PC is nearing death; would like to build new; organs may be donated

[johnnyz3r0]

It was a sad night last night when I think I've finally realized the old girl just ain't gonna make it much longer. I built her, with an old friend's help who used to hang around here - bombledmonk. She ran great for my needs for at least 5 years, but problems have slowly been creeping up. A few blue screens, a few freezings, some raw start problems, case fans long dead - all of which I worked around. But last night, she was starting to hang a few minutes after boot, with no extra programs running.

So, though I loathe spending any more dough (I just moved into a new place) I want to build a new one. *Hopefully*, I can frankenstein some of the old parts without hamstringing myself for any future upgrades.

I was following a thread from a week ago you guys did with Damiken. I liked the build that Shyguy had been quoted from in that thread.

$18 Newegg.com - LG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 5X DVD-RAM 12X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM SATA 22X DVD Burner - Bulk - CD / DVD Burners

$40 Newegg.com - APEX Vortex 3620 SGCC / ABS ATX Mid Tower Gaming Computer Case

$70 Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3750528AS 750GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

$90 Newegg.com - EVGA 512-P3-1140-TR GeForce GTS 250 512MB 256-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card (note I dropped the card and you could go lower since you don't game high end games)

$30 Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Elite 460 RS-460-PSAR-J3 460W ATX12V V2.31 Power Supply

$83 Newegg.com - GeIL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model GV34GB1066C7DC

$80 Newegg.com - BIOSTAR H55A+ LGA 1156 Intel H55 HDMI ATX Intel Motherboard

$115 Newegg.com - Intel Core i3-530 Clarkdale 2.93GHz 4MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 73W Dual-Core Desktop Processor BX80616I3530

$100 Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - Operating Systems


About $620 or so before shipping.

I was tempted all day to just buy a prebuilt, but theres way too many integrated graphics out there masquerading as better PCs. I know I can build something better for comparable dollars, surely.

I was wondering what I can frankenstein from the old build that may shave a few bucks off in the end.

As it so happens I have the old build parts in a notepad file here.

OLD BUILD:

Antec PERFORMANCE TX TX1050B Black Computer Case - Retail $124 Newegg.com - Antec PERFORMANCE TX TX1050B Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply

DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $132
Newegg.com - DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard

OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Platinum System Memory - Retail $243
Newegg.com - OCZ Platinum 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ4002048ELDCPE-K

LITE-ON Black IDE DVD Burner Model SOHW-1693S Black - Retail $44
Newegg.com - LITE-ON Black 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 4X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache ATAPI/E-IDE DVD Burner With additional beige bezel

HITACHI Deskstar T7K250 0A31636 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $108
Newegg.com - HITACHI Deskstar T7K250 HDT722525DLA380 (0A31636) 250GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive -Bare Drive

XFX PV-T70G-UDF7 Geforce 7800 GT Overclocked PCI Express 256MB DDR Video Card w/HDTV-Out $340
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...uctCode=321029

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core Processor Model ADA3800BVBOX - Retail $325
Newegg.com - AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Manchester 2.0GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket 939 Dual-Core Processor ADA3800BVBOX

I suspect the old mobo is getting ready to go permanently kaput, and I'm not sure if that vid card is worth much anymore. It is possible to salvage the DVD drive, and use the old HDD as a 2nd drive in the new rig? And would the new rig build feel like a step up in overall performance from the old?

I've got the newegg cart loaded, just want to get some last opinions/suggestions/feedback before I pull the trigger.

[JPMiller]

As you said, reuse the Case (good case actually), and if you have the 500W PSU from the link, that should work fine as well, just be sure to blow it out good...
Reuse the DVD burner, and truth is, no standard Sata HD will be day & night better than the one you have now...but HD's are cheap so no biggie...
That video card is worth keeping until it NEEDS to be replaced, either for performance, or failure.
The core components are what will make the biggest difference, and believe me youll notice going from old to new...
If it were me, I'd simply buy the Mobo, CPU, and memory and swap them out...
Install Win 7 and see how much difference it makes, my guess is you'll be more than satisfied and have no desire to upgrade anything else

[johnnyz3r0]

Thanks for the reply, JP.

Sounds like good advice, tho I suspect (tho I'm not positive) my old GeForce 7800 potentially may have issues. So it looks like I'll stick with the newer variant. Techarp shows a step up in performance if I'm not mistaken with the GTS 250. If I'm wrong about the old vid card being a bust, at least I'll have a backup.

I like the idea of keeping the power supply as you suggested. I think I may get the newer case still, if only because the price is good and it'll come with a working fan. Will there be any issues fitting the old PSU in the new case?

HDD will definitely need an upgrade. I was damn near maxxed out on the old one in terms of space available. Couldn't even run a defrag without deleting a dozen or so larger files (I'll miss you, MST3K eps!). How hard is it to run/configure the 2nd HDD for extra space? (Is that technically 2 OS's? Or will the new Windows 7 run both?)

Looks like when all is said and done I'll have about 6GB of outdated RAM lying about (the 2 OCZs, and 4 Kingstons which are fresh). Is there any after market value for these guys?

[JPMiller]

Dump the old parts on craigslist as a combo/bundle...
Just don't expect much