New PC
- Nov 11, 2018
- 2 min read
I assembled a new PC over the weekend to replace an aging one that I've had since 2003 powered by a Pentium CPU. Remember those? Anyway, amazing how far technology has come with enthusiasts or "gamers" computers. It took a few hours assembling this machine not being familiar with the structure and layout of current parts and cases. Of all things, the biggest challenge I had with assembling this new one wasn't so much with unfamiliarity with current hardware but with my deteriorating eyesight. Not having bifocal glasses meant I had to keep taking off my eyeglasses to see the areas on the motherboard to screw in or to connect interfaces. I surmised then that doing this work is a younger man's gig. Until this weekend, I have not assembled a PC in more than 30 years.
So in putting this together, a couple of problems right off. First, inside the sealed box of the Intel CPU, instead of containing the Intel i7 8700K CPU, it had an old Pentium duo core processor from 2005. This happens when a scammer buys the CPU, takes it out of a sealed box, then replaces it with an old obsolete CPU, sealing up the box again, then returning it to Amazon to get a refund. Amazon receives the box, sees that it is sealed and by assuming it had never been opened, returns it back to inventory and sends the box with the fraudulent CPU out to the next buyer. In this case, that next buyer was me.
It's a good thing that Amazon has a great replacement policy. I received the right replacement unit the next day. I installed the CPU into the motherboard, mounted it all in the case, and powered it up. The second problem appears. The motherboard's CPU light stayed red and motherboard would not POST. I requested Amazon to send me a second motherboard as I suspected that I had received a defective unit. Upon receiving the replacement motherboard the next day, it had no problems at all.
I have to commend Amazon's replacement policy with the next-day service has been great. It's just too bad about the fraudulent CPU as scammers take advantage of Amazon's generous policies. I suspect that sooner or later, Amazon may not be so flexible as it tries to cut down on scammers to the detriment of honest people. Anyway, I acquired all parts from Amazon and have no complaints in how they handled the problems.
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