Need help with build and problems, what should I upgrade, and how can I fix it?

Willpower21

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Jun 17, 2014
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Hello everyone, this is my first experience posting to this site and it seems really helpful, so I thought I'd give it a shot; I'm not incredibly tech savvy but would love to learn and round out my computer, as I've been having some problems with it. First I'll list the different parts/specs I have:

Motherboard- http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en/mb/introduction.php?S_ID=454#memory
Power Supply- CX 430 Corsair
Video Card- EAH5450 Silent ASUS, also have an ATI Radeon HD 4600 series (which should/ can I use)
Processor- AMD Phenom II X2 550 Processor 3.10 GHz
RAM: 6.00 GB 64-bit Operating system, Windows 7
Seagate barracuda 7200 400gb is one of the hard drives, can't see the other one and computer is overheating too fast to check anything now.

Not sure what else to put for the specs, so on to the question.

What should I upgrade? I don't want it to be a high end gaming machine, just a solid computer that can handle gaming without crashing/overheating etc. I would like to spend less than ~200$ on fixing/upgrades for the build.

I've resolved most of the issues at this point, so now I'm looking to upgrade a bit. As for my gaming, right now it is mainly League of Legends and some others like the Total War series.

Would this video card be a good choice for this build or would there be any problems with implementing it? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130828&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

Overall I'm looking for a stable and solid performance. Thanks in advance.
 
If the CPU cooler fan does not come on, that is the first problem you should fix. Without it the CPU will overheat. Older CPUs did not have thernal throttling and would overheat and destroy themselves in a matter of seconds without cooling.

Check that the power lead for the fan is plugged in to the motherboard in the correct CPU fan position and that the pins are in the correct positions and not damaged.

If you cannot see any issues, order a replacement fan (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186035) that one seems well-rated and is cheap. Carefullt follow turorials to remove the old thermal paste and apply new paste for the new fan. Test with that.

If you have nothing still, then the damage is on the motherboard or the CPU and you are totally out of luck.

After that we can see what else ails your machine.
 

Willpower21

Reputable
Jun 17, 2014
15
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4,510


I determined that it was the fan that didn't work, so I ordered a new one and I'm hoping that it will solve the overheating problem. Assuming that the issues are solved, now I want to move on to upgrading; I updated the thread and put a potential video card... is this a good choice? Or is there a better one for around that price, any opinion would be most appreciated and thanks for the quick reply!