Need some help.

[infiniteknowledge]

Lastnight my comp crashed after having it for only a year and a half. I have only basic knowledge about pc's but I'm going to build my own cause I'm pretty tired of computers not delivering what I need from them. With that being said, I need to know what I need to get. I was also wondering If I could take the AMD Phenom ll X4 805 processor out of the one that crashed and use it in the new pc. I was wondering if I can use the cd/dvd drive out of the old one too.

[Katreat]

List the configuration of your current computer. If a pre-built, list company and model number.

If you were happy with your old computer let everyone know what you mean by crashed. Perhaps they can help you get it running again.

If you really want to build a new computer, you will need provide a budget and what it will be used for.

Kat

[infiniteknowledge]

It's pre built, gateway DX4300-11. As for the crash it just turned off with no warning and won't turn back on. It's done this a few times before but it always started back up after a few moments. The back would be extremely hot so sometimes I would take a fan and put directly towards it to cool it down. Now it's like a zombie and won't come back to life.

I'd like to build a new one eventually even if I can't fix this one. My budget would probably be no more than 550 if I can build one that cheap. I need it for music production and audio recording.

[glc]

You need something better than a cheap Gateway or even a $550 custom build for music production and audio recording.

I wouldn't reuse anything out of that Gateway.

[infiniteknowledge]

The gateway actually served me very well for my music purposes. I'm underground, I realize it won't be "studio quality" and relate to the high standards that money can buy but it will have to do.

[Masaki 7-11]

Is the hard drive still working? If so I would reuse it for the new computer, especially as hard drive prices are very high right now. I wouldn't be surprised if the power supply died in the gateway, gateway doesn't ship with very good power supplies, and poor cooling definitely doesn't help.

The CPU should be reusable, probably a good idea to take it out of the motherboard and check for black marks on the back, if there are none, should be good. CD/DVD drive should also be reusable, assuming that whatever killed your computer didn't take it out.

Assuming you are reusing CD/DVD drive, Hard Drive and Processor, you have a fairly decent budget to get a good computer built, do you need a new copy of windows, or do you have another copy lying around, note that you won't be able to reuse the version that came with the gateway computer as it is tied to the motherboard.

Do you have any specific things you're looking for regarding case/system, ie being small, and/or quiet and if there are other things you are looking for in a case (any kind of color to look for, avoid, etc.).

[infiniteknowledge]

How can I check if the harddrive still works? If it does I'd love to use it because there is a large amount of files that are very important and never got backed up. Or would I have to reformat it before.

The case doesn't really matter to me, a big one would work just fine. I was looking on newegg and saw some for around 50 bucks I don't know if they would work or not. I'd like it to be as quiet as possible, as for the color anything as long as it's not pink with yellow polka dots lol. I'd also have to get a new Os disk too.

[Masaki 7-11]

Originally Posted by infiniteknowledge How can I check if the harddrive still works? If it does I'd love to use it because there is a large amount of files that are very important and never got backed up. Or would I have to reformat it before. The case doesn't really matter to me, a big one would work just fine. I was looking on newegg and saw some for around 50 bucks I don't know if they would work or not. I'd like it to be as quiet as possible, as for the color anything as long as it's not pink with yellow polka dots lol. I'd also have to get a new Os disk too.

One of the easiest ways to check if the hard drive is still working is to hook it up inside another working computer, if you can't do that, you can use an external enclosure (which provides power for the drive and allows you to access the drive over USB or other interface) such as this: Newegg.com - Vantec NexStar CX 3.5" SATA to USB 2.0 External Hard Drive Enclosure - Model NST-300S2-BK.

Wait till you figure out if the hard drive is working before getting a parts list together, with the price of hard drives being so high right now, it will make a huge impact in your parts list depending on if you have to get a new one or you can reuse.

[glc]

Easier to use than an enclosure:

IDE/SATA to USB 2.0 Cable Adapter - Turn Your 2.5", 3.5" or 5.25" IDE or SATA Drive Into A USB Drive! 2020

[infiniteknowledge]

Thanks, I'll order it tomorrow and hopefully it still works.

[infiniteknowledge]

Should be here on Monday, Wish me luck. Hopefully it works.

[infiniteknowledge]

Good news, the hardrive works. Also the processor doesn't have any black streaks on it. So what do I do next?

[Masaki 7-11]

Looks like you are more or less set to build the computer, so assuming you're using your old processor, hard drive, and cd/dvd drive, here is a list of parts you can use to build a quiet pc with a sound card:

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Sileo 500 RC-500-KKR3-GP Black Aluminum Bezel, SECC Body ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply

Newegg.com - BIOSTAR A880G+ AM3 AMD 880G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

Newegg.com - ASUS XONAR_DG 5.1 Channels PCI Interface Xonar DG Sound Card

Newegg.com - CORSAIR 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory Model CMV8GX3M2A1333C9

Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - Operating Systems

Newegg.com - ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 92mm Fluid Dynamic CPU Cooler

Subtotal: $357.93

As you can see that's a fair bit below your budget, so if you want you can just get the parts above and pocket the rest, or you can upgrade parts.

For example you might want a better soundcard (i'm not too familiar myself with them, so you'll probably have to research which one works best for you), and/or you might want to change the motherboard to a newer model that supports bulldozer processors (and you'll need a video card for them as well since they don't have integrated graphics).

You could also get a new processor altogether potentially with different motherboard as well as other parts.

[glc]

I'm a bit leery of the power supply in that case - I might look at a separate case and PSU.

