OT: I need a new motherboard.

[Randallw]

I feel I should mention I was told my old computer had blown and the capacitors were damaged. That's why they recommended a new system. I asked about just replacing the motherboard and they said all the other parts could be damaged.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

...how would you tell?

[Randallw]

I don't know. I could tell something was wrong because the fan sounded like a vacumn cleaner. Apaprently with broken capacitors it was working overtime to deliver enough power.

[Fyron]

If any capacitors are blown, they will be charred on the top.

Replacing the whole system without checking to see if individual parts are still fine is pretty wasteful..

"Do both cores of the featured CPU go at 2.1GHz? "

Each core on a general purpose CPU is more or less functionally identical.

You also want to see if the ram you have will work in a new potential motherboard, make sure it has enough slots for your expansion cards, make sure it has the right video card slot type, and check that there will be enough connectors for your hdds and optical drives.

[Randallw]

It wasn't a real problem as I planned to buy a new computer anyway. I was just stringing out the old one for another month or two. It still works but is very loud and they said it could drop dead any day. My mother just wondered if someone we know could refurbish it as a second computer, well third, or something on the cheap.

[Suicide Junkie]

Pfah. Loud just means a $2 fan is getting old.
Listen for which one and replace it if you don't like the noise, or just wait until it stops and then replace it.

Electronics make no noise at all unless they're going "PZZZERT!"

"They" just want you to drop a thousand bucks in their laps.

[Spoo]

I agree with Suicide Junkie. According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague), the symptoms of bad capacitors have nothing to do with a noisy fan.

* Not turning on all the time; having to hit reset or try turning the computer on again

* Instabilities (hangs, BSODs, kernel panics, etc.), especially when symptoms get progressively more frequent over time

* CPU core voltage or other system voltages fluctuating or going out of range, possibly with an increase in CPU temperature as the core voltage rises

* Memory errors, especially ones that get more frequent with time

* Spontaneous reboots

* In case of on-board video cards, unstable image in some video modes

* Failing to complete the POST, or rebooting before it is completed

* Never starting the POST; fans spin but the system appears dead