Question Does a Red CPU light on the motherboard mean my CPU needs to be replaced?

Jun 15, 2019
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I've been having an issue with my computer for a while now where, after running a game for around 10 minutes the computer freezes, powers off and then powers up again, with a red CPU LED on the motherboard lighting up (screen stays black). I have to force shut down the computer and power it up again for it to work. The explanation of this light in the motherboard manual is 'CPU - indicates CPU is not detected or fail'. My computer sometimes crashes in the same way when I'm not running an intensive game, but it seems to happen every time I do. It may also be interesting to note that I've run prime95 for around an hour on the computer and it seemed to be fine. CPU temperature below 70 at all times.

My question: What further tests could I do to make sure that the CPU is actually the faulty component and if so, does it mean that I have to throw my CPU away and get a new one?

Specs:
CPU: i5-6500
GPU: GTX 950
RAM: 8GB DDR4
PSU: 500W
Motherboard: MSI B150M PRO-VDH D3
 
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