Newegg.com - Rosewill Blackbone Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Newegg.com - Antec NEO ECO 520C 520W Continuous Power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

[infiniteknowledge]

Originally Posted by glc I'm a bit leery of the power supply in that case - I might look at a separate case and PSU. Newegg.com - Rosewill Blackbone Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case Newegg.com - Antec NEO ECO 520C 520W Continuous Power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

Are these all compatible with the parts Masaki posted? I do think more watts would help.

[infiniteknowledge]

Originally Posted by Masaki 7-11 Looks like you are more or less set to build the computer, so assuming you're using your old processor, hard drive, and cd/dvd drive, here is a list of parts you can use to build a quiet pc with a sound card: Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Sileo 500 RC-500-KKR3-GP Black Aluminum Bezel, SECC Body ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply Newegg.com - BIOSTAR A880G+ AM3 AMD 880G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard Newegg.com - ASUS XONAR_DG 5.1 Channels PCI Interface Xonar DG Sound Card Newegg.com - CORSAIR 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory Model CMV8GX3M2A1333C9 Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - Operating Systems Newegg.com - ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 92mm Fluid Dynamic CPU Cooler Subtotal: $357.93 As you can see that's a fair bit below your budget, so if you want you can just get the parts above and pocket the rest, or you can upgrade parts. For example you might want a better soundcard (i'm not too familiar myself with them, so you'll probably have to research which one works best for you), and/or you might want to change the motherboard to a newer model that supports bulldozer processors (and you'll need a video card for them as well since they don't have integrated graphics). You could also get a new processor altogether potentially with different motherboard as well as other parts.

It all looks good to me, Only thing I might want is a different soundcard I don't really know much about them though. I'll admit that I'm a noob when it comes to all of this but I took the fan that was mounted on the processor off and there was some kind of sticky putty on it, is that normal?

[infiniteknowledge]

Originally Posted by Masaki 7-11 Looks like you are more or less set to build the computer, so assuming you're using your old processor, hard drive, and cd/dvd drive, here is a list of parts you can use to build a quiet pc with a sound card: Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Sileo 500 RC-500-KKR3-GP Black Aluminum Bezel, SECC Body ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply Newegg.com - BIOSTAR A880G+ AM3 AMD 880G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard Newegg.com - ASUS XONAR_DG 5.1 Channels PCI Interface Xonar DG Sound Card Newegg.com - CORSAIR 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory Model CMV8GX3M2A1333C9 Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - Operating Systems Newegg.com - ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 92mm Fluid Dynamic CPU Cooler Subtotal: $357.93 As you can see that's a fair bit below your budget, so if you want you can just get the parts above and pocket the rest, or you can upgrade parts. For example you might want a better soundcard (i'm not too familiar myself with them, so you'll probably have to research which one works best for you), and/or you might want to change the motherboard to a newer model that supports bulldozer processors (and you'll need a video card for them as well since they don't have integrated graphics). You could also get a new processor altogether potentially with different motherboard as well as other parts.

Thanks man, I'm pretty much a noob at this so my knowledge is pretty low when it comes to computers. As far as it goes I think it should all work great, I might get that other case cause I think more watts will help me. I'm not sure if I should upgrade on a sound card or not, I don't really know much about them. When I opened up my gateway to take the processor out I took the fan that was mounted over it and there was some kind of grey putty on top of it. It that normal.

[Masaki 7-11]

Originally Posted by glc I'm a bit leery of the power supply in that case - I might look at a separate case and PSU. Newegg.com - Rosewill Blackbone Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case Newegg.com - Antec NEO ECO 520C 520W Continuous Power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

The power supply that comes with the case is overkill for the setup, even though it's actual power output is close to 400W rather than 500W, it's a fairly decent power supply (i've used a few of them and read a few reviews). The computer has no graphics card and and all the parts are fairly low wattage.

PSU calculator shows that at 100% load on everything with 10% capacitor aging, the recommended power supply is 264W and minimum is 214W, well within what the power supply can handle.

Also since it's going to be a music production /recording computer, it's a good idea to get the coolermaster case since it has sound dampening foam on the sides and in the front, so couple that with the AC 7 Pro, it will make for a very quiet computer.

[infiniteknowledge]

Sounds good, is there anything I need to do to have at least 4 usb outputs as well?

[glc]

I have never seen a case with 4 front USB ports - that motherboard has 4 rear USB ports plus onboard headers for 4 ports. The case has 2 front ports. You could put one of these in the 3.5" front drive bay:

Newegg.com - SILVERSTONE SST-FP32-B Aluminum USB/1394/Audio Panel ( Black )

[Masaki 7-11]

Originally Posted by infiniteknowledge Sounds good, is there anything I need to do to have at least 4 usb outputs as well?

There is a case I've used before with 4 USB ports on the front, however the front audio connectors are a little difficult to use, and it won't be anywhere near as quiet as the coolermaster case: Newegg.com - ZALMAN Z9 Plus Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

You can also use a USB hub to expand the front panel ports if you really need more ports that are easily accessible.

The thermal paste that comes with the heatsink is normal, it's used to improve the transfer of heat from the processor to the heatsink.

Regarding soundcard, the one I linked to should work fairly well for you assuming that it has all the connectors you need on it, just make sure you plug everything you need into it directly in the back as otherwise you'll get electrical noise.

[infiniteknowledge]

Thanks, I think the coolermaster case will work, I might throw one of those in the bay if I need it in the future. Now it's just coming up with the money to get it. I might need some help putting it together when all the parts are here too.