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General discussion

old components fornew computer

by jwr144 Sep 7, 2010 4:32PM PDT

I am building a new computer (first time), and I was wondering which components, if any, I could use from my old system. It's about 5 years old and i would really like to keep some components such as the power supply, and cd drive. I'm going to beat getting an Asus motherboard and a new CPU obviously but at this point i confess i am a little bit lost and intimidated. I don't want to see shelling out cash 4 parts that i do not need. Any help on this subject would be greatly appreciated!!

Discussion is locked

10 Posts
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eww
by jwr144 Sep 7, 2010 4:35PM PDT

Sorry 4 any spelling mistakes in my initial post. My current computer is down and i m writing this using speech to text tool on my phone

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(NT) What is your budget and what is the intended use ?
by VAPCMD Sep 7, 2010 11:03PM PDT
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monies
by jwr144 Sep 8, 2010 8:12AM PDT

well i plan on spending right around 800 by the end of this project, but even if my budget was in the thousands, i'm not the kind of guy who will buy brand new stuff just because he can afford it. so regardless of my budget, i'd still like to know if keeping items like the power supply is possible, or if it is ill-advised.

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(NT) And what's the intended use ?
by VAPCMD Sep 8, 2010 9:25AM PDT
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Mah Video games
by jwr144 Sep 8, 2010 3:44PM PDT

the computer will be used for a few Blizzard games, office work, and my wifes schoolwork, as well as doing the normal internet surfing and stuff. I'm mostly looking to make a computer that can be considered a "Non-hardcore gaming" computer, but I also want it to be ugradeable a few years from now.

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New/old
by pgc3 Sep 8, 2010 12:02AM PDT

The problem with doing that is that depending on the MB, some and possibly all of your old items may be incompatible, best to do some research before you jump in.

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coolness
by jwr144 Sep 8, 2010 8:18AM PDT

Do you have a specific place I could go to find that information? I would love to find a basic!"ho to" guide or something of that nature.

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It would be better....
by Papa Echo Sep 8, 2010 9:38AM PDT

... to upgrade your old computer, rather than using parts from it to build a "new" computer.... Surely, there is not much difference ? [ that is, if you are not going new for the sake of it.] Building a new computer means getting a new Mother-board. With a lapse of 5 years or more, MOBOs are much improved and with more features. Your old parts will likely not be compatible. Even the case it self may not fit...the CD ROM may be going south...and Hard Disks - the new MOBO now supports SATA [cheaper]....

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It is going to be a VERY big upgrade
by jwr144 Sep 8, 2010 3:38PM PDT

With my current computer I'm using an Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 and I cant even upgrade the cpu to a Quad core without first replacing the motherboard. the socket just cant hold one. The graphics card is very outdated and I have to run realtively low graphics games like World Of Warcraft on minimum settings just to get 20 frames per second (rarely more than that). God only knows what's wrong with this internal hardrive.
As for the parts I want to re-use...not all of them are old. the cd rom is fairly new (less than a year old) and the wireless network interface card is fairly new. The POWERSUPPLY however is the same one that came with the computer when I bought it. The portable media drive is also "stock" if you will.
I'm just looking for maybe a reference page or somewhere i can go to find out if these "older" used parts will be compatable with the new stuff i am buying.

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Exactly what components do you have now ?
by VAPCMD Sep 8, 2010 11:51PM PDT

Perhaps adding RAM or a new video card and PSU might be enough to get you where you want to go. And if you get good stuff, that may be the carry over to the next MB, CPU, RAM upgrade

Here's a link that you might look at for reference.

http://www.pcper.com/hwlb.php

VAPCMD

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