What to do to check/rescue a dumped PC?

[iJoseph2]

Found something similar for XPS 8930 and 8910 ...

https://www.dell.com/community/XPS-Desktops/XPS-8930-no-display-LED-lights-on/td-p/7288865

https://www.dell.com/community/XPS-Desktops/XPS-8910-no-signal-to-monitor/td-p/8138374/page/2


And there's talk about BIOS recovery on 8930 (is there something similar on your 8910?) ...

https://www.dell.com/community/XPS-Desktops/XPS-8930-white-LED-no-video-or-beeps/td-p/8077518

[Zucca]

Thanks for the links, but they do not help too much. They are slightly different problems/situations.

[iJoseph2]

No worries. Thought I'd post them just in case there was some something helpful in there.

[MK14]

MK14 I hear you, I am not offended at all! I am really enjoying this conversation.

https://www.supermicro.com/en/products/motherboard/x11sae-m

The above caught my attention.... I always wanted to get a SuperMicro one...

It has all the upgrade possible I want and should be compatible with my sad dumped I7 6700.

Yes I am still thinking if recycling the mini tower case and old I7 6th gen makes still sense or not.

I need:

- Mobo $100 (this one is cheaper)
- Heatsink $40
- RAM 64GB used another $120
- used PSU (again Dell is junk) $40

<200 dollars... right were I want...

- SSD am M2 disks, I have them already..

I'm getting mixed messages, on the requirements/specifications and budget.

As I see it, the sensible options would be (I can't seem to get the NEW/modified text formatting to work, so I've improvised here):

=>  Use a free dumpster find PC (find one that works), and don't spend any money on it.

=>  Choose a sensible, very cheap, but powerful, reliable/durable ex-business PC, or well cared for home-PC, from ebay or somewhere.  With a specification, already just about bang on what you want/need.

=>  Make or buy a brand new PC, with cheap but modern components, such as bottom of range 6 core AMD processors (this or previous generations, zen 3 or 4).

=>  Raise the budget up, and make the PC you want/need, perhaps with 8 core CPUs (or the Intel 'funny' number of big/little confusing cores, performance and economy cores).

Just shoving a budget in the thread, such as $200, is too confusing.  Major compromises may have to take place, and I can't really make those decisions for you.

What worries me about the current situation, is that you need to go for something like one of the options I mentioned (or the numerous other options, there are probably an infinite number of them).  But then STICK TO IT.  This business of adding on all those bits and pieces, such as 'I hate that PSU, so getting a new one', I MUST get a new massive CPU fan, ... I MUST MAX OUT THE MEMORY and get 64 GB, etc.  Is budget wise, NOT sensible overall (in my opinion).

It would be better to just come up with a pile of money (budget), at the start (e.g. $600), then choose what you can get, in an overall sense. Based on that.  Which may get you the best, overall PC and value for money etc.

Analogy:
A rubbish/trash/garbage car costs perhaps $100.
A sensible car perhaps costs $6,000+ (opinions can vary).

You seem to be buying a 'bargain' $100 car, which was about to be scrapped, if no one bought it.
Then saying it must have a flashy $500 exhaust, flashy go faster wheels ($800), a paint job ($700), a cheap turbocharger fitted to the engine ($900), a new big battery ($300), new seat linings ($500), flashy bumpers ($850) ..... etc.

So you end up spending $10,000 on the $100 beater wreck of a car.  Instead of buying a sensible car, at the beginning for $6,000+.

If I understand things correctly, the Skylake CPUs, don't support Windows 11 (unless you want to significantly mess around, and jump through a few hoops).  Which for some people, is a major downer.

[Zucca]

So you end up spending $10,000 on the $100 beater wreck of a car.  Instead of buying a sensible car, at the beginning for $6,000+.

In general you are right, but it needs to analyze every single case at the end. Not all used wreck of cars are the same.

Anyway just to close the circle:
- tossed the DELL mobo, saved the coin cell battery.
- tossed the DELL PSU after saving out some components I could use (inductors mainly)
- tested the i7 6700 with another MOBO --> same shit no video output, CPU fan on but no video.

I have to assume the i7 6700 is bad as well, so I will toss it. The Dell mini tower case will be tossed as well, saving all the fans.

My father in law had two Lenovos thinkcenter mini tower he did not use, so I save you the details but I will move one with those two and call it the day.

I will return all the parts I bought in amazon prime, so no money was wasted in this rescue action, only some time.

Long story short, the guy who dumped it knew what he was doing.

[MK14]

So you end up spending $10,000 on the $100 beater wreck of a car.  Instead of buying a sensible car, at the beginning for $6,000+.

In general you are right, but it needs to analyze every single case at the end. Not all used wreck of cars are the same.

Anyway just to close the circle:
- tossed the DELL mobo, saved the coin cell battery.
- tossed the DELL PSU after saving out some components I could use (inductors mainly)
- tested the i7 6700 with another MOBO --> same shit no video output, CPU fan on but no video.

I have to assume the i7 6700 is bad as well, so I will toss it. The Dell mini tower case will be tossed as well, saving all the fans.

My father in law had two Lenovos thinkcenter mini tower he did not use, so I save you the details but I will move one with those two and call it the day.

I will return all the parts I bought in amazon prime, so no money was wasted in this rescue action, only some time.

Long story short, the guy who dumped it knew what he was doing.

Maybe the power supply (it should have had effective overload protection) blew the CPU and/or Motherboard, or the previous owner abused the system so much, they ended up breaking it.

As you say, used stuff, can get very complicated.  Especially when you don't know its history.

EDIT: On reflection, I was actually reading up recently on those i7-6700 (Skylake) and related Coffee lake (and Refresh) parts.  There are quite a few different chip set series, despite the similar CPU socket, they are often incompatible, both for slightly later, or slightly earlier parts.
I.e. You can easily need at least 3 motherboard types, to cope with the various CPU variants (Skylake, Coffee lake and the Coffee Lake refresh ones, on essentially the same socket), so care is needed.

Intel were way too keen to change motherboard/chipsets at the drop of a hat, and make them incompatible with each other.

So assuming you took that into account, I suppose it may well be a bust CPU.

N.B. I could have mis-understood the article(s) I read, so don't take what I just said as being definitive, best to independently check things.

I think you have put some time and effort into it.  So, if it still wasn't working, it makes sense to do exactly what you just said.  I.e. Call it quits.  You tried, at least.

[Zucca]

Happy ending... I sold that dumped i7 6700 for about 70USD in evilbay.

 

[Doctorandus_P]

Happy ending... I sold that dumped i7 6700 for about 70USD in evilbay.

 

Selling that crap is awfully close to fraudulent behavior.

And on top of wasting your own time you're now also wasting others people time.

[Zucca]

Maak je geen zorgen mijn vriend.

I cleary stated in the Ebay description what in my tests I got no video from that CPU. I did not force anybody to bid on my auction.
Yes wasting time is terrible, this is why I will not respond to any of your future posts.

[Doctorandus_P]

I am clearly not your friend.

And I'll assume there is as much truth in the other things you write.

[2N2222A]

Or not anyone's friend really. If you attack someone who recycled a computer and sold the parts to someone who needs them.