New Athlon XP motherboard?

[Harrison]

That's OK if the system is working, but normally I get them to repair when they are dead (PSU or motherboard normally) so I can't warm them up first.

One good tip to always remember after warming up a CPU is to not just grab the heatsink. They can be bloody hot!

[Bloodwych]

LOL! Great health warning there! Those things do get toasty.

I've been really lucky with computer hardware - not one failure. I'll be sure to have a hair dryer handy when I do however, although I don't think arctic silver has the issue.

[Harrison]

If the compound is applied correctly you shouldn't ever have such issues. Its only when some smart arse has caked the CPU in the cheap grease and the stuff sets like concrete when it goes cold. Good quality thermal grease will stay greasy even when cold.

You are really lucky if you have never had a hardware failure. I've had a few over the years. Over the years I've had a PSU blow which has taken the motherboard with it, a motherboard go wrong causing bad system instability and a video edit workstation go bang taking the PSU, motherboard, one of the two CPUs and a couple of the HDs with it.

[Bloodwych]

I really have been that lucky! I know friends who've had issues and come to me for help - blown PSU, bad motherboard and video cards - but the silicon gods have been on my side.

Either that or I'm due the worst run of computer luck ever to be bestowed upon a human in the next few years.....