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Question

Should I upgrade, Build anew or go cheap?

May 3, 2011 5:19PM PDT

My HP Pavillion 5200 series desktop has taken a liking to powering off at whim. I tried replacing the power supply with no luck. A friend of mine suggested maybe trying to build one instead of purchasing a refurb or cheap tower. I'm completely a novice when it comes to hardware. Unfortunately, I'm also on a very limited budget of around $300-$350.
Researching building a new pc has left me with a headache and feeling very overwhelmed. Would I be able to salvage any of the parts of the old pc? HD, dvd drive, etc if of course compatible with the new parts? With my limited budget, Should I even bother trying to build? I'm not looking for a super pc. I could really use any suggestions and help if someone would be so kind as to help me out.

Lost and confused!

Discussion is locked

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Answer
In a nutshell
May 3, 2011 11:04PM PDT

Let's be simple:

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Willy makes a good point
May 6, 2011 11:23PM PDT

Unless your present ,machine has a retail copy of Windows, then you won't be able to transfer it to a new machine - OEM copies that typically come with a store bought machine are locked to that machine. If you have to buy a new retail copy of Windows, then that is likely half your budget gone. You would get a new OEM copy of Windows 7 included with a new machine. You could get a Linux system for free but I'm not sure that would be a good idea on a first build - unless you already use Linux, of course.

Or see this week's main discussion on Refurbished machines.

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Answer
Just a thought
May 4, 2011 4:05AM PDT

Some of our customers found some great deals in Sunday's newspapers. For instance Dell would publish some great deals with preconfigured systems and I have seen some of them go for around $350. Needless to say if you custom build it through Dell website, you will get charged a lot more.

Regards,
azandz

Note: This post was edited by forum moderator. to remove signature link which is prohibited in these forums. -Lee on 05/04/2011 on 1:53 PM PT