Is there a simple way to tell CPU from motherboard failure??

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UBtech

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Im a new tech..
can anybody help with this?

I been looking all over for information on how to easily tell if a CPU or motherboard has gone bad.

All i can find is "replace the suspicious CPU with a working one, if the computer works then the cpu was bad, if the computer still doesn't work then it must be the motherboard."

Is that the only way to find out which one broke??
Thank you guys.
 
I agree with JohnRobert... look very closely for raised capacitors. If it's an expensive motherboard you might consider having them replaced. Check around for a local tech that has experience in replacing them if you don't know someone already.
Good opportunity to form alliances with other techs that might have a skill-set that you don't have.
 
Heh. In the early days of the Athlon and Duron (yes, I'm old), if ANYTHING disturbed their cooling at all, they'd fry like eggs. I used to have a collection of fried processors to show customers.

Rick
 
There is no other reliable way other than replacing the CPU with a known good one. The test disks etc generally are pointless for this IMO. After a while you tend to get a collection of aging CPUs lying around but given the number of them in existence and the fact that some mobos only work with certain models, it's unrealistic to have every combination you'd need.

So once you get down to cpu/mobo diagnosis, most of us assume it's the mobo and 99% of the time you're right. The other 1% you can probably send the new mobo back to the supplier anyway.
 
It's really freaky how reliable the CPU's are considering that they had a few thousand transistors in their infancy to over billions today.

Like most of you guys, I've never had to replace a faulty one yet. Only upgraded a few.
 
As with a few guys here, I've only ever replaced one CPU. This time caused by a failed heatsink retainer, so the CPU basically fried itself as the heatsink had partially fallen away from the CPU. Again, an AMD CPU.

Andy
 
Old pinned Cpu's are easier to diagnose, though some still function with a pin missing, depends on the cpu pin. CPU's will rarely fry beyond medium rare as system will shut down before this occurs. Another note is with newer mobos and socket sets, they are very fragile. One bent pin on the socket += death to mobo. As someone stated - capacitors can be an issue [bulging caps] - but only with cheap or old as motherboards, as I noted to a client recently x3 bulging leaking caps , ****** msi mobo.
 
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The only CPU I have replaced is one that I myself shorted when live-testing a display. I neglected to cover or tape off the antenna leads and one just happened to touch the motherboard, which was without the palmrest or cover at the time. All I remember was that it was a socket S-1 and I replaced on the off-chance that it might work, and it did.
Why was I doing that open test? I was replacing a CCFL screen with an LED screen with an adapter (cheaper, brighter screen).
 
I've gotten one DOA CPU in the last 5 years, it was an Intel. Very quickly replaced, thank you Intel. Other than that, it's either a cap or the board itself, or you fried the CPU. I've gone through a lot of bad MoBo's. Either caps or something else wrong with them.
 
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