The Beast is Dead - Looking to Resurrect my Gaming Computer

[Tal]

This morning when I went downstairs to work on the Tanaan dailies my computer blackscreened. I thought maybe I had disconnected my monitor when I pulled the case out to unplug my headphones and plug in my speakers. I checked the cables and they were secure.

So I powered down the case and attempted to bring it back up. Nothing happened. At this point I figure the Motherboard is toast - while I'll disconnect everything and attempt to get it to live again, I think it is the most likely culprit.

At any rate the last time I did a serious upgrade to my gaming Computer The Beast - it was 2010. Its probably past due to be upgraded.

Parts list in 2010:

• AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition
  
• 8 Gigs of 240 Pin DDR3 1333
  
• ASUS Motherboard

Added in 2013:

• Radeon 6850

Here's the spell components I'm looking to resurrect with:

• AMD FX-8350 Black Edition Vishera 8-Core 4.0GHz
  
• ASUS M5A97 LE
  
• Cooler Master Elite V2 - 550W Power Supply
  

That with my preferred case (the current case is starting to show 12 years of use) brings the total to $375 before shipping.

I'm thinking of adding in a Sapphire Radeon R9 270X for $179.

Wht do you all think? I mostly play WoW and D3 on my current rig/videocard (before it died). Do you think the above will do the job without upgrading the video card?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Capitalist Tal

[kandrathe]

My first guess is power supply. If you don't get the buzz click whir beep beep of boot up at all your firmware never attempted to boot.

[Tal]

My first guess is power supply. If you don't get the buzz click whir beep beep of boot up at all your firmware never attempted to boot.

Well the good news is that my PSU is good. Bad news is that it looks like my motherboard is kapute.

When I first got home it wouldn't power up as I reported. I swapped out the cord and it powered up! But still no display. So I unplugged the memory and harddrives. No go. Swapped back in the memory and the displays and pulled the videocard. Plugged into the onboard video and powered it up. Low and behold I had a display.

So I swapped the videocard into the lower pci-slot and attempted to boot. No display. To rule out the card being the culprit I swapped in my old videocard into the top slot. Still no display.

So its looking more probable that its my motherboard.

On to some questions I have.

I asked on another site about my possible upgrades and was told that an Intel I5 4440 would be better in both performance and power consumption than the AMD I linked above.

I didn't realize that Intel had gained such a prodigious advantage over AMD - What do my fellow Lurkers think on the great AMD vs Intel debate?

Also I have a key for Windows 7 (my current machine) - can I use it when I do a fresh install for the MoBo and Processor?

[kandrathe]

Based on that I'd concur. Re: windows7. I had a similar situation and ended up talking to tech support. It seems the MS license is keyed to the hardware.

[DeeBye]

I asked on another site about my possible upgrades and was told that an Intel I5 4440 would be better in both performance and power consumption than the AMD I linked above.

I didn't realize that Intel had gained such a prodigious advantage over AMD - What do my fellow Lurkers think on the great AMD vs Intel debate?

Before I had my new computer built, I did a lot of research about the sweet spot for price/performance. The general consensus I got was that unless you are looking at a very narrow price/performance range, Intel is the way to go.

Overall I'm happy with my choice, and I really want to suggest looking at a liquid CPU cooler. I got a Corsair H60, but there are others even better for pretty cheap. It provides immensely better cooling than the stock one, and is almost silent.

Oh, and definitely set aside a few bucks for a SSD. It will change your life.

[Tal]

Before I had my new computer built, I did a lot of research about the sweet spot for price/performance. The general consensus I got was that unless you are looking at a very narrow price/performance range, Intel is the way to go.

Overall I'm happy with my choice, and I really want to suggest looking at a liquid CPU cooler. I got a Corsair H60, but there are others even better for pretty cheap. It provides immensely better cooling than the stock one, and is almost silent.

Oh, and definitely set aside a few bucks for a SSD. It will change your life.

Hi DeeBye - thanks so much for your reply. I've always respected your intelligence and wisdom. However, I don't think I'll ever be able to add liquid cooling to a build. Given the problems I've had with plumbing around the house, I'd rather not introduce the possibility of a leak on my brand new motherboard.

I do have a SSD for my OS/WoW drive and I love it!

Thanks again,
Tal

[LennyLen]

However, I don't think I'll ever be able to add liquid cooling to a build. Given the problems I've had with plumbing around the house, I'd rather not introduce the possibility of a leak on my brand new motherboard.

CPU hydrocoolers are completely safe, and are very easy to install.

I'm planning a major upgrade in about a month's time, with the following:

ASUS Rampage V Extreme
i7 5930K
32 Gb G.Skill DDR4 2800Mhz RAM
Gigabyte GTX980 ti 6Gb

It should keep me going well for a couple of years.

[Tal]

CPU hydrocoolers are completely safe, and are very easy to install.

You underestimate my ability to completely screw-up anything with water sir.

This is what I'm leaning towards now with the advice that DeeBye and others have offered in regards to Intel holding the edge for gaming.

• RAIDMAX Cobra Z ATX-502WBU Computer Case
  
• Intel Core I5-4440 Haswell Quad-Core 3.1GHZ
  
• MSI B85-G41 PC Mate LGA 1150 Intel Motherboard

With the 500W Rosewill powersuppy currently in the Beast, swapping over the videocard, memory and drives. Any problems that y'all can see?

[LochnarITB]

Any problems that y'all can see?

Big time problem! There is no allowance there for the postage required to send it to me.

[kandrathe]

Any problems that y'all can see?

Missing; SAMSUNG 840 Series MZ-7TD120BW 2.5" 120GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

[Tal]

Any problems that y'all can see?

Missing; SAMSUNG 840 Series MZ-7TD120BW 2.5" 120GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Missing reading comprehension.

I do have a SSD for my OS/WoW drive and I love it!
Thanks again,
Tal

[LennyLen]

With the 500W Rosewill powersuppy currently in the Beast, swapping over the videocard, memory and drives. Any problems that y'all can see?

500W is the minimum requirement if you upgrade to the Raedon R9. I've come across a few PSUs before that don't quite put out the wattage they're supposed to, so you may be pushing it if you upgrade the GPU.

You underestimate my ability to completely screw-up anything with water sir.

Luckily for you, you don't need to touch any water. The units come fully assembled and self-contained:



You just attach the heatsink end to the CPU and the radiator to a fan.

[Lissa]

Have you thought about a small form factor build or do you want a large system?

You can literally make a really powerful system now that will sit easily on your desk, even behind your monitor.

For example:

ASRock B85M-ITX
CoolerMaster HAF Stacker 915F or Rosewill Neutron

use the above listed CPU with these, you'll save a little and have a smaller foot print with the machine while being just as powerful.

[LennyLen]

I ordered my upgrade parts today. I did end up changing the Gigabyte GTX980 ti for this one instead.

[DeeBye]

I ordered my upgrade parts today. I did end up changing the Gigabyte GTX980 ti for this one instead.

Holy cow! Hydro cooling on that thing? I'm more than a little bit jealous.

[Tal]

Have you thought about a small form factor build or do you want a large system?

You can literally make a really powerful system now that will sit easily on your desk, even behind your monitor.

use the above listed CPU with these, you'll save a little and have a smaller foot print with the machine while being just as powerful.

I'm somewhat of a throwback - I don't mind a larger system and have always worried about heat being an issue in the smaller footprint boxes.