System dead

Ref: http://slackfiles.blogspot.com/2007_02_18_archive.html

OK. Apparently when the Ultra PS died, it may have taken the motherboard with it. The machine has been blue-screening ever since the PS replacement, just not as frequently as before.

I also noticed that the HSF on the Northbridge isn't working. When searching Google for issues with the Northbridge, I found that this is happening to others and that it actually signifies a motherboard failure. The Northbridge gets HOT and I'm assuming that over time, the heat has killed the motherboard.

This is the time to upgrade, I guess. I'll more than likely buy a new motherboard/CPU combo and it'll more than likely be a quad-core CPU that I'll be getting (Phenom):

(Intel) http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.152153

or

(AMD) http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.150323

EDIT - I ended up purchasing a

Foxconn A79A-S AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard

and a

Retail AMD Phenom II X4 940 Deneb 3.0GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache CPU

and basically rebuilt this system...it is SMOKING. I was gaming and installing game patches for another game AND XP updates, and only two cores were being used while two were idle!! I put 3GB of RAM into the system (I almost put 4GB but then realized that XP 32-bit would only see 3GB of it...time for a 64-bit Windows OS install, I think). I really should install some high-grade RAM, though, as I think I only have 667mhz installed.

I also bought a

BIOSTAR TForce TP43D2A7 LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard

for to replace the motherboard in the Pentium-D system...I'll use this motherboard and CPU to rebuild my old Sempron 3000+ system (I'm starting to stack up 'older' motherboards and CPUs).

System Components

Three system components are shipped so far:

Ultra XBlaster Clear Side Blk Mid-Tower Case
Ultra 500W X-Finity Power Supply 120mm Fan
Ultra 1024MB PC4200 DDR2 533MHz

The real worry was the RAM, as it was listed as out-of-stock after I made the purchase. Hopefully, the 6 other components will be shipped on Monday.

I've about $120 in rebate paperwork to complete and one of them must be postmarked by tomorrow at midnight...dunno how that's gonna happen on a Sunday.

Anyways, I'm very excited about this computer's potential and can't wait to get everything assembled and working.

I'll keep you all informed as the days go by.