# Building an ordinary PC **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 8, 2010, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-an-ordinary-pc/545942 "2010-07-08T08:18:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nicolas\_Bourbaki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecc23a/32.png) [@Nicolas\_Bourbaki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nicolas_Bourbaki)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-an-ordinary-pc/545942/1 "2010-07-08T08:18:35Z")
So, the motherboard on my dad’s computer is completely fried, and it looks like it’s gonna need to be replaced. (Like, every capacitor had brown rusty stuff leaking out the top, which I’m given to understand is a bad sign.) Everything else is still in working condition, but the CPU and memory are ancient, so there’s no point looking for something compatible. So, my question comes in two parts: 1. Can you find a decent mobo/CPU/RAM bundle that you know are all compatible and costs less than $100? This really doesn’t need to be anything special: it won’t get used for anything more than word processing and maybe watching a Youtube video or two on Windows XP. 2. If and when we bought all this stuff, how would I install it? Is there anything I should know before I start putting together a system with a brand-new mobo and old hard drives? Just remembered, when I said everything else was in working condition, that wasn’t true. The power supply was getting suspiciously hot, and I don’t think the fan was working . . . at all. However – I do have a brand new 350W power supply that I assume is compatible with modern chipsets (its cable to the motherboard has four more nubbins on the end than the old power supply and motherboard) but it doesn’t have enough of the other kind of connector to plug in two hard drives, a CD burner and a DVD drive. (There’s a floppy drive too, but that’s not really a priority.) ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-an-ordinary-pc/545942/2 "2010-07-08T10:25:10Z")
Here ya go. [Tech Reports System Guide](http://techreport.com/articles.x/19159) [Tom’s Hardware Build Your Own](http://www.tomshardware.com/theme-reviews-build-your-own,156-1.html) [Hardware Revolution DIY](http://www.hardware-revolution.com/computer-systems/) Each site has guides for different price points plus articles ranking and choosing components. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-an-ordinary-pc/545942/3 "2010-07-08T10:58:08Z")
[www.pricewatch.com](http://www.pricewatch.com) Go to the section on “CPU/Motherboard combos”. If you are going for an older, dual or single core CPU, you can use the stock cooler. If you get a quad core, you pretty much need to get a modern cpu cooler and a larger PSU. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-an-ordinary-pc/545942/4 "2010-07-08T12:37:56Z")
Having just done this, I think $120-150 is a more realistic price than trying to squeak in under $100, but check out [newegg.com](http://newegg.com) for specials. My local computer shop had a good deal MB&CPU combo for the price of the CPU ($80); memory was another $40. The big issue to keep in mind is that modern hard drives & DVD drives have serial ATA connectors, while the old computer’s stuff is all parallel ATA (also called IDE). A new motherboard will probably have four or more SATA connectors but only one IDE connector (which can take a cable that connects to two drives). If you have two hard drives, a CD burner and a DVD drive on the old computer, you might want to spend another $25 or so to replace the optical drives with one new DVD burner with a SATA connector. Then you can plug your hard drives into the IDE connector and the DVD into one of the SATA connectors. The power connectors on SATA drives are different, too, but adapters are cheap, and one came with the last hard drive I bought. ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-an-ordinary-pc/545942/5 "2010-07-08T16:24:10Z")
Hello, Since this isn’t game related, I’m going to kick this over to IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-an-ordinary-pc/545942/6 "2010-07-08T20:24:13Z")
I just replaced my MB+CPU a week ago for about $120. This price included 2GB new memory (the old memory wouldn’t fit) and a SATA-\>IDE adapter. (So that I could run my old HD and the DVD drive on separate connectors.) The new MB included onboard video that’s okay for my purposes (and no doubt the OP’s dad) so no worries about a new graphics card. Also check the PS connectors. If the PS is really new enough it should have the P4 2x2 plug and the 24 pin ATX connector. (The 20 and 24 ATX connectors are strangely interchangeable to some extent. The extra ones add more power rails which some MBs really need.) And it’s not just the hardware. Read [this](http://support.microsoft.com/kb/824125) about doing a repair install for a new MB. Be sure to have your OS discs and product number handy. (And I finally have a PC with PCI Express and SATA connectors and a dual core CPU. Welcome to 2007.) ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-an-ordinary-pc/545942/7 "2010-07-08T20:53:36Z")
