You could be right, it could have been banged up in shipping, abused or whatever. All I know is under normal use it should last 40 to 50 years. Who knows what might have happened to it. Here is what I would do if you aren't sure. I'd return the pentuim 4 650, go get the 945G motherboard that I showed you at newegg and then buy an E2200 @ 2.2ghz Dual core processor for 79 bucks with free 3 day shipping at newegg. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ... Problem solved. The E2200 will greatly outperform the pentuim 4 650 in many single- threaded areas, not to mention in all multi-threaded areas considering it's a dual core processor. If it's broke, then blow that sucka up!

0

Thanks man, I believe I'll do just that. Although, if this P4 tests okay they'll probably stick me with it. No matter; I like your fix. Cheers.

0

Digging a little deeper if you want to go a little higher you can get the new E5200 for 85 dollars based on the wolfdale 45nm @ 2.5ghz and has 2mb L2 cache and buy the Intel G31 motherboard seperate that's 39 dollars after mail in rebate which is a little better then the 945G motherboard. All of this will equal 128 dollars. So there is a 1 dollar diff between the two setups. The second system setup will give you the best bang for your buck literality. Intel E5200 processor. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ... Intel G31 motherboard. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ... I'd tell them flat out that it didn't work, they can't argue what they themselves didn't test. I read their return policy they have to give you your money back if you return it within the return date. But If worse comes to worse though and some how they don't you can always sell the pentuim 4 650 "as is" on ebay along with your celeron and get something for them. So you arent' at a total loss. That's why I like newegg they have a great return policy and great support. I bought two cooling fans from them and they didn't work as good as I thought they would. So when I called them to return it, they told me to just keep it since both of them totaled under 25 dollars and they would fully refund me in which they did the same day. If it's broke, then blow that sucka up!

0

Wow, Phenomenal follow up. Thank you - really - for taking the time to track this info for me. No matter how it goes with the return (which I've decided should be returned based solely upon the several deceptions with the ordering/shipping process alone ie, refurbished CPU, missing heatsink and fan [says right on the details page], etc.) I'll be nabbing the newegg deal (likely the latter). A buddy just called to tell me he picked up a sweet new case for me - so what the frog... I've gone from a rather unhappy camper to pretty stoked on these new prospects - Much obliged, mon frere

0

Your welcome. I do this kind of stuff more as a hobby and side job so i'm used to finding these types of deals. The E5200 and G31 motherboard is the best deal that I can find out there for the money. The G31 motherboard has 2 ram slots that can support up to 4gb of ram total which is a pretty good considering it is only 40 dollars. Speaking of ram if you need more ram you can always get 2gb DDR2 667 ram for 32 dollars or 4gb of DDR2 667 ram for 60 dollars which will be good if you decide to run Windows 64bit. 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ... 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ... Make sure that new case he is picking up also supports a micro atx form factor because the G31 is a micro atx motherboard. Most mid level cases do, but most high tower gaming cases do not, they mainly support full size atx motherboards. So basicly you are going to have a totally brand new computer when it's all said and done. It looks like you are all set man. If you have anymore question just post back. If it's broke, then blow that sucka up!

0

I'm totally jazzed dude, Two quickies: 1. Looks like my 2 x Gb DDR2-667/533/400 (PC2-5300) SDRAM will work fine...right? 2. As it is, that G31 will fit the a1100y case [the new tower is free so not much to lose there]? You rock like a hurricane.

0

Yes, what type of ram do you have right now? The motherboard supports a 800/1066/1333mhz FSB it will support DDR2 400/533/667/800. With the E5200 it has an 800mhz FSB which is quad pumped 4 x 200mhz which gives you = 800mhz so DDR2 400 will work sync with it considering DDR's double data rate is dual pumped in 2 x 200mhz intervals inbound and 2 x 200mhz intervals outbound which gives you a grand total = 800. Now if you want to say upgrade to a better processor in the future say one with a FSB of 1066mhz or one with a FSB of 1333mhz then it would prob be best to get the DDR 667mhz. Even though it won't run sync with your current processor FSB mhz, it's much better to have the ram waiting on the cpu FSB then the cpu FSB waiting on the ram, but if you aren't going to upgrade thep rocesoor for a couple years or at all until you build your next system then I wouldn't worry about it and save yourself money. It should fit in there because the G31 is also a micro atx just like your 915G is, but namebrand companies in the past have had a habbit of not being so user friendly by allowing to throw just any motherboard in there. If it's broke, then blow that sucka up!

