What should I get NOW!!! After all this headache!!!

[WHATif]

OK to cut a long story short. I bought a PC 8 months ago from a shop far away from where I live now. Anyway the fan was loud so I took the computer to a local PC shop and told them to put a better low noise fan. Anyway the end result of taking my PC to this NO GOOD shop was -
1-Burnt CPU AMD 1.33GHZ Athlon
2-Damaged MOBO MSI K7t turbo r
3-I had 3x256MB SDRAM......One module is damaged.
4- IBM 60GXP HD maybe damaged.

It has been a nightmare. This PC shop is not taking responsibility and said I should take this PC to the original shop as they can replace parts on guarantee.
Now I took the PC to the originall shop and looks like he wont replace anything under guarantee.

As things stand-

I have -

1-Ricoh CD burner
2- DVD ROM drive
3-300W power supply
4-2x256Mb RAM
5-Obviously the In win ATX tower.
6-Matrox G450 G.Card
7-Maybe a damaged IBM 40GB 60GXP HD
8-I hope a working Maxtor 40 GB HD
9-Zip drive

Questions
1- When a CPU burns apart from the MOBO getting damaged...is it possible the HD,Burner,DVD ROM drive etc might get damaged as well????
2-What MOBO should I get to replace the damaged one??? Some suggestions for a stable MOBO not interested in overclocking or games. Should I move to a DDR MOBO or try to get one that can use the 2 remaining SDRAM modules???
3- What CPU should I get now?? AMD one obviously as can't afford to shell out money on P4.
I use my computer for Graphic and 3d work.


PLEASE GIVE ME ADVICE |& SUGGESTIONS....these PC shops are like PARASITES!!!! It's hard to find a good one. I did so much research but still got BURNED :-(

 

[Mavrick007]

I would try to get your MSI mobo and AMD cpu replaced if they are still under warranty, it just depends on if the cpu was retail and how long the mobo is under warranty directly from the manufacturers.

When a cpu and or mobo get burned out, it just depends, but sometimes components can suffer damage as well. If it was just localized at the cpu socket then you might be safe. It wouldn't hurt to try the components in someone else's machine to see if they work.

How long did it take for the cpu/mobo to burn out? Was it instant or just overtime cause the fan wasn't good enough? Do you know for sure if both the cpu/mobo are not working?

For what you do, I wouldn't suggest a DDR board cause you can still use your ram in the new mobo and 512megs is plenty(depending on how intensive your graphic work is). I would continue to go with an AMD though cause the pc133 P4 boards suck big time. You can find a 1.4Ghz Athlon now for not much more than the cost of the 1.33 so I would probably suggest going that route with a board like an Asus or another MSI that utilizes pc133 ram.

 

[WHATif]

Well the PC is with the original shop. He tested the /CPU on another machine and said that it has flash marks on it. He said AMD won't replace it as the fan should not have been changed. The MOBO is gone as well.

Ok the shop where I had taken the PC for replacing the fan...gave me the PC. I took it home looked at the BIOS ..it was showing the CPU temp 83degees C. So I took it back staright away. Showed the CPU temp. to them at the shop.... they took the PC to the back of the shop and told me the temp diode is damaged. The fan is doing the job and it's working OK. I took it home turned it on and all the 4 led lights on the MOBO wher RED ...the fan came on but it would not boot. They had damaged my MOBO /CPU at the back of the shop. It's my word against them. They said that the CPU was OK when they gave me the PC. Obviously not.

The originall shop where I bought the PC gave me gurantee of 1 year for the PC ....but now he says as a different shop changed the fan he can't respect the gurantee :-(

Another important question- I am seeing this price in 2 shops for the same CPU-
1- AMD Athlon XP Palomino, 1800+, 1.53 GHz ***327CHF/192 US dollar
2-AMD Athlon XP 1800 Socket A / FSB 266MHz / 384K / 3DNow! / 1.53 GHz / incl. ***Cooler*** SFr. 587/345US dollars

What is the difference?? Does the cooler put that much on the price??? Do u think the second one is a retail CPU with the fan already attached????
I think you are right Iwill go with the Asus MOBO.

 

[WHATif]

Which one of these would u reccomend- Is it not better to just move to DDR Ram if I am upgrading to a new MOBO + CPU???The ABIT one has 4 slots I can put 4x256mb DDR RAM ???? The 1st one has ALi magik chipset is that bad news???

1-*Asus A7A266 ATX / AMD Socket A / ALI M1647 / FSB 200/266 / 2 DDR + 3 SDR *
2-*Asus A7V266 ATX / AMD Socket A / VIA KT266 / FSB 200/266 / 3 DDR
3-*Abit KG7 ATX / AMD Socket A / AMD 761 / FSB 200/266 / 4 DDR

 

[jonmcc33]

Between those two processors I'd go with number 1. That's a bit much for an AMD Athlon XP 1800 but I guess you can't win them all. Ignore the cooling part on the second one. Even if it came with a fan it's not worth an extra $150 for it.

Between those three motherboards I'd go with number 3. The KT266 chipset was really poor. The AMD 761 is a good DDR RAM chipset.