Fortunately improved manufacturing and quality control techniques make faulty CPU’s a rare occurrence. The main cause of processor failure is now overheating, overclocking or a combination of both. This article will discuss how to tell if the CPU is at fault and how to prove it.
The first signs of CPU failure will be crashes when performing certain operations, like word processing, surfing the internet or listening to music. Generally these will be the same kinds of activities rather than random ones. If you think you may be having problems it may be wise to acquire a temperature monitoring tool in order to ensure that your CPU isn’t getting too hot. If you’re a Windows Vista or 7 user there are a few good desktop gadgets that will actively monitor CPU temperature.
As a ballpark figure an AMD processor shouldn't really be any hotter than 70C for any length of time, whereas an Intel chip like a P4or dual core can range from 65-70C. Temperatures may spike for a time, but should ideally be lower than 70C to work effectivley and not shorten their life.
A high operating temperature won't always be because you are working the processor hard doing something like encoding video. It can also happen because of a faulty or old cooler, worn out thermal compound or a dusty computer. All sorts of things can contribute to temperature. If your CPU cooler looks in good condition, is dust free and spinning properly then it is probably physically sound.
The first thing to do is to ensure it isn’t temperature related, as this is a major cause of processor failure. Either using the desktop gadgets or a hardware temperature monitoring tool, attempt the activities that cause the crash and watch the temperature rather than what else is going on. If it doesn’t elevate too much, and remains at at reasonable temperature then you can rule that out.
Unless a piece of hardware is giving specific symptoms, it is often just a process of elimination. This is fine if you have spare hardware, or know someone who does, but it isn’t always feasible.
If your machine will still boot, remove all hardware except the essentials, including a single stick of RAM, a single drive, and the graphics card. If your motherboard has on-board graphics, remove the graphics card and use that instead. Test the system again and try the activity that causes the crash. Work with a combination of drives, RAM and memory slots until it doesn’t happen any more. Try and be organized about it in order to build up a clear picture of what is going on.