Advice for rebuilding PC?

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samboNZ

3 posts

Wannabe Geek

#113530 19-Jan-2013 15:46

Hi all, first post here!

So my pc has unexpectedly died (I've been told that it's probably a dead ram card). It hasn't come at a great time and I'm on a budget to replace or repair it. It was pretty flash back in its day about 6 or so years ago? I have however been thinking for some time that it needs an upgrade.

It's been a looong time since I tried to do anything computer related and I'm totally out of touch with specs and what goes with what etc. So basically what I'm after is advice on what to replace and with what.

From what I can see (tips on proper identification would be great) it has:

Asus motherboard - not sure of model
3gb ram - 1 gig and 2 gig cards (can't remember the brands, one had a lifetime warranty),
Seagate 250gb hd
Asus case
Asus DVD rw thingy. 52x iirc.
The case says 'Intel core 2 duo' on the front

The specs I have in mind to achieve are quite modest I think. I'd like a 1tb hd, 4 or 8 gig ram, 1gb graphics and be WiFi capable.

The requirement is that it be able to play the Sims 3 at a decent speed (not my requirement), that's about the newest game we own. I would also like to be able to upgrade it further in the future if I wish to without having rebuild the whole thing again.

If possible I would like to re use the case and DVD drive, but the more i can re use the better for now.

I have attached some pictures in the hope that they help.

So yeah, advice on what should be replaced would be great and with what would be even better!

samboNZ

3 posts

Wannabe Geek

#747399 19-Jan-2013 15:56

Or would I be best to simply buy a new box with these specs for 5-600 bucks on trademe? I just don't know how to tell if the components are decent?

sonyxperiageek

2958 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#747404 19-Jan-2013 16:20

A dead ram card? Then why not try replacing just the ram and see if that works? Or PB Tech's a great place to talk to with custom specs..

Sony

sonyxperiageek

2958 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#747406 19-Jan-2013 16:21

BTW I'm not in any way affiliated with PB Tech.

Sony

samboNZ

3 posts

Wannabe Geek

#747407 19-Jan-2013 16:23

I did consider that, I'm sure I could find out what sort I need to buy. I do however want to make it faster (or at least play games better).

RexHavoc

100 posts

Master Geek

#747507 19-Jan-2013 19:48

Can you better define 'died'? Does it power on at all?
If the memory is the problem then you should get a series of post beeps alerting you that theres a problem a few seconds after turning it on. Also, if it is the memory, its unlikely both modules would fail at the same time. Have you tried removing 1 at a time to see if that makes any difference?

tukapa1

725 posts

Ultimate Geek

#747613 20-Jan-2013 08:22

That board accepts a max of 4GB Ram - you probably have a 32 bit operating system if the PC is as old as you say so there would have been no point in upgrading to any more ram than that in any case.

The hard drive and graphics card upgrades are simple - you have plenty of SATA plugs available and a PCI-e x16 slot so there are plenty of options out there for those upgrades.

For example;

Ram - http://pconlineshop.co.nz/pcshop/product_info.php?products_id=372195
Hard drive - http://pconlineshop.co.nz/pcshop/product_info.php?products_id=385824
Video card - http://pconlineshop.co.nz/pcshop/product_info.php?products_id=387762

You may want to spend more on the graphcs card to get something better but you said you were on a budget and it all depends what you want the graphics card to do.

Of course all this relies on the fact the only issue you have with your current hardware is a ram issue and that the motherboard and CPU are still fine and dandy.

cb1

336 posts

Ultimate Geek

#747661 20-Jan-2013 10:05

To determine if it's the ram, remove 1 of the ram cards and try booting it. If there's no difference, try the other one. If there is still no difference, it's unlikely to be the ram.

Sharesies kids

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robjg63

4098 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#747671 20-Jan-2013 10:28

cb1: To determine if it's the ram, remove 1 of the ram cards and try booting it. If there's no difference, try the other one. If there is still no difference, it's unlikely to be the ram.

+1

If you are still keen to do a re-install - and a free OS install does tend to blow away the cobwebs - if you can get the box going then you should go into control panel and System/Hardware/Device Manager and note as much information as you can about the various bits of hardware - Audio/Video/Network driver details are useful later when you are looking for the right drivers to download.

If you have Asus CDs along with the OS install CDs then you probably have all the basic drivers - so maybe not too much of a big deal.

If you are going to try and change the OS then you would need to try and check you can get drivers for the various bits (mentioned above).

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself - A. H. Weiler