Best course of action, for failing C2D E5200 rig?

[VirtualLarry]

First off, I talked with the owner, but I forgot to ask if they had a budget number for fixing or replacing it.

That said, I built a budget (extreme budget) rig, with E5200, 4GB DDR3, Biostar mobo (with at least some solid caps), 500GB WD HDD, DVD optical, and a slimline micro-ATX case with integrated PSU. With legit Win7 64-bit, it was under $300.

Well, it looks the the cheapy PSU has given out. At least, that's my best guess for "shutdowns" while using the PC to play Facebook games.

I quoted them $50 for a new case / PSU combo. (Will use a micro-ATX tower with standard ATX PSU to make it easier to replace in the future.)

I don't mind repairing the PC, and if that's the only issue, then it's cheap enough to fix.

But I was just thinking, that PC is getting old, maybe they would want something a little faster.

Problem is, other than a G1820 or G3258 combo, there's not much in the budget space for performance with value for money.

Edit: Here's the build thread for the rig(s):
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2177445&highlight=biostar+e5200

This person's needs are fairly meager, just your basic browser machine. No video-editing, no scientific calculations or spreadsheets, that I know of. Just Facebook and some basic games.

Was also thinking of how bad the G41 IGP is nowadays for things, too. Perhaps they could use a video card?

Was also thinking of adding a SATA6G controller card and a smaller SSD.

Edit: I have some already-built Intel H61 / G1610 and AMD A55 / A4-6300 rigs, both with 120GB Sandisk SSDs, and Linux Mint on them. Total hardware cost on those is roughly $200.

Edit: A Skylake G4400 rig would be: CPU $65, mobo $60, 8GB DDR4-2133 $45, case/PSU $50, 240GB SSD $65, Windows 10 $100. Total $385. Add a DVD optical for $15 if one needs it.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Sounds like they need a NUC.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Sounds like they need a NUC.

That's a good thought. I don't know if they have the budget for that or not. I've got that red Brix AMD mobile quad-core unit, with 2x4GB DDR3L and a 120GB SSD.

 

[mvbighead]

All that because you think the PSU died? Heck, if the PSU is dead and the system is meeting their needs, replace the PSU/Case and send them on their way.

If they need more... well, then maybe consider other options. Most folks are going to be just fine on just about any dual core rig. Graphics card could be a need I suppose.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I was thinking more expansively, like what if the mobo died?

Edit: Assuming for a moment that it's not the PSU, would an AM1 Sempron 3850 quad-core be a good replacement, at a suitable price? And will an AM1 APU, running Linux Mint (comes with Flash Player) accelerate Flash-based Facebook games at all? Or would someone need to be running Windows (7 in this case)?

Wondering also about 1080P YouTube on the E5200 with G41-chipset IGP. I don't know how well that would work, but I imagine, not well.

 

[mvbighead]

The graphics card I could see being a need for HD video.

Converting someone to Linux may or may not be a good idea. And yeah, pretty much any budget set of current hardware would be an improvement. I just wonder how much that person will have issues with a new operating system, and how able you would be to upgrade the platform and reuse the key.

 

[Denithor]

Find out if it's the PSU only or if it took anything along for the ride when it (if it?) died.

Once you know what's wrong, then start looking at options. I would definitely suggest a small SSD (possibly as only drive, take a look how full that 500GB drive is, if empty even a 120GB should be okay as sole drive).

One final thing, WTH are you looking at spending money on W10 when they have a legit copy of W7? Assuming the thing boots okay (I'm guessing only crashes in games, if I read that right?), just do the upgrade to W10 where you create media, then install the SSD and do the clean install of W10 on that. Easy peasy and no extra cost at all.

 

[VirtualLarry]

One final thing, WTH are you looking at spending money on W10 when they have a legit copy of W7? Assuming the thing boots okay (I'm guessing only crashes in games, if I read that right?), just do the upgrade to W10 where you create media, then install the SSD and do the clean install of W10 on that. Easy peasy and no extra cost at all.

That was just a quick hypothetical Skylake / Win10 budget build, if I wasn't re-using anything.

I'm not pushing for them to move to Win10.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

First off, I talked with the owner, but I forgot to ask if they had a budget number for fixing or replacing it.

That said, I built a budget (extreme budget) rig, with E5200, 4GB DDR3, Biostar mobo (with at least some solid caps), 500GB WD HDD, DVD optical, and a slimline micro-ATX case with integrated PSU. With legit Win7 64-bit, it was under $300.

