Upgrading 4 Year old Computer

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Mitch Tai

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Mar 11, 2014
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I got my brother's old gaming computer and have been trying to fix it up. The main problem is it's SO loud and it's not as quick as it once was. It crashed on me earlier while playing LoL and then i got a black start-up screen.

I replaced the GPU to a GeForce GTX 770 and it was still a black startup. Then I fiddled with the ram and finally got it to start up in safe-mode. It has 16 gb of ram, (4 Corsair DDR3, all identical) but the system page from the control panel says I only have 8GB of Installed Memory (RAM). Is something wrong here?

The motherboard is a Crosshair IV with a AMD Phenom II x 4 965 Processor 3.41 GHz. (Not looking to upgrade this.) But this is where all the loud noise is coming from, the fan that can pop off of the CPU. I dusted the heck out of it but I think its just old and noisy. I'm willing to spend ~$100 on something quieter and was looking at the Corsair Hydro series but I'm not sure if its compatible.

I'm running Windows 7 Home Premium. The Hard drive is 1TB Caviar Black with 32 mb cache. Seems to work just fine. The power supply is a TX750w from Corsair, also seems to be okay.

Any tips would be great (this is my first computer i've worked on by myself) and if you need any more information about my rig I'll try to find it out. I remember when my brother first made this computer and it was so sleek, I just want it back Thanks in advance everyone!
 
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bicycle_repair_man
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bicycle_repair_man

bicycle_repair_man

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Jan 10, 2014
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The stock heatsink that comes bundled with the processor is usually quite loud, but you should verify that's where the noise is coming from. You don't want to spend money on an aftermarket cooler only to find that the original one was absolutely fine. If there are any case fans, disconnect them so you can be sure.

I'd recommend you avoid the Corsair Hydro series, purely because it's far in excess of what you need. A water cooler is great for high overclocks, but a waste of money otherwise. An air cooler along the lines of a 212 Evo will do a good job at a much lower cost whilst giving you room to overclock if you wanted to. Also consider that stock water cooler fans are usually pretty loud.
 
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maurelie

maurelie

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Oct 26, 2013
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The RAM says 8GB because the motherboard supports Dual Channel, only two sticks of RAM, better get 2x8GB if you want 16GB of RAM, not 4x4. Although i don't think you will see much of an improvement with 16GB of RAM. About the cooler, you can get Hyper 212Evo, pretty cheap and effective air cooler for 30$, no need to fiddle with liquid cooling. Also your GTX770 might not run at top level because of the x4 965, but with overclocking, i think you will eliminate any bottleneck.
 
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Mitch Tai

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Mar 11, 2014
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Okay, no need for hydro cooling, not thinking of overclocking. I depowered all but the essential components and my case fans are smooth, i'm almost positive its the fan over the CPU.
 
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Mitch Tai

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Mar 11, 2014
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Thanks for the quick answer. I'll look up overclocking since it seems to be popular. I just want to be able to surf the web on one monitor while I'm respawning on my main monitor. And do you think a SSD would be worth it? Can i have both at the same time?
 
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bicycle_repair_man

bicycle_repair_man

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OK, in that case I'd go with the 212 Evo, providing that it fits inside your case. Aftermarket coolers such as this also need to be mounted to a backplate, which fits on the underside of the motherboard. It can be fiddly, but it's only a one-off.
 
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Mitch Tai

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Mar 11, 2014
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Yeah my power cables are wrapped in a nylon weave that makes them rather bulky. Add to that my relatively huge GTX 770 thats already slightly sagging I dunno if I'll have enough room. I think this is my case https://www.thermaltakeusa.com/products-model.aspx?id=C_00001440

I've figured out how to remove everything but the motherboard so I guess there's only one way to find out. I'm off to Fry's tomorrow! Thanks again for all the help.
 
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bicycle_repair_man

bicycle_repair_man

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No worries, you should be good with the 212 Evo; it's 165mm and your case is 230mm. The motherboard should remove by simply unscrewing the various screws around the edges and along the middle.
 
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