mobo or vid card?

[wakkoguy]

Recently my dimension 8300 just shut off. I turn on the computer and hear a very high pitched 1 second beep and then the light on the front of my computer just beeps orange (no sound) . Nothing turns on at all, no fans spinning either.
I tested the power supply and it was good. So I took off all the connections to drives and extra cards. I reseated everything and the same thing happens. then, I got a brand new card from best buy and swapped out my vid card (however, my geforce 6800 was agp and the card I got is a pci). After I switched the video cards the computer power light was green but no drives or fans were spinning. However the light was still green (not a flashing amber/orange) and there was no beep. Does this mean it is the vid card or the motherboard?
I even took out the batter to reset the cmos.

 

[imported_LoKe]

So you tried a new card and it still didn't work? Seems to leave you with only the mobo.

 

[refresh daemon]

If it's not the PSU and you can't get your drives/fans to spin, I'd probably think it was the motherboard too. Do the fans/drives spin without a videocard plugged into your system?

jc

 

[wakkoguy]

nope, when the vid card is not plugged in, there is no beep but still no spinning of fans.

 

[refresh daemon]

Sounds like the mobo then. Just because the light is on doesn't mean that the mobo is properly distributing power. Did you check the board to see if any of the capacitors were toast?

 

[wakkoguy]

what does a toasted capacitor look like?

 

[amdskip]

http://www.badcaps.net/ but I don't believe that is your problem.

How did you test your power supply? Did you reseat your memory? I think your old video card is fine and it's probably a dead power supply.

 

[wakkoguy]

Originally posted by: amdskip
http://www.badcaps.net/ but I don't believe that is your problem.

How did you test your power supply? Did you reseat your memory? I think your old video card is fine and it's probably a dead power supply.

I used an antec power supply tester I got from circuit city. I even got a new power supply yesterday and it worked as well. I am coming to the conclusion that it is the mobo.

 

[wakkoguy]

dell is telling me that it is the mobo. it is not under warranty. So I am at a stand still. Would it be better for me to replace the mobo for about $100 or would it be better to keep my hard drive, dvd burner, cpu, psu and video card and build a "new" system (i would have to get a new case if I get a new mobo)?
Basically, is it worth it to drop $100 now or go ahead and build something for future expandability?

 

[refresh daemon]

I think that depends on how old your parts are and how long you intend to keep your current rig, should you just buy the replacement mobo. You can still find plenty of mobo's for the current Intel and AMD lines of processors, but both companies will be shifting their tech soon; Intel moving to a better Core Duo processor and AMD moving into the AM2. So, it's hard to buy for future expandability in that regard, since the tech will be changing in the near future.

Of course, I've been a little out of the loop when it comes to tech developments, so I might be off. Anyone with better insight into the state of computer tech able to comment on whether to build up now or stay as is?

Personally, I think unless you plan on going ahead an upgrading a whole lot (keep your ODD/HDD and upgrade everything else), you should just replace the faulty part and see how much more life your computer has to offer. I used to upgrade with every changeover in tech, but now the only thing that can get me to upgrade is higher software requirements. I figure there's no point in spending extra cash unless I run something that requires it.

jc

 

[wakkoguy]

Thanks
I have a socket 478 cpu and my mobo from dell was 875p,
i saw this mobo http://www.hypermicro.com/product.asp?pf_id=MBIN527LPT

What kind of motherboards can I get and what do you recommend for about $50-$75

 

[inveterate]

Nah dude.. i think ur comp uses micro atx what ur about to buy is atx.

unless ur specific, just buy a micro atx so it'll fit for certain.

 

[wakkoguy]

Originally posted by: inveterate
Nah dude.. i think ur comp uses micro atx what ur about to buy is atx.

unless ur specific, just buy a micro atx so it'll fit for certain.

What's the difference?
Does micro atx or plain atx matter for the cpu? I am getting a new mobo and case
Thanks!

 

[inveterate]

micro atx is physically different from atx,, Micro atx is smaller. but it fits in nearly all comp cases. From my experience with all the dell towers i've fixed, they almost always use micro atx