Recycling parts from an old PC in a new one?

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hexagonalbolts

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Apr 15, 2011
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Purpose:
I have a ~four/five year old gaming PC that was barely used because of frequent random crashes and BSODs, we believe it was something to do with the motherboard or the RAM.

I would like to re-use as many of the parts as possible to make a cheap computer for general internet use and some simple gaming on occasion (DOTA 2).

Budget: flexible, whatever is needed to polish it up. Perhaps £200/$300.

Questions:
Would it be worth risking trying the CPU from the dodgy PC?

Can anyone recommend a cheap replacement motherboard?

Are newer SSDs significantly faster than the one posted below? Will the PC feel slow and clunky if I re-use the old drives? (Ssd for OS and HDD for other stuff)

Is it safe to re-use the old PSU?

Location: UK but help from the US appreciated.

**Old PC specs:**.

Intel Core i5 2500K 3.3GHz Socket 1155 (Broken?)

G-Skill 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600Mhz RAM (Broken?)

Gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3-B3 Socket 1155 (broken?)

Coolermaster CM690 II

Corsair TX750w

Samsung HD204UI Spinpoint F4 2TB

Corsair 60GB Force 3 SSD

Gigabyte GTX 560Ti OC 1GB GDDR5

Optical drive

Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro rev 2 Socket 775, 1156, 1155, 1366
 
Solution
n0ns3ns3
well ... you need to find the reason for crashes.
if you don't have replacement parts, might be worth paying computer shop to find the problem.
any of the components will be cheaper than building a new one :)
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hexagonalbolts

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It was my brother's computer - he took it to several different computer shops several times, spent a huge amount of money, never managed to get to the bottom of the problem and then left it gathering dust when he got a laptop. He had so many issues with it and they seem to be so intricate that I think it would be better to just entirely remove the parts with issues.

The main thing to do seems to be to get a modern motherboard that I can overclock with and some new RAM. Any part recommendations would be very much appreciated.
 
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coozie7

coozie7

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Jun 2, 2007
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It IS a pain resolving random issues but I agree with n0ns3ns3; It'll be worth the effort. The current system is plenty good enough for your requirements but seems to need a little tweaking to get it running happily.
What steps did you take to resolve the issue?

In the meantime try:
Reset the BIOS to default values, either by using the CMOS reset jumper or selecting the option in BIOS.
Update the BIOS to the latest version.
Update all the system software and drivers, including the Intel .inf (chipset) drivers.
If you have USB devices plugged in, disconnect as many as possible.
Run with only one memory stick at a time.
Enable the XMP profile for memory.

If you suspect the RAM it's the lest expensive part to replace and the quickest, expect to pay <>£35 or less for DDR3 1600 as a 2x4Gb kit.
 
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n0ns3ns3

n0ns3ns3

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May 25, 2016
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in addition to the above, you already have overclockable system with decent components.
So do the effort to troubleshot:
after updating the bios and reseting it if the issue persist - completelly reinstall windows. use the free upgrade to win 10.
memory - using only 1 stick at the time, running memtest.
PSU - get one from other computer just to check.
 
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hexagonalbolts

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I appreciate the advice guys - but all this stuff was done lots of times by the techies that the computer was given to when he first had the issues and they never found the problem. It was a huge money and time sink. I would rather spend £35 on new ram and £50-60 on a cheap motherboard (Would this work?: https://www.amazon.co.uk/MSI-LGA1155-u-ATX-Motherboard-Intel/dp/B009US9DCO/ref=sr_1_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1474200426&sr=1-2&keywords=LGA+1155+motherboard) and be sure the issues are gone.
 
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hexagonalbolts

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Thanks! That's a good point - I will do it like that. If it still crashes with the new RAM, is it still possible to buy new compatible Z motherboards?

Edit: How about this?
Gigabyte Z97P-D3 Intel LGA1150 Z97 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gigabyte-Z97P-D3-LGA1150-Motherboard-USB3-0/dp/B00K9R1OCW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1474201759&sr=8-2&keywords=z77%2Bmotherboard&th=1

 
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