New Motherboard

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PeterW2

46 posts

Geek

#62972 18-Jun-2010 10:13

Good morning all

I have been advised that the motherboard on our desk top computer is blown. A guy from a computer shop is trying to convince me to instal a new ASUS motherboard into it, for $450. This seems excessive to me. Unfortunately, I don't know what the model number of this board is. He's suggesting using all the existing drives (including the Seagate 80G hard drive) and he'll fit 2GB ram, and the new power supply that I had already bought. He's also wanting $200 for WIN7 as well. Again, I don't know which version it is, and I also feel that the price is excessive for that as well.

Comments please?

Thanks
Peter

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831 posts

Ultimate Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#342924 18-Jun-2010 10:59

I presume labour included in the prices? Basically it's a whole rebuild since he has to take most of the PC apart (CPU+heatsink, cables etc) and then reinstall windows afterwards, so there is a bit of time involved (couple of hours maybe? I'm not sure how shops charge their time). If you check Pricespy you'll see what prices are like for parts... If say the motherboard was $250 and the OS $180, there's $430 just for starters. Motherboard prices can vary quite a bit between budget and high end models so it's hard to say. Was the RAM part of the stuff you already bought, or is it included in the motherboard replacement costs? If it is included then the price might not be so unreasonable at all since that's another $100 or more... Also, the size of your hard drive suggests this is an older PC, so maybe new parts are uncommon.

Maybe you could take the model of your PC (if it's a branded one like Dell etc), go to another shop and ask them how much it would cost to get all this work done? I don't think you're obliged to accept this quote if you don't like it so why not shop around.

k1wi

484 posts

Ultimate Geek

#342931 18-Jun-2010 11:06

Did the PSU cause the motherboard to blow? If so I would be surprised if the other components in your computer (hard drive, CPU) are okay. Have the other components been tested? Otherwise it could be the start of pretty much a complete rebuild.

PeterW2

46 posts

Geek

#342934 18-Jun-2010 11:10

Hi Lurker

Thanks for your reply. I have rung the guy at the computer shop. The new motherboard is an ASUS P5G41T MLX one, with an INTEL processor running at 2.7Ghz. He's going to instal 2GB of ram as part of the deal. I'm assuming that he's going to instal the operating system etc.

Yes, you're right about the hard drive. That computer is now about 9 years old, but it has all my business stuff, and the kids stuff, along with photos on it. Stupid not to have a back-up, I know, but that's life. That old computer never gave a zot's worth of trouble 'till the power supply pooped itself

Peter

PeterW2

46 posts

Geek

#342937 18-Jun-2010 11:13

Yes Kiwi. The computer was working fine until the power supply crapped out. The computer seems to start, and shut down normally, so I'm assuming the hard drive is all OK. The compuer shop guy didn't seem to be terribly stressed about that. I should have asked a few more questions, but he rather floored me when I learned that it was stuffed. I came away with my tail between my legs a bit

k1wi

484 posts

Ultimate Geek

#342944 18-Jun-2010 11:25

Basically he's putting a new computer in your case for you and fitting the new power supply, old hard drive and DVD/CD to it.

The one thing to note is the rate of failure in Hard Drives once they get over 5 years increases exponentially each year. So if you have a 9 year old hard drive, I would actually recommend getting a new one and simply copying the files across to it from the old drive. (not very hard to do).

k1wi

Add: the price of that motherboard, CPU and that type of RAM are about 100 dollars each btw.

PeterW2

46 posts

Geek

#342954 18-Jun-2010 11:48

Thanks

PeterW2

46 posts

Geek

#342955 18-Jun-2010 11:48

Thanks

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PeterW2

46 posts

Geek

#342956 18-Jun-2010 11:48

Thanks

PeterW2

46 posts

Geek

#342968 18-Jun-2010 12:06

Thanks Kiwi

How do you go about copying files from one old hard drive to a new one?

vinnieg

2260 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#342970 18-Jun-2010 12:06

Yeah sounds like above, putting new parts(or possibly second hand into your existing case)
The parts new are:

88 motherboard
79 ram ddr2 2gb
98 CPU possibly
= $265

153 for win 7 home premium which I think is what you'll get
= plus say an hour for installation(best to check that is included)

Also make sure he backs up all the old data

Another option would be, buy a new PC:
Acer Aspire X1800 at Warehouse Stationary, should have Win7 on it already, but if not, eligible for a free upgrade @ $600
- E5200 2.5GHz
- 2GB DDR2
- 320GB HDD
- DVD burner

With the $50 you save, you could get an external HDD enclosure for your existing PC, enabling you to copy all the old files off it and sell the carcus of the old PC on Trademe :)

That way you'd have a modern looking PC and case, with no risk of second hand parts

I have moved across the ditch. Now residing in Melbourne as a VOIP/Video Technical Trainer/Engineer.

PeterW2

46 posts

Geek

#342974 18-Jun-2010 12:09

I'm wondering if new might be a better way to go

vinnieg

2260 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#342979 18-Jun-2010 12:11

PeterW2: Thanks Kiwi

How do you go about copying files from one old hard drive to a new one?

There are two ways, extra HDD would add another 100 to to the build, so round $750 instead of $650, plus if you got the tech to copy it over, he could easily charge another hour or two to the build

If you go the tech way, the new HDD would be Sata ,being a 9 year old PC, it'd most probably have an IDE HDD. Both should work in the same machine, the new HDD being on Win7, the old being on XP

You can either load up Win7 and transfer the old files across to the new HDD just by dragging and dropping. Or you could load up XP and use Windows Easy Transfer, which copies most XP files and documents over to a system which Windows 7 then loads up:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=2B6F1631-973A-45C7-A4EC-4928FA173266&displaylang=en

I have moved across the ditch. Now residing in Melbourne as a VOIP/Video Technical Trainer/Engineer.

PeterW2

46 posts

Geek

#342980 18-Jun-2010 12:12

although my existing computer has 2 DVD drives in it already - not that two are really needed, one is a ROM, the other is a RW. Handy for burning from one disc straight to another. The kids do it all the time. Also, the old comp has a new grunty power supply in it too

PeterW2

46 posts

Geek

#342981 18-Jun-2010 12:15

woops - this is starting to get beyond my depth

vinnieg

2260 posts

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Trusted

#342988 18-Jun-2010 12:32

PeterW2: although my existing computer has 2 DVD drives in it already - not that two are really needed, one is a ROM, the other is a RW. Handy for burning from one disc straight to another. The kids do it all the time. Also, the old comp has a new grunty power supply in it too

That's all good :) with most new PCs, if they have the space, one of the old DVD drives would fit in, 2x DVDRW drives would be handy, if you ever wanted to copy from one disc to the other. If the new PC doesn't have space, most programs will allow you to put the disc to copy in, it'll copy it automatically to the hard drive, then ask you for a blank disc, which will then copy the original disc to the new disc

You could sell the old power supply, do you know the brand/watts? If it's a good one, buyers on Trademe will be very interested

I have moved across the ditch. Now residing in Melbourne as a VOIP/Video Technical Trainer/Engineer.

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