Worth keeping spare components for diagnostics?

[spat55]

Having issues with my PC and thought it might be the PSU however I brought a CX750 to find it wasn't the issue and that it is probably my motherboard that has dead PCIE slots. Anyway back on track do you think it is worth keeping some okay but cheap parts back for any issues you want to rule out? Was thinking of getting a cheap old GPU to test next.

 

[UsandThem]

People who have spare parts can isolate and figure out what is wrong with their systems as needed.

People who don't sign up at Anandtech to ask us what part is not working, or acting flakey in their system.

 

[spat55]

People who have spare parts can isolate and figure out what is wrong with their systems as needed.

People who don't sign up at Anandtech to ask us what part is not working, or acting flakey in their system.

This is very true what do you think is the right amount of things to have as spares? I feel slightly silly having a brand new CX750 boxed and not using it even though it has 3 years warranty but I know it might save me later on.

 

[UsandThem]

I keep a $30 EVGA power supply I got on sale, hard drive, 4 GB stick of DDR3, and a old PCIe video card that wasn't worth enough to sell it when I upgraded.

 

[nerp]

Sell it, or keep it. Never hurts to have a spare. Over time, you'll realize you've got enough spare stuff that you could build a complete system without a massive investment.

Funnily, I ended up in the exact scenario with an odd "flex" PSU I had in a SFF case I bought years ago. I thought the PSU died so I ordered a spare. It was actually the mobo. Well, guess what. Earlier this month, the original PSU fan finally choked and the unit was pretty much dead. I grabbed the spare, and popped it in. Perfect new condition and turns out has a higher quality fan than the original. So you never know. . .

 

[Ken g6]

Yeah. For diagnostics. That's why I'm keeping all this junk around. Right. Glad that's cleared up.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

I have more or less stopped.

I have a two dollar power supply tester, so I can tell if that's bad.
I have integrated video, so I can figure out pretty quickly if my GPU is the problem.
If my RAM is flaky, memtest will figure that out. Unless it is completely bad, then the motherboard will tell me.
Burnin tests will also tattle if the cpu is off its game.
HDD/SSD/DVD have software diags and SMART.
if my motherboard is bad, nothing else will work.
Bad peripheral devices, NICs, etc., are easy to spot because the failures are localized. But since they are all integrated into the motherboard anyway...

I do have some spare SATA cables in a toolbox in my closet.

 

[spat55]

I have more or less stopped.

I have a two dollar power supply tester, so I can tell if that's bad.
I have integrated video, so I can figure out pretty quickly if my GPU is the problem.
If my RAM is flaky, memtest will figure that out. Unless it is completely bad, then the motherboard will tell me.
Burnin tests will also tattle if the cpu is off its game.
HDD/SSD/DVD have software diags and SMART.
if my motherboard is bad, nothing else will work.
Bad peripheral devices, NICs, etc., are easy to spot because the failures are localized. But since they are all integrated into the motherboard anyway...

I do have some spare SATA cables in a toolbox in my closet.

But with a PSU tester you can't test it under load and without a GPU you can't test the PCIE lanes. You are quite right about the RAM though.

 

[PliotronX]

But with a PSU tester you can't test it under load and without a GPU you can't test the PCIE lanes. You are quite right about the RAM though.

Good point about the PSU, some day I am going to set up DC12V/5V lightbulbs to molex connectors because the PSU testers will only show voltage levels w/o load and so bad PSUs can still appear fine. It's a lot faster to swap in a known good PSU though which is why I haven't gotten around to rigging anything up :whiste:

Regarding memory though, Memtest will not definitively determine if the memory is the fault. It only isolates more memory space by eliminating the OS. There are many variables to consider when errors turn up in Memtest; faulty slot, bad motherboard, bad CPU/IMCH, XMP timings, even PSUs (particularly in the pre-ATX12V1 days).

It definitely helps to have known good components for eliminating variables.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

It definitely helps to have known good components for eliminating variables.

How do you know they're good?

 

[dave_the_nerd]

But with a PSU tester you can't test it under load and without a GPU you can't test the PCIE lanes. You are quite right about the RAM though.

I'm not above abusing a return policy. I've had one bad motherboard in 20 years. I'll risk it.

 

[maddogchen]

i have my old computer and extra keyboards/mouse. I guess I could take those parts to diagnose. Haven't had to in years though...

 

[Carson Dyle]

Diagnostics, emergency repairs, builds, and to give away. I had a friend last week lose a hard drive, so I gave him an old 1TB drive I had sitting in a box. He bought me a couple beers.

Helped another friend last year troubleshoot some problems with an old PC and found it only had 1GB of RAM, so I stuffed in a pair of 2GB sticks that I had lying around.

I go through it all every once in a while and toss whatever no longer is likely to be useful.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Of course! Lots of spare parts here, hehe. Good for building lots of systems too.

 

[PliotronX]

How do you know they're good?

Because they work?

 

[Dahak]

I would say yes as well, especially for those odd time where its tricky to figure out what it is and some times its easier to just swap a part and go from there.

The only things is, do let it pile up or else you will have a lot of stuff you cannot uses / sell
(I am in that boat with some s775 boards ram some hdds, upgraded vid cards)