not get choked with dust. The processor is probably alright. AMD Athlon64 does have a thermal shutdown. If you use compress air to clean the whole entire system, the processor should power up with out any problems. After cleaning the inside of the case with compress air, it should work.

Re-attaching the heat sink and applying new thermal paste or thermal tape is also a good thing to do. Thermal paste does not last long compared to thermal tape. If the fan is not moving fast enough then it is not the dust that cause the processor to shut down. It is the fan that has failed. A failed fan can turn but not as fast as it should.

Old or new power supplies can not be check well with a voltmeter meter. Volt meters just measure the voltage. The ripple voltage or the noise of the voltage also have to be measured. An oscilloscope have to be use to check the quality of the power. A safe way and cheapest way is buy a power supply tester. Then measure the quality of the power. If it is over two years old or do not know how old it is and do not have those types of measuring equipment, just replace the power supply. I do not recommend servicing a power supply. This means opening it up and checking the fan. If the power supply has a lot of dust, replace it. Seasonic and Enermax are good quality power supplies.

Hi,
I don't want to get into a pissing contest but not everyone has a o-scope. A DVM will provide you with a initial voltage to provide you with a good indicator if the load(s) are correct. This can be a indicator of the rails being correct. Sure if there is ripple on top then indeed you've got a problem. But the average consumer doesn't have a bench with a full setup of equipment. Most can get a DVM.

I disagree with your time frame for a PSU, I know the industry does standard MTBF but that really can't be used either. The big problem with any silicon based system is thermal shock. That is a initial problem. So most problems with quality PSU can be avoided with proper power management. Simple solution is to not power cycle with a time frame that is small.

As for the HSF issue, compound quality/type will be the answer here if you choose not to use tape. The age of the system should be brought into consideration for some of this type of problems with the environment being the major factor. Again heat/dirt etc.

Yes, keeping any system clean will prevent a lot of problems but a lot of people plug their systems in an leave them not thinking about any preventative maintenance.

I have a voltage meter or DVM (Digital Volt Meter) or VOM. Failed power supplies will pass the voltage test. I have many failed power supplies that passed the voltage test. It just they can not pass the quality test. I said in my post, if buying an oscilloscope can not be done because of price and the life of the power supply is unknown, replace the power supply. High resistance DVM versions have to be used in computers. The lowest should be no less than 40 megaohms. Higher resistance is better when doing voltage readings.

Please do not give me any MTBF crap. It is completely crap. The power supply brands that I list makes very high quality brands that makes MTBF seems worthless. Even the warranty is also worthless. If the power supply's life is unknown it have to be replace when buying a new motherboard and a new processor. You can believe in MTBF and warranties, but do not believe in them.

In power supplies the capacitors goes first and then diodes, and switching devices. Capacitors does two functions in switch-mode power supplies or computer power supplies, they clean out the power and they release the voltage that they charged to. Dust on capacitors makes the capacitors heat up and their lifespan gets less. Switch-mode power supplies makes electrolyte capacitors lose their life span a lot quicker compared to other type of a capacitors. Power supplies should be replace more often with better quality models.

Heat is always an issue and is common sense in computers. You are saying it is not always an issue. I live in a very, very hot environment and my computers has been through 90 degrees F room temperatures. They have worked well through it. In my computers, I use over size heat sinks to make sure heat does not become an issue. Also I have an 8 year old computer working well.

Hi,
I really think you should calm down a bit. No where did I state to use the 'MTBF' but that you should not rely on it.

As for your 'DVM' rant. I stated the use can be done to show the voltage levels. Sure, if everyone had a o-scope then that would indeed be the way to go to get a good representation of the signal. The PSU will be a possible place to look but to flatly state to shotgun the part then I'm sure you are still making money.

As for the capacitors within a switching power supply, if the working voltage is correct with proper design and good cooling then the problem with a steady input voltage and current the life of the capacitor will not be as short as you indicate. Sure some designs are poor, you get what you pay for.

Sure the diodes in a PSU will not fail unless the reverse voltage is exceeded or if the current is not exceed for the diode. But again that is the design criteria with proper pars sizing/matching.

I never stated that heat wasn't an issue. Do you read for understanding or what you want to see. What do you concede as a environmental issues? Read man and cool down a bit.

You're not that over qualified. Heck if you want to compare benches then let's go that route too.

Not everyone has the facilities to test at the level we've been speaking at. So to generalize to some people is OK. The buzz words and terminology don't show how smart you are if you can't speak to a person at their level of understanding.

So my bench is bigger then yours! I've got VOMs, DVMs, O-scopes, bench supplies, generators, loads, isolators, spectrum analyzers oh hell this proves nothing. I don't know your bench nor care. I'm falling into that damn trap again. You win!

Actually, there are quite a few really awful Chinese manufactured electrolytics out there, and they don't have that long of a lifetime. I've got a ProView 916 monitor that failed after less than 2 years. When my replacement (other brand) lost 3 pixels, I got motivated to look into it, and found some site named badcaps that told me to essentially replace all the caps. I put good quality low ESR caps in and behold, it's alive. Seriously, though, armed with the info from badcaps, I was able to see that the ends of the caps (radial leads) were bulged and one had even punctured and was slightly leaking. So, you may or may not get what you pay for. This monitor has a perfect screen and better specs than what replaced it when it failed. It just had crappy caps from the beginning.

Hi,

As I stated you get what you pay for. Our acceptance for cheap products has produced this problem. Cutting corners for consumer products has cost us in the long run. The manufacture of our components has indeed moved to cheaper manufactures overseas. Therefore it can be hard for the average consumer to know what to buy.

Most problem equipment I've had on my bench are because of poor quality components. Add to this poor consumer maintenance an you have problems. I include environment within maintenance of equipment as this will cause problems in the long term for equipment that is designed poorly with marginal specifications.

The powersupply is an Antec powersupply and I know it is still good because the bios came up. The computer had been turning off because of overheating for a while (like at least a month or longer) and it most likely thermal shock. And the heat sink was so choked with dust that NO air could get though. I turned it on even after cleaning it and it did the same thing. I didn't see any of the compacitors with bulged tops or anything. None of them had any leaks either, so I ruled out the M/B.... but I am still worried about the power supply. I am thinking that it was the processor because it wouldn't boot at all. Like I said before, the bios would come up and nothing else. I recovered her info from the HD and it worked just fine.

Hi,

How long does the system stay up after you turn it on to check the BIOS? Do let it set for a period with the system on and in the BIOS?

After cleaning the system did you check the compound for the heatsink? What about HSF (HeatSinkFan)? Do you see the health in the BIOS? Speed for the HSF and system fans? What do you see for temps for the CPU while in the BIOS?