0

As of this moment I have: Two sticks of 1gb PC2-5300 (DDR2-667/533/400) [was 512mb 4200] One 320gb Seagate Barracuda SATA (16mb) [was 80gb Maxtor IDE] One 500gb WD Caviar SATA (16mb) [was 120gb Maxtor] These are relatively new (2 months) additions & part of my gradual capitulation toward upgrading this machine. Think I'll have issues with my OS once I fire up this new MB and CPU? Obliged

0

Ok then you're set if you have 2gb of DDR2 667. Well you won't be able to just throw in the motherboard and fire up Windows without doing a repair install or a complete reformat. A Repair install will just overwirte windows while keeping all of your current software and settings intact. Unless there is a real need to do a repair install, I would just start backing up everything you have now and do a clean install by reformatting it once you get the motherboard. You might get prompted with reactivation depending upon if your XP is retail or OEM and how many times you have changed out your major hardware in an X amount of months. But XP is a lot more forgivging on both OEM and retail version hardware change-outs then Vista is. If you do get a reactivation prompted just call MS explain your reasons and they will reactivate your XP free of charge. I know the longer you go without changing out major hardware the less likely you will get prompted for reactivation even on OEM's with XP. Since this is your first time changing out the the motherboard and cpu since you had that copy of XP, I don't think you will have a problem. If it's broke, then blow that sucka up!

0

I happen to know 1st hand that MS can be wicked slow responding/resolving that kind of thing - but I'll sort it out just fine - XP is rather familiar territory for me (something had to be, right?). This has been a most enlightening experience, and your patience and affability is most appreciated. Not to mention your diligent research and provision of information - I really do thank you for that. I'll post back with the results of my (our) efforts. Perhaps the most positive and illuminating experience I've ever had in all of my years of forum-based information searching. Great site.

0

You're welcome, glad I can help. Yeah keep me updated on what's going on. Everything should work out fine. You are getting a great deal for the money. Hell, I wish dual cores and ram were this cheap when I built my dual core system 3 years ago. If it's broke, then blow that sucka up!

0

It's ridiculous how the prices have dropped. Say, my current MB has integrated graphics so I'll likely need to buy a card, yeah?

0

Yeah if you choose to game you will, and you might need a better power supply depending upon what you are going to put in it and how many watts and amps on the 12v rail that your current power supply has on it. If it's broke, then blow that sucka up!

0

Just a quick update: The problem was StarMicro.com - they sell refurbished, old, used, faulty and even dirty parts as "new". I will learn from this burn. The Pentium 4 650 I have just installed works fine. Thank you so much for all of your help and time. Still an awesome forum.

0

...still running at 2800MHz though, hmmm... Any thoughts, Cobra? (Edit: actually, according to PC Wizard, CPUID, and Everest, the multiplier alternates from 14X to 17X (200)...which is trippin' me out. This normal?)

0

Sorry to hear that. That's why I don't like site like Star Micro. I mean their webpage layout alone makes me question them. So did you get the new board and threw in your pentuim 4 650 in it? Yes that is normal. The Pentuim 4 has Speed Step meaning it will not run at full speed when it doesn't need to so it redcues itself to a lower speed. AMD has the same thing but call Cool and Quiet. My Athlon 64 X2 4400+ will go from 2.2ghz to 1ghz when not in use. It all depends upon how much the processor is needed during that time. If it's broke, then blow that sucka up!

0

Thanks Cobra, You've been right on the $$$ across the board with your advice and tips. The P-4 is remarkably quicker than the C-D. Now, if these cats over in the Windows XP section can get me booting normally again I'll be all set ;) Thank you very much.

0

Yo0ur welcome how you like the new board? If it's broke, then blow that sucka up!

0

Sorry Cobra, I kept the Grafito board, since once I got a decent P4 it worked fine(Starmicro essentially tried to rob me first - the replacement they finally sent had fallen out of the box and was floating around in the styrofoam, and the foam pad in their joke-of-a-cpu-box was stained brown - nasty!). My only problem now is this: http://www.computing.net/answers/wi... ...but it doesn't seem that anyone over at the XP forum has any clue either. Fortunately I can boot fine through TU Util and now this old HP is running as fast as I could ever need it to (it's nice to browse while burning a dvd and only using 3% - 5% cpu). Nothing to really brag about, but benchmarks look good almost across the board :) Ps. Regarding my booting issue (btw, I tried a repair installation of XP and could still only boot the TU way) someone mentioned that I might try removing items from the DevMgr but this is foreign territory for me...any thoughts? Is this too OT? <:)

0