Computer screen blank

[ohara]

Hi,
I am a newbie on the site and I am in need of help. First time I responded to an old thread, so I hope I am doing this correctly this time.
We have a computer
AMD athlon 3000+ w/heatsink and fan
1 gig 2700 ddr333 ram with heatsinks over ram sticks
fx5200 128 mb
aopen mobo ak79d400vn
520 watt atx power supply

Problem: Tried to upgrade video card to 6600. Installed it and drivers and the computer starts up, fan is running, but nothing else a blank screen. Purchased off ebay mainly for processor and mobo to upgrade son's computer. Thought this would solve son's gaming problems ( BF2 should be hung for its greediness in cpu and video power) Now I am stuck.
Brought it to the repair shop and the guy said mobo fried and continued to tell me how bad the AMD cpu's are and tried to make me one for $$$$. Is the guy right?
Question: Is there a way to tell if the mobo is indeed blown and /or the cpu and can I change out the processor into another computer? I hate to think nothing can be salvaged on it.
I hope I haven't forgotten to say anything- Please forgive !

 

[vnf4ultra]

Brought it to the repair shop and the guy said mobo fried and continued to tell me how bad the AMD cpu's are and tried to make me one for $$$$. Is the guy right?

The guy is not right. Amd cpus are very good. For gaming they're tops, and for normal tasks they're no slouch either. My guess is he'd rather make the $$$$(big bucks), than make just a few $$(bucks) helping you fix your current one.

So, are you saying your system works with the 5200, but when you install the 6600, it doesn't work? If so, what sysptoms does it give? Lights, noises, fans, etc.

You could put the cpu into another pc with the same socket type(it also has to support the same cpu bus speed), to test it. Or you could swap the motherboard in your current pc and see if it works then, but both tasks are somewhat of a pain(the cpu will need thermal grease applied, and motherboards take a while to remove). You probably have a "socket A" amd cpu, since you say athlon, and not athlon64.

Also, your new card may be stressing your psu, if it's underpowered/faulty. You might want to list the brand and specs(amps per voltage rail), if you know the info.

 

[Vigilante]

I agree with above about the repair shop and techiques.

I also ask, so the PC works with old card and not with new? If you put the old card back in does it work fine?
If the system works with the old, I'd also say check the power supply, and make sure if the new card has an extra 4-pin power plug on it, that you plug power to it!

If the PC is dead now with EITHER card, something could have blown. Do you get any "beep" sounds when it turns on? If no beep sounds, then the CPU could possibly be bad, or mobo, as diagnosed. But if you get a beep, what is it? Short beeps? Long beeps?

Good luck