Well yesterday my computer:

athlon 2200
k7s5a
512 ddr crucial
9500 sapphire -> 9700 (3.4)
maxtor 120 gig d9 and 80 gig
few other bits and bobs

started crashing all over the shop. Only thing I could see wrong was a very high temp on my cpu (but not enough to crash it i think). Took it out, cleaned out the HSF (volcano 7+) and reinserted.

Turned on, it beeped, started to boot then fizzled and then turned off. Every time I turned it on after then it didnt beep and turned itself back off. So I thought I must have damaged the cpu.

So anyway, bought another one today (last day before bank holiday) and put it in and it did the same thing, so I think its my k7s5a blowing them and Ive wasted another £65 on a new cpu.

Currently having to use my brothers old amd k6 2 475 lol.

Think im gonna get a bloody intel next.

Well enjoy laughing at my missfortune anyway lol, im off down the pub.

Bryearch

Have those CPUs themselves actually been fried? I wonder if you've been a victim of leaking (cheap) capacitors on the motherboard. That would explain the instability followed by the fizzling and failure to even try to post.

When that happened to me, it was my motherboard, your first CPU may still work, mine did :)

I accidently stabbed my MOBO with a screwdriver while trying to unhook the Volcano7, which was stuck like a son of a bitch, aggression at it's best :)

my friend is testing my first cpu now, could have wasted my money buying another cpu but suppose I could just sell it on ebay if it works lol

I did the mistake to buy a new one without testing, at least my sister was happy when she got the other one :)

if it's cheap i'll buy it my old mobo died in a similar way, i think the cpus will be fine...

I, too, had the leaking cap problem on MSI K7T-266, which repeated on THREE boards in a row, in front of the frustrated tech.....

Went to the KT3 Ultra-ARU and have had no problems since, even with same CPU,etc....Makes me *scared* to do my next update of board and chip later this fall.