Replacing Motherboard

My motherboard went dead about a month ago and I'll be replacing it in the next couple of weeks. When it went dead the CPU fan flipped out, which I've been told may have been caused by a severe increase in voltage. Could that have been a problem with the power supply, or just a motherboard flaw? I'm asking because I haven't decided if I need to replace my power supply, and I really don't want to ruin the new parts I'll be getting soon. Thanks.

Processor: AMD Athlon 2500+ Barton
Mobo: Epox EP-8RDA+ (nForce2 U400 chipset)
Video Card: ATI Radeon 8500 LE
120 gig WD HD
1 gig RAM

I'll be replacing the mobo, cpu, and video card.

 

Could be power supply, voltage surge from the wall (you should use a surge protector if you dont).
What are the specs on the power supply? What OS?
I dont use anything under 450 to 500 watts. Computers need a lot of power these days.

 

I believe it's a 450W power supply. It came preinstalled with my Antec case. I'm running XP Pro.

 

I suppose it's possible that your fan died first, and caused your CPU to burn up. The AMD temperature protection circuit in the Athlon chips is a bit slow to respond; if the temperature within the chip rises too fast, the circuitry won't shut the CPU down fast enough to save it. Depending on the failure mode, it could have taken the mobo with it.

All of which means your PSU could be OK. But I don't have a lot of faith in that idea -- the presence of a properly-mounted heatsink will usually slow the temperature rise enough to allow the protection circuit to kick in when the fan fails.

It would be a good idea to have the PSU checked out just in case it was damaged when your mobo failed -- or caused your old mobo or CPU to burn out. It wouldn't be fun to have it take out your new mobo and CPU.

 

I agree with this. Sometimes even the heatsink gel on the heatsink itself is very cheap and your CPU possibly did burn out, also taking the main area of your MOBO with it.

Your best bet is to also replace your power supply... usually the ones that come WITH a PC case are the really sheap ones. So, to avoid further damage or "possible" damage.. I'd suggest getting a new one.

 

I'm looking at getting this ttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817148027. However, the whole 24 pin vs 20 pin thing is throwing me off. I'm looking at getting this mobo http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813128301#sctNav. Will they be compatible?

 

Well your AMD seems to be of the "XP" series... i think in order to upgrade to this particular MOBO, you may have to purchase the "64" series. Because the sockets are 2 different types.

BUT, this is a good MOBO. So, kudos on that.. and yea.. the CPU may run you around $80 or so.. I believe for an AMD 64 2800+