I'm looking to build a system for the kid's den with my 12 year-old son so he can learn more about computers. He has been wanting to build one since our old 2005 Lenovo died 2 years ago. In the meantime I purchased an HP Pavilion p&-1420t with the specs below. I believe the motherboard crapped out last week as it hangs up on the HP logo screen immediately on startup and does nothing else (http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2246064/desktop-hangs-startup-black-screen-logo.html for a thread on the problem). HP wants $300 to fix a $450 system...crazy especially if it is only the MoBo.
I hope to use some of the components from the HP to save some money but this will allow us to upgrade some components to a higher level than if I build from scratch. Which components would be useful? I am hoping to use the Seagate Barracuda 1TB HDD, the HP Super Multi DVDRW 1stODD drive, 4GB of DDR3-1600 DIMM RAM, CPU heat sink/fan and the case. If the CPU is still good, could I use it (i5 3330 3.0 GHz 77W Ivy Bridge)?
This build will be used for my son to do some gaming, mostly minecraft with video recording and youtube uploading and some other mid-level games. He has an Xbox 360 for other stuff. I will use the computer for home stuff mostly with MS Office, internet surfing and still image and video editing/sharing using photoshop and others. I want to have the 15 in one multimedia card reader and 2 USB 3.0 ports and headphone & mic jacks on the front (reason for keeping case). We just upgraded to TWC 30/10 from ATT DSL 6/1. The modem is a SURFboard 6141 and the router is an ASUS RT-N66R N900. I want to maximize those capabilities and the computer will be connected directly to the router. Would like to use Windows 7 Pro as I am not a fan of 8. Thoughts on this would be helpful. Could I use 8 from the system I have? That would save money too.
Current non-working system
HP Pavilion p7-1420t PC
Intel Core i5-3330 3.0G 6M 77W CPU
6GB DDR3-1600 DIMM (4+2) RAM
Intel HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge)
Integrated High Def Audio w/ Beats Audio
Window 8.1 64-bit
purchased 12/12
I would like to spend about $400 not including the monitor & keyboard/mouse. Components I would like to upgrade include a new MoBo, CPU if needed, add 4 GB RAM (8 total should be good), a new GPU card, power supply, fan with lights so he can have some coolness but not have to get a new case. As a disclaimer, this would be my first build as well but I have changed out network cards, RAM, media drives and power supplies before. I like to tinker so with the right guidance this should be fun and satisfying for both of us.
Thanks for your thoughts and advice.
I hope to use some of the components from the HP to save some money but this will allow us to upgrade some components to a higher level than if I build from scratch. Which components would be useful? I am hoping to use the Seagate Barracuda 1TB HDD, the HP Super Multi DVDRW 1stODD drive, 4GB of DDR3-1600 DIMM RAM, CPU heat sink/fan and the case. If the CPU is still good, could I use it (i5 3330 3.0 GHz 77W Ivy Bridge)?
This build will be used for my son to do some gaming, mostly minecraft with video recording and youtube uploading and some other mid-level games. He has an Xbox 360 for other stuff. I will use the computer for home stuff mostly with MS Office, internet surfing and still image and video editing/sharing using photoshop and others. I want to have the 15 in one multimedia card reader and 2 USB 3.0 ports and headphone & mic jacks on the front (reason for keeping case). We just upgraded to TWC 30/10 from ATT DSL 6/1. The modem is a SURFboard 6141 and the router is an ASUS RT-N66R N900. I want to maximize those capabilities and the computer will be connected directly to the router. Would like to use Windows 7 Pro as I am not a fan of 8. Thoughts on this would be helpful. Could I use 8 from the system I have? That would save money too.
Current non-working system
HP Pavilion p7-1420t PC
Intel Core i5-3330 3.0G 6M 77W CPU
6GB DDR3-1600 DIMM (4+2) RAM
Intel HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge)
Integrated High Def Audio w/ Beats Audio
Window 8.1 64-bit
purchased 12/12
I would like to spend about $400 not including the monitor & keyboard/mouse. Components I would like to upgrade include a new MoBo, CPU if needed, add 4 GB RAM (8 total should be good), a new GPU card, power supply, fan with lights so he can have some coolness but not have to get a new case. As a disclaimer, this would be my first build as well but I have changed out network cards, RAM, media drives and power supplies before. I like to tinker so with the right guidance this should be fun and satisfying for both of us.
Thanks for your thoughts and advice.