CPU Burned: Little help, please!

[shukudai]

Recently my CPU died, looks like it burned. It was time for me to get a new computer, but I am wondering if it's possible in this case that I can simply replace the CPU, preferably with the same model (so I know 100% that it works with my current hardware configuration). I am also uncertain if the motherboard is damaged as well, it may be and may not be, very difficult to tell when I open it up, but looks good.

Step #1: Replacing the CPU. I honestly don't remember which it was, but going back through Dell's site (yes, this one was pre built My current one is very much not), I get this:

T511J1 Module, Processor, I7-920, 2.66 Bloomfield, XPS DT
X204R1 Processor, I7-920, 2.66, 8MB, Bloomfield, D0

This was from a PC about 3 years old. What should I be looking at, price wise, to replace this with the same model, if that's even possible? If not, how do I know which model SHOULD be compatible?

Step #2: If the motherboard doesn't work, I can replace this as well, though it's more of a hassle:

MOTHERBOARD..., 435MT <- That's all that's provided for me, when looking to replace the motherboard.

This is what I find: http://www.amazon.com/Genuine-Dell-M.../dp/B005408SN2

Not sure what I should be looking for on the price range, and what is trusty.

Step #3: What can I do with this as a backup computer? I was thinking HTPC or something along those lines. Just looking for a cool project and to do a bit of learning. I have an Radeon 5770 as the video card for it, 8 gigs of ram.

Any help / advice would be appreciated

[Olo401]

Holy crap.. it looks like the heat shield has a giant crack in it! What kind of cooler was on this? I'm assuming stock Intel/Dell garbage? Had you done any overclocking that might have caused this kind of epic heat failure?

If you want to try just replacing the CPU, any of the Core i7-9xx procs will do. If you need (or want) to switch out the board check to see if the case uses a standard size board before you overpay for a true replacement board.

[shukudai]

I don't think that's actually a crack, when I opened it up a cat hair got on it It was a stock Intel/Dell heatsink/fan. I didn't overclock at all, but I am assuming running Firefox with 10+ tabs, including a video stream or Netflix, Trillian with like 5+ IM accounts, D3, sometimes streaming Video did it. I tried to kill all unncesary background processes, and the thing generally runs 24/7.

For Core i7-9xx processors, what is my price range? I decided to actually buy a new PC, so I don't want to beggar myself. I figured the same model would be the best choice.

[Senji]

Thermal paste doesnt last forever, especially the crap intel stock crap.

[Rellikard]

I don't think that's actually a crack, when I opened it up a cat hair got on it It was a stock Intel/Dell heatsink/fan. I didn't overclock at all, but I am assuming running Firefox with 10+ tabs, including a video stream or Netflix, Trillian with like 5+ IM accounts, D3, sometimes streaming Video did it. I tried to kill all unncesary background processes, and the thing generally runs 24/7.

For Core i7-9xx processors, what is my price range? I decided to actually buy a new PC, so I don't want to beggar myself. I figured the same model would be the best choice.

Cheapest i7-9xx I've seen.

[Niya]

When you say "it died", what exactly do you mean by it? The photo looks like a mix of really old thermal paste and dust, but as long as the heatsink still had any form of contact to the CPU + overheating prevention measures, it should never take actual damage from that.
First thing i'd do is clean the CPU and heatsink base with alcohol/benzine or something like that until all dirt is gone. It should be so clean that the heatsink base can be used as a mirror and that you can read the text on the CPU without problems. Apply new thermal paste, put CPU and heatsink back in and see if it still works.

If it really died (i kind of doubt it), you can replace it with any CPU that has an LGA1366 socket. Those will probably not be that easy to find, that CPU generation is from Q4/2008 and Intel has changed the sockets several times over the last year, pretty much on every new core i generation... This should be all CPUs with 1366 that might still be available: http://ark.intel.com/search/advanced...kets=FCLGA1366
Ignore the Xeon ones, those are server processors and they probably need a different chipset, also the chances are high that your BIOS doesn't support them. This BIOS problem might happen with any of them since the CPU generation is newer than your board even though the socket is still the same. Try it if you want, might have luck.

[shukudai]

Thanks. I'll try the thermal paste thing first, since it's cheap and I was at the pc store when I read that. I can clean it up a bit, tho I won't be able to quiet read te text off it since its non existent. Part of t for look like burn marks to me and not so much dust as it looks like a sort of mush that dried out. I'll update once ive done a few more tests!

[shukudai]

No luck. I took out the CPU and Fan/Heatsink, cleaned with rubbing alcohol until very clean, shinning. Applied thermal paste, put back in, and same issue: Doesn't really start up (One fan starts for about 1 second then stops), and an orange light on the motherboard. The only thing I can think is it's the CPU somehow, or the part of the mother board the CPU is plugged into, it looks like two or three of the pin things there are either discolored or bent.

Any other ideas to test if it's the CPU or MB? I removed all hardware, i.e: RAM, Vid Card, etc, never starts up more than a single fan spinning for a moment with any hardware configuration.

[Jojimbo]

It could be the PSU if the fans aren't even starting (unless that only happens when you don't have RAM/CPU plugged in?) although the fact that the socket pins are bent probably means that the MB is gone as well (unless you think you could straighten them). I don't see how they could have just bent and stopped working w/o the CPU being removed though, and what do you mean by maybe discoloured?

[Olo401]

I don't think that's actually a crack, when I opened it up a cat hair got on it It was a stock Intel/Dell heatsink/fan. I didn't overclock at all, but I am assuming running Firefox with 10+ tabs, including a video stream or Netflix, Trillian with like 5+ IM accounts, D3, sometimes streaming Video did it. I tried to kill all unncesary background processes, and the thing generally runs 24/7.

For Core i7-9xx processors, what is my price range? I decided to actually buy a new PC, so I don't want to beggar myself. I figured the same model would be the best choice.

You can get another 920 used cheap off Ebay (see Rel's link) or new ranging from 200-350 for the non-extreme editions.

[shukudai]

It could be the PSU if the fans aren't even starting (unless that only happens when you don't have RAM/CPU plugged in?) although the fact that the socket pins are bent probably means that the MB is gone as well (unless you think you could straighten them). I don't see how they could have just bent and stopped working w/o the CPU being removed though, and what do you mean by maybe discoloured?

The PSU fan is not starting, but when you plug the power in the back, there is a green light where the PSU is. Also, the orange light on the mother board has to be getting power somewhere. The fan on the CPU doesn't spin at all, it's a fan further in the back. It only starts for a heartbeat. There is two socket pins, that it's hard to tell, if they are just bent a little bit or slightly off color, maybe I just suck at checking. The CPU, after being cleaned up, looks fine. By discolored, I mean they look just a bit darker, 2 or 3 of them.

I'm leaning more towards it being the motherboard at this point. But I don't know how easy it is to replace, someone was telling me Dell's stuff was very specific, which might mean getting a new case as well if I can't get the same mother board, etc.

Does it make any difference if when this occurred, my screen was flickering a bit, and then I got a BSoD?