What should I do?

[digitalmicron]

Hey Guys,

I have a problem with a newer computer build and I wanted to get some oppinions about it. Ok so here goes.

I bought a computer late last year from newegg that replaced my aging gaming computer. Well about 5 months ago it died on me. (Only 7 or 8 months old) Well i didnt really have time to troubleshoot because I'm in the military and i work crazy hours every week so I just used my old mobo, cpu, and memory to sufise until I could get around too it. About 2 weeks ago I finally got around to troubleshooting my computer to see what was going on with it. I have tested everything against a known working system but my CPU and mobo. His was a 1st gen core I7 system and i have a second gen 2500k SB System. So I thought It had to be the mobo because CPUs dont normally die so RMAed it back to Gigabyte and just got it back yesterday. I hooked everything back up and it still was doing the same thing. I then looked at the serial number and to much of my surprise it was the same board. They did a really good job making me think that it was a different board. (Came in a new box, new antistatic bag, and even had the CPU guard installed) So I was talking it over with my bro in law and he suggested that I RMA my CPU back to intel to see if they send me a referb. Well I was looking around at some review with their RMA process and I guess you have to make sure the CPU is bad before they will process your RMA. So that got me thinking about ordering a temp CPU for the time being until I can get that RMA sorted out. I was also thinking I would buy this replacement to see if gigabyte really did their job when I sent my board to them.

So there is where I am at as far as my computer problems go. So I'm going to give you guys the current setup I use and you guys can tell me if I would see a pretty huge benifit from getting the temp CPU.

Current system I am using:

Core2Duo @ 3.6 E8400\
4 GB DDR2800
P45 Gigabyte board (been a fan for a while but I'm going to stay away if this doesnt pan out)
750W Thermaltake PSU
HAF Case
Using a GTX 560ti from my new build

System that broke

2500K @ stock settings (Was fast enough as it was)
8 GB DDR3 1333
P67 Gigabyte Board for 2 8x PCIE slots when in SLI
2x GTX 560TIs (were OCed to 900/2000 I think)
750W Thermaltake PSU

So I was looking at a cheap replacement to make sure the board worked and I found the I3-2130. Stock speed is at 3.4 Ghz so it's only slightly slower than my OC on my E8400) I just wanted to know what you guys think. I really would like to go back to my SLI setup even though the I3 would only be a temp solution. I also wanted to know if anyone could give me information from personal experience on upgrading from Core2duo to an I3 of simalar clock speed.

Well guys sorry for the long post. I know its quite the thread but I just wanted some advise. Thanks in advance.

Rob

PS- If I do decide to get that processor I'm probably going to either reuse it in an HTPC that I'm going to build early next year or a computer for the wifey. I don't want her using my computer anymore. Things tend to break when she's done. Thanks.

 

[psychoclown81]

First off, thanks for serving, I'm in the army so I know how it can push projects back..

Have you tested the PSU? i built a system not long ago and i literally checked everything but the PSU and it turned out it was the power supply. (Who would have guessed a $130 seasonic was DOA)

Also, If i were you (this is just me) and was determined to get a test cpu, i'd go as cheap as possible. In this day and age, PC hardware has really caught up to the software (as opposed to the vista days) and even a cheap CPU will suffice in many scenarios. For instance, the cheapest cpu you can get for the 1155 platform on newegg is a 2.4ghz SB based dual core celeron with 512k of l2 and, surprisingly, 2mb of l3 cache. Enough power for daily use, as well as it should suffice in a HTPC set up, provided enough ram and a half decent video card. That's what i would do tbh..

 

[digitalmicron]

Hey dude thanks for the info. Yea I was thinking of going the cheap route. I just dont want to lose alot of performance due mostly because I games alot.

To answer your question about my PSU, yea I checked it. It's actually running the computer that I'm using right now. I have also tried the whole bare minimum setup where I had just the mobo, 1 stick of ram, and cpu setup and it still would not start. I also tested all other parts except cpu and mobo in another computer and they all work.

Thanks again for the reply. Keep em coming.