> [@Nicolas\_Bourbaki](#): > > So, the motherboard on my dad’s computer is completely fried, and it looks like it’s gonna need to be replaced. (Like, every capacitor had brown rusty stuff leaking out the top, which I’m given to understand is a bad sign.) How old is your dad’s computer, and is it a name brand? There have been an ongoing situation with bad electrolytic capacitors, where name brands suppliers KNEW that there were problems with their capacitors (they found out after the boards were build and the computers were sold), but rather than doing a recall, they are either denying it, or (slightly better) only repairing when customers contact them about a problem (hoping that most people won’t know or won’t bother.) The most recent case I’ve heard about had to do with Dell computers. This has been going on for about 10 years now. I’d suggest contacting them, requesting a replacement, and mention that you know there have been problems with faulty capacitors. Best case, you get a new motherboard. Worst case, you get denied. Here is a [Wikipedia article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague)about it. ---
**Author:** ![Nicolas\_Bourbaki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecc23a/32.png) [@Nicolas\_Bourbaki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nicolas_Bourbaki)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-an-ordinary-pc/545942/8 "2010-07-08T22:01:41Z")
Compaq Presario, from . . . 2003 or so? It seems I would have to got that route, since **ftg** ’s link says I can’t transfer an OEM license to a new computer. ---
**Author:** ![3waygeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/e95f7d/32.png) [@3waygeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3waygeek)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-an-ordinary-pc/545942/9 "2010-07-09T16:16:10Z")
I see from your profile that you’re in San Jose, so you’ve probably heard of, if not visited, Fry’s Electronics. Just about every week, they offer a motherboard/CPU combo for sale. Check your Friday newspaper – there should be a multi-page ad listing the sale items for the following week. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2010, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-an-ordinary-pc/545942/10 "2010-07-09T16:40:11Z")
> [@Nicolas\_Bourbaki](#): > > Compaq Presario, from . . . 2003 or so? It seems I would have to got that route, since **ftg** ’s link says I can’t transfer an OEM license to a new computer. You _might_ be able to, depending on Compaq’s Windows modifications. I transferred Win95 from an HP to a homebuild just by installing the old HD. ---
**Author:** ![wwworldclique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bcef8e/32.png) [@wwworldclique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wwworldclique)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-an-ordinary-pc/545942/11 "2010-07-10T05:09:05Z")
I heartily recommend going to [Newegg.com](http://Newegg.com). They often have incredible deals on bundles for under $100. I don’t know about a bundle that includes RAM that would go for under $100… A mobo/ CPU combo maybe, but not mobo/ processor + RAM. I’m not sure about connecting the drives to the mobo, however. If you say that the mobo/ CPU is ancient, then I assume the drives are as well. Seeing that technology changes all the time, my intuition tells me that you’re going to have a hard time connecting them without major headaches. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-an-ordinary-pc/545942/12 "2010-07-10T14:49:18Z")
[QUOTE=wwworldclique] I’m not sure about connecting the drives to the mobo, however. If you say that the mobo/ CPU is ancient, then I assume the drives are as well. Seeing that technology changes all the time, my intuition tells me that you’re going to have a hard time connecting them without major headaches. [/QUOTE] The new MB hopefully will have one IDE connector. Connecting a HD and a disc drive to the same cable is not recommended for speed reasons. What I did was to get [this](http://www.biz.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812232004) for my DVD drive. Note that you have to actually connect it right (including power connector). Works great- I have booted off it and burned DVDs. If you have a lot of IDE drives, it might be cheaper to get a PCI adapter card. No major headaches are likely. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-an-ordinary-pc/545942/13 "2010-07-10T15:41:26Z")
At some point you need to ask what your time is worth. If you replace the MoBo, Ram, video, and power supply, you still have old case fans, old hard disks, etc. For $300 at hp’s outlet store, you get a brand new _everything_ > **[HP® Computer and Laptop Store | HP.com](https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop?jumpid=re_r11662_redirect_ETR)** > > Find a great collection of Laptops, Printers, Desktop Computers and more at HP. Enjoy Low Prices and Free Shipping when you buy now online. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-an-ordinary-pc/545942/14 "2010-07-11T15:45:31Z")
FWIW, woot’s got a good example, today only, $5 shipping: > **[Woot](https://www.woot.com)**