UBetIFold;394013 wroteWould I be able to get a new processor of similar specs and just simply 'drop' it into place....now that I know exactly how they go together, and in the correct steps.
This is of course the million dollar question, and the answer is "maybe?"
IF nothing else broke (like the heatsink mounts / the socket itself / something else) you are looking at around
$70 -
$100 for a used processor similar to what you had before. Problem is, you are paying good money for old tech (that CPU came out 5 years ago), and even worse its a gamble because you might spend the $100 and still be out of luck when you find out the motherboard is toast.
On the other side, it isn't as easy as just buying a newer processor and dropping that in. Like comp said above, a newer processor means you would need a new motherboard to match. On top of that, when you drop a new motherboard into an existing system, it's going to go for a pretty big shit when you boot it up, ranging from just driver troubleshooting to needing a full re-install. It might even reject your windows licence, as it can think of itself as a new PC. You will also need to evaluate if dropping a bunch of old parts into your shiny new motherboard and processor combo makes sense, which depending on what you have might result in looking at a ram upgrade, new video card, maybe an SSD, etc. This rabbit hole can go deep :)
Either way, you are kind of boned... but it sounds like a good excuse to upgrade to me!