Well, it looks the the cheapy PSU has given out. At least, that's my best guess for "shutdowns" while using the PC to play Facebook games.

I quoted them $50 for a new case / PSU combo. (Will use a micro-ATX tower with standard ATX PSU to make it easier to replace in the future.)

I don't mind repairing the PC, and if that's the only issue, then it's cheap enough to fix.

But I was just thinking, that PC is getting old, maybe they would want something a little faster.

Problem is, other than a G1820 or G3258 combo, there's not much in the budget space for performance with value for money.

Edit: Here's the build thread for the rig(s):
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2177445&highlight=biostar+e5200

This person's needs are fairly meager, just your basic browser machine. No video-editing, no scientific calculations or spreadsheets, that I know of. Just Facebook and some basic games.

Was also thinking of how bad the G41 IGP is nowadays for things, too. Perhaps they could use a video card?

Was also thinking of adding a SATA6G controller card and a smaller SSD.

Edit: I have some already-built Intel H61 / G1610 and AMD A55 / A4-6300 rigs, both with 120GB Sandisk SSDs, and Linux Mint on them. Total hardware cost on those is roughly $200.

Edit: A Skylake G4400 rig would be: CPU $65, mobo $60, 8GB DDR4-2133 $45, case/PSU $50, 240GB SSD $65, Windows 10 $100. Total $385. Add a DVD optical for $15 if one needs it.

Budget builds are getting crushed now and make ZERO sense. For around $200.- they can have a i3 3240T 4 GB 1 TB HDD Windows 8.1

Unless you have a PSU laying around they can have for next to nothing there is no reason to put another cent into that older rig.

 

[mvbighead]

Budget builds are getting crushed now and make ZERO sense. For around $200.- they can have a i3 3240T 4 GB 1 TB HDD Windows 8.1

Unless you have a PSU laying around they can have for next to nothing there is no reason to put another cent into that older rig.

You'd still have to tack onto that build an SSD. You're also buying refurbed/used components, so longevity could be an issue.

I don't necessarily disagree that the system you linked is a bad idea, but, there are still other addons that aren't addressed with that refurb, so the expense of updating an older rig with some cheap parts may still be less than that of outright replacement.

 

[escrow4]

CPU: Intel G1820 - $43

MOBO: H81 with front panel USB 3 - ~$65

RAM: 8GB DDR3 dual channel kit - ~$40

SSD Something 256GB - ~$90

CASE+PSU: ~$100

$338, add a Windows licence. Quiet, cool, fairly silent. The Celerons are the 2015 analogues of the old Core 2 E8400s.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I was thinking more like:

G3258 + mobo combo deal: $100-110
8GB DDR3......................: $30
case + PSU...................: $50
SSD, either 120GB for $40, or 240GB for $60-65.

 

[Ranulf]

Thats the route I'd go instead of dealing with the old machine and an add-on sata card etc..

 

[VirtualLarry]

Well, I just thought of an angle to use, to get them to upgrade. I said that I would give them a free 120GB SSD. But I could tell them that it wouldn't run properly / efficiently on the old (ICH7) system. (Because it would have to run in IDE mode, wouldn't have AHCI or NCQ.)

Sure, I could add a controller card, but that just adds another point of failure too.

I could basically say, "Hey, here's the SSD, but in order to use it, you have to upgrade your platform." I think that the Windows 7 64-bit install would transfer over OK, although I would still have to deal with the "AHCI issue", if I transferred it over.

Anyways, I bought some Haswell Celeron G1820 CPUs and boards recently, hopefully I can convince them to upgrade.

$39 Intel G1820 CPU
$51 Biostar H81 mobo w/HDMI out
$10 4GB DDR3
$35 120GB SSD (factory refurb)
$32 micro-ATX case w/300W PSU

$167 total for hardware

 

[VirtualLarry]

So, a little followup. I ended up selling the person a slimline Sandy Bridge Pentium G630 Gateway system that was in great shape. It only had a HDD (yeah, I know), but it had a factory install of Win7, which is what they wanted.

 

[Denithor]

Larry are you a computer parts hoarder? LOL I bet your apartment/house is crammed full of systems and parts.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Larry are you a computer parts hoarder? LOL I bet your apartment/house is crammed full of systems and parts.

I could be...