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Michaelkeating

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Aug 14, 2013
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10,510
We have a desktop I use for several things including some more graphics intense games and all my historical tax stuff. I just realized today when I searched my Newegg order history that I got it in March 2009. (HP Pavilion M8530F(KT334AAR) Desktop PC Phenom X4 9550(2.2GHz) 5GB DDR2 750GB HDD Capacity NVIDIA GeForce 9300 GE Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit). We also put an ATI 4830 in it at the time.

A friend who knows about these things said I could upgrade to a new MB, Haswell i5, 8GB memory and Win 7, reusing the case, HDD, ODD, etc. for $500. In my mind at that point I could buy a Dell refurb with the same specs and try to re-use my 4830. I have only modest PC tech experience so the whole building angle is a little scary unless there's a clear upside.

Any thoughts?

Gratefully,

MK
 
Solution
Sakkura

They do abide by the ATX/mATX standards for the case (excluding small form factor ones) and motherboard form factors. Your system appears to have a mATX motherboard, so any other mATX motherboard should fit in the case just fine. Maybe there's room for ATX boards as well, maybe not; you'd have to check and see if there's spare room around the motherboard and some little holes in the case for extra motherboard standoffs.

Of course, I wouldn't expect good cooling performance from a Dell case.

As for Windows 8, it's really not that bad. It's...
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kirilmatthew

Honorable
Jul 24, 2013
1,377
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11,660
To out it this way I think you should get a motherboard, CPU, RAM, Windows and a PSU if you need it. It is really not that hard to do, mainly following instructions. The hardest part is picking out parts which we can help you with. I would not reuse your GPU, I would invest in a new one for any gaming. Anyways let me know if you need any more help! Me or anyone else would be glad to help!
 
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Sakkura

Sakkura

Illustrious
Aug 22, 2011
8,129
3
37,965
If you buy a refurb model it won't have the newest hardware in it. So building your own gets newer/better hardware at a similar price.

The case, hard drive and so on should all be reusable, with the possible exception of the power supply. Dell have in the past used proprietary power supplies once in a while.
 
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babernet_1

babernet_1

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May 8, 2012
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Yes, I'd get a new CPU, MB, RAM and the new Windows 8.1

However, your power supply probably isn't of the best quality and will be wearing out, and it just make take stuff with it when it does. Also your HDD has seen four years, you can start expecting it to crap out in the not too distant future. And your video cards are laughable by today's standards.

Perhaps not all at once, but you really need to update it all.
 
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Michaelkeating

Honorable
Aug 14, 2013
19
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10,510
How do I know if the case is useful and the MB is a good fit?

Should I really go Windows 8 over 7? I thought one of the best reasons to build vs. buy was to avoide the hideousness of Win 8.
 
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Sakkura

Sakkura

Illustrious
Aug 22, 2011
8,129
3
37,965

They do abide by the ATX/mATX standards for the case (excluding small form factor ones) and motherboard form factors. Your system appears to have a mATX motherboard, so any other mATX motherboard should fit in the case just fine. Maybe there's room for ATX boards as well, maybe not; you'd have to check and see if there's spare room around the motherboard and some little holes in the case for extra motherboard standoffs.

Of course, I wouldn't expect good cooling performance from a Dell case.

As for Windows 8, it's really not that bad. It's mostly the UI that turns people off, and that can be modded to some extent. Under the hood it's just Windows 7 with some improvements (boot time in particular has been improved).
 
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