Computer not outputting to monitor, help?

[Flintlock1415]

Okay, I just bought a computer on ebay for like 30 USD to use as a file server/media center. Discounting the Windows laptop I'm borrowing for a class at the local tech college, this is the first non-mac computer I have ever owned. As such, I am not very knowledgeable when it comes to computer hardware.

The problem I'm having is that the damn thing will power up; fans running, and power lights on, but it won't send anything to my monitor (which is working just fine, and I can't even tell if the machine is trying to boot or not.

Specs:
processor: AMD Athlon 950 Mhz
psu: Codegen 350w
Mobo: ? (the processor connects with something Google told me was 'Socket A')
GPU: ? (It says AGP740a6-8m underneath a barcode)
RAM: 3x256 mb (have yet to check the type/brand)
HDD: 20 GB (again not sure of type/brand)
Speakers: NONE!

Details:
The machine was in a pretty sad condition when I got it; it reeks of smoke and has a noticeable amount of brownish dust(ashes? Any ideas on if/how I should clean that?), and what I even found out to be the CPU, heatsink and all, rolling around on the bottom. At first I figured that was my problem, but the only think that changed when I placed it back in was that the keyboard lights flash when the computer powers on (but hitting caps lock doesn't toggle the light on).

There is a green led and a amber led on the front that light up solid when the power is on. There is a possibility that the CPU fell on top of the GPU when it came off, but I can't see any visible damage. Like I said earlier, there are no speakers (it said they should have been included in the description; I will be contacting the seller about this and the obvious problem.) Seller gave a guarantee of working condition, but I am more inclined to fix the computer than send it back.

I'm not really sure as to what might be wrong, but I plan on testing the RAM next individually to see if its that. Honestly, I don't even know if I have the processor seated correctly. Any ideas on what I should do next or what might be wrong?

 

[Cutlass]

Are you getting a single short beep on startup?

 

[Flintlock1415]

Well, no, but I don't have any speakers, so I can't tell. I'll see if I can get a hold of some, since I'm sure it would help me out.

 

[warpus]

If there's no beep (you won't need speakers to hear it), the mobo might be fried

 

[Cutlass]

Well, no, but I don't have any speakers, so I can't tell. I'll see if I can get a hold of some, since I'm sure it would help me out.

Generally computers have an internal speaker that's up to at least giving the POST beeps. Check and see if there's a wire from the motherboard to some tiny speaker in the front. Or plug in some speaker to the back. If there's no POST beeps at all, then the thing is entirely dead. Start from scratch.

 

[Flintlock1415]

Hmm, well that's not what I wanted to hear, but thanks for the replies. When replacing a motherboard, (if that is what's wrong) what parts of the computer would you say are still salvageable? Also, is there any other way I can tell what exactly is wrong before I start throwing money at it? (As I've said before I'm totally new to computer hardware so I'm not so sure where to go from here.)

EDIT: Nevermind, a new motherboard would be more expensive than getting a different computer. Thanks for the help, looks like this guy is going back.

 

[J-man]

You're right, a computer that old is not worth repairing.

 

[warpus]

Might be able to sell the RAM if it's good. Older RAM tends to be more rare/expensive

 

[Flintlock1415]

Okay, I managed to get a new computer, and I am generally pretty happy with it. I works great as a server and can play videos just fine, but when I try to play a game (namely Urban Terror or online games) it doesn't work so great. I can get about 30 fps at the most in Urban Terror (which is a Quake 3 mod so its not that modern), and I'm figuring that the crappy integrated graphics is my bottleneck.

I want to get a new graphics card, but I only have PCI slots which limits my options. I'm not looking to spend $100 on outdated technology, just something to give old games a bit of a boost. I did find this GeForce card which seemed like a good deal, but I was wondering if anyone else had suggestions for a decent card thats in the range of, say, 30-50 USD. Here are some specs on the computer in case you're wondering:

OS: Xubuntu 9.10
CPU: Intel Pentium 4 2.4 ghz
RAM: 768 mb (not sure what type)
PSU: 250W (forgot the brand)
HDD: 20 GB Maxtor IDE (from the broken computer)

I think the one I linked to is a good deal but I just wanted to see if you guys had any other suggestions.
Thanks

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Im just gonna say it right now, you wont find a decent GPU for a PCI only system. If it had an AGP slot, you might have some options (ATI X1650 Pro, or maybe even an X1900 if you find one on sale) but with PCI, that card is pretty much as high as you can go. If you can find it, a FX5700LE is probably your best bet. Looking at the list of graphics cards released by nVidia and ATI, its the fastest one I can find.

 

[Flintlock1415]

Yea I knew my options would be limited, I just wanted to see if anyone knew of any better deals than what I linked to above. Since the FX5700LE appears to be in the neighborhood of $150. I'll probably go with the FX5200 I linked to above; it is $40+free shipping on Newegg.

I've got some more questions though. First, will I have to disable the integrated card? (I'm on Ubuntu if that matters.) I've never installed a new graphics card so I'm not really sure how to do it. Also, I have an old monitor I'm not using now, but say I wanted to use it as a second monitor, would it be easy to reenable the integrated card?
Thanks!

 

[mdwh]

For reference, I played Quake 3 on my ancient 16MB Voodoo Banshee 10 years ago, so whilst you've an old system, it still should do for very old games.

I've got some more questions though. First, will I have to disable the integrated card?

On the motherboards I've had, it automatically detected and switched to the new graphics card when it was plugged in. If not, try looking in the BIOS for an option.

Also, I have an old monitor I'm not using now, but say I wanted to use it as a second monitor, would it be easy to reenable the integrated card?

AFAIK, it has to be one or the other, and I'm not sure using both with dual monitors is possible. (On my motherboard, annoyingly there doesn't seem to be a way to switch back to integrated graphics at all, unless I remove a card - if the option is available, it should be in the BIOS.)