Calling all PC experts. Ebay auction gone sour. (Kinda long) (1 Viewer)

[Jeff]

I auctioned a Slot 1 SECC2 100MHz Bus Speed Pentium 3 chip on Ebay about two weeks ago. This was a CPU I bought brand new OEM around May 2002, which wasn't easy to find, and I used it very often for just over a month with no problems with stability of any kind. The fan/heatsink was a Golden Orb (rated up to 1.13Ghz) and in between I had a properly done layer of Artec Silver III compound. The CPU case & case temp was in the "normal" range.
Anyway, as soon as the auction winner received the item, he emailed me and said that it works fine and then he left me positive feedback. Four days later he emailed me again saying that after about 4 hours of total use the CPU died. I was shocked to say the least, thinking it impossible if I had used the CPU for 4 more hours myself, it would have failed.
First of all, my auction stated "Please do not bid if you are not sure about your motherboards specs or have no experience installing a CPU."
Now this guy seems to have some PC knowledge but some of the things he told me makes me wonder just how much and maybe I'm the one who's not too knowledgable in this area, who knows.
He told me that his motherboard is called an "ATI DUAL SLOT 1". Well correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think ATI makes motherboards. They list nothing on their site about MB's. He also said the dual slots are set up for Windows 2000 only and not the OS he is using, which is 98SE. Since I know nothing about dual slot mobos, I have no idea if this makes sense or not, but maybe 98SE doesn't support dual processors? He has also stated that his case temp is 50 degress C (123F) at IDLE with his old 450Mhz P3. IMO, and I could be wrong, this temp would go up 3-5 degrees with a 1Ghz chip. And, again, unless I'm mistaken, the actual 1Ghz CPU temp would probably be around 63 to 65C at IDLE. Who knows what it would be under full load. When I was using this CPU my case temp was 30 to 34C and even that was high because I was using an Abit Bx6 board that runs hotter than most mobos. My current mobo is 27C and CPU temp never goes above 46C. So at full load on this guys computer, this chip COULD have been sizzling at a temp possibly as high as 70C.
So, I guess the big question is, can this CPU die at this temperature? I know it's way too high. The failure he describes sounds heat releated since he says after the 3rd boot up it only lasted for 15 minutes and then it died. I once killed a P3 CPU myself for not putting thermal grease on. (I've known better in recent times.) Anyway the CPU lasted about 10 minutes and after a couple reboots that was it, it would not reboot anymore. Sound familiar?
I will say, this guy is very nice and the fact that he reported a 50C IDLE case temp with his old CPU, shows he is honest. He also has never raised the issue of wanting money back as of yet.
Should I atleast offer him to send me the CPU to look at or should I tell him he's SOL? (Not in that way of course).
BTW, the reason I sold the CPU is because I needed a mobo that supported 4X AGP.
Thanks for reading this novel.
Jeff

 

[Jeff]

Just found the web page www.heatsink-guide.com and here are the max temps:
Pentium III Slot 1 1GHz 70°C for newer versions
60°C for older version.
I don't know which version I had bought. Even though it was bought this year, it could still have been an older one, although if it was, I'd be surprised if it lasted even 4 hours.
His original 450Mhz CPU can go up to 80-85°C, depending on model. This is why it hasn't cooked.
Jeff

 

[Blu]

I would think it is his hardware that cooked the CPU and state that it wasn't designed for those temps.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Good grief, why is his case temp so high? He definitely toasted that CPU.

Win98 does not support multi-processors, but NT 4.0 and up (Win2K) does.

 

[Chu Gai]

Well for starters, you've no idea what this guy did. He may have shocked the cpu, a surge could have resulted, he may have removed the fan, made a stab at overclocking it and fried it, maybe his mobo crapped out. Maybe there's not a damned thing wrong with it and he's got 2nd thoughts about his purchase and is looking to get his money back. You simply don't know. Personally i've never heard of an ati mobo but this dual slot thing seems to ring a bell (maybe he meant ABIT?). Some mobo's (Tyan comes to mind) provided the option of using a slot1 or the other cpu. If i recall, there were certain warnings with that. One was that you should not put both types of CPU's in there (he might've done that). Also there may've been jumper/switch settings and those may've been messed up. Since I take it you provided no personal warranty, I would reply that the cpu was working when you had it, and it was working when he had it. Since you cannot determine if there may've been problems either with the way it was installed, or factors beyond his or your control, that while you sympathize with his situation you can offer no further assistance at this time.
Cut, print, that's a wrap.

 

[Demetri K]

Win XP pro runs dual cpu's as well. As far as the cpu problem. I say. It is his fault. He new his system ran hot from the begining. He should have bought a fan or did something. For all you know he could have tried to OC it. I say he is SOL!!

 

[Rob Gillespie]

I'd halt any idea of giving a refund. They guy sounds like a total, inexperienced novice. A 50c idle case temp is asking for trouble.

If you are happy that the CPU was OK when it left you - and that there has been no possible damaged caused by shipping - then, well...

 

[GlennK]

Well.. at least he left you positive feedback. No chance of retribution on his part, which makes your decision a little less worrysome about getting negative feedback from a newbie.

 

[Jeff]

I almost feel kind of bad he left me positive feedback, even though the CPU failing had nothing to do with me.
Anyway, I emailed him back a couple days ago and pretty much put what I wrote here. I haven't heard back from him yet.
Jeff

 

[KyleS]

Jeff,

Have you told him to contact Intel to get a replacment? If you did indeed by it in May then it should still be under warranty even if it was an OEM it comes with a 90 day. If it worked for 4 days and then stopped that would point to the problem being on his end since if it was on yours it wouldnt have worked period. Usually CPU's either work or not work.

KyleS

 

[Jeff]

I don't have the recepit for it but maybe I can get it. Will Intel replace it even though it fried?

BTW, it only worked for him for 4 hours. It worked a month for me, at constant use.



Jeff

 

[KyleS]

Jeff,

Even without a receipt they will most likely replace it for him even if it fried. Best to tell him to just contact Intel and to leave you out of it.

KyleS

 

[Jeff]

I've been doing some reading on Google. Seems it's up to the vendor to send it back to Intel, but they will only do warranty replacement with certain vendors. I got it from an online business in Washington state. I might contact them and see what they say.


Jeff