PC won't boot. Is my CPU dead?

[kissenger]

I've been having an absolute nightmare with a recent upgrade I did. Ever since I installed a new GPU and cooler my rig has not been the same. It worked for about 8 hours after the upgrade but then it refused to boot. I can't even get into BIOS. I have tried every form of troubleshooting there is (including resetting CMOS). None of it has worked. I have also tried switching out the GPU, the RAM, the PSU and the cooler. None of that worked either.

Can I safely say that the CPU is dead or will I possibly be just wasting even more money (I've already spent nearly £100 on a second PSU and sticks of RAM)?

Any help whatsoever is appreciated. I'm at the end of my tether with this

[Pancake]

What board is it? and what CPU?

A CPU doesn't die very often (No pun intended), so its got more chance of being the board

[kissenger]

It's an EVGA 780i FTW mobo and a Q6600 G0 CPU. Neither has ever been overclocked.

I'm using the board EVGA RMA'd me this week. Same error on both mobos.

[Pancake]

Does it show a post code? if it has an LCD poster

[kissenger]

It's an 'instant FF' error. FF means fully functioning usually but not in my case, unfortunately.

[Pancake]

If it were mine i would blame the board, i would bet £100 on it

Maybe see if you can get a used Core2Duo from someone to test the board?

[kissenger]

But how likely is it that EVGA will have sent me out a dud board which throws up the exact same error? Quite long odds I would have thought.

[Behemoth]

It does happen sadly, it's been known to happen before. You got another GFX card you can try ? Rule that out before you send the board away again for another lengthy RMA process. I think I'd be inclined to strip the system down to nothing and go ghetto.

Only run a min of what the system needs to start so RAM and GFX card, then slowly add parts till you find the weak link.

I take the board is taking power and the PSU spins up ?

[kissenger]

Yeah I've tried multiple GPUs. Also tried going with a minimal configuration. Board takes power, PSU is working, all the fans spin, etc.

[Betty_Swallocks]

Have you swapped out the RAM for a known good bit?

[kissenger]

Have you swapped out the RAM for a known good bit?

Yep. Bought new ram just to test. Also tried every possible ram configuration. Apparently the red light indicates a PSU or CPU failure and given that I've now tried two different PSUs it's looking more and more likely that it's a dead CPU, which is a bit annoying, but oh well...

On the lookout for a used Q6600 G0

[Saracen]

Hmmm. Warning messages are sometimes a bit misleading. I had a message that indicated CPU or PSU. Both that CPU and PSU are currently working just fine .... in another motherboard. I'm not suggesting that's the case here .... just sayin'.