My mum is going to give me her old office pc, the specs are decent i5 4440, 6gb ram, 2tb hard drive, 300w psu. However it's caked in dust, and she leaves it by the window, so the sun is shining on it ALL THE TIME. It's also full of bloatware, and the wi-fi card is awful, it can only get around 0.7mbs down. temps aren't too bad, 35c idle if I remember correctly. How would I clean this thing out? should I even bother? ideally i'd like to try turn it into a gaming machine.
Is it worth salvaging an old office pc? if so, how?
- Thread starter joe10231
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Shektron
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- May 31, 2017
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Just take out the hard drive. Format it and load a clean copy of windows on it. That processor is also a bit decent, but not for long. For a gaming PC I'd say get a Ryzen processor. Nothing else seems very useful in that build, at least for a new computer - perhaps someone can suggest some cool ways to recycle the parts, but you can't use anything else for a system.
well the i5-4440 is a decent enough system. with some upgrades it can run PUBG @ 50-60FPS.
Cleaning:
===========
cleaning: disconnect power, open case, and blow air (canned air) into slots, cracks etc., wear mask it will blow back into face, and get the "top layer out."
then it will be a process of getting down with the dirt, you may have to pull the fan over the heatsink and get more of that dirt out from fins. wipes fans down with moist alcohol wipes or moist "Windex" cloth (removing crud from fins of fan fins)
important and maybe obvious but "never spray any product i.e. liquids of any kind, into/unto the hardware components"
I use air can or when big problem, a special vacuum (electronics vacuum)
terry cloths (paper rips and leaves more deposits than removes dirt)
99.99% Electronic Alcohol (70% is not good at all and leaves deposit on boards and alcalines that can cause shorts)
Old tooth brush (previously cleaned and dried) to get in corners, scrub fan fins, reach into motherboard slots.
"window cleaner type product" to clean inside panels of case and such non electronic areas.
Gluck and do a picture of before and after, its amazing how rewarding it can feel
Upgrades and issues;
===============
As for making it into a gaming machine your first hurdle will be your power supply, this will absolutely be limiting what video card you can use. the main question in this regard will be is the computer a slim model desktop or a normal mid tower model ?
if the later then you should be able top replace it with a more power PSu and then upgrade video card.
The next upgrade will be ram, 6gb is not sufficient, and depending on your desktop model (read me the product label on the side of case) may or may not be able to be upgraded, if you can, then I would push for 8gb or 16gb...
the 2tb hard drive unless it is a 5400 rpm drive could be reused, again upgrade wise would be a consideration of reformatting it clean, then adding an SSD ( 60GB/120GB are pretty cheap) for the new OS install and keep the 2tb for storage.
then finally the choice of video card.... : )
so depending on your budget.... this can get expensive quickly.
Cleaning:
===========
cleaning: disconnect power, open case, and blow air (canned air) into slots, cracks etc., wear mask it will blow back into face, and get the "top layer out."
then it will be a process of getting down with the dirt, you may have to pull the fan over the heatsink and get more of that dirt out from fins. wipes fans down with moist alcohol wipes or moist "Windex" cloth (removing crud from fins of fan fins)
important and maybe obvious but "never spray any product i.e. liquids of any kind, into/unto the hardware components"
I use air can or when big problem, a special vacuum (electronics vacuum)
terry cloths (paper rips and leaves more deposits than removes dirt)
99.99% Electronic Alcohol (70% is not good at all and leaves deposit on boards and alcalines that can cause shorts)
Old tooth brush (previously cleaned and dried) to get in corners, scrub fan fins, reach into motherboard slots.
"window cleaner type product" to clean inside panels of case and such non electronic areas.
Gluck and do a picture of before and after, its amazing how rewarding it can feel
Upgrades and issues;
===============
As for making it into a gaming machine your first hurdle will be your power supply, this will absolutely be limiting what video card you can use. the main question in this regard will be is the computer a slim model desktop or a normal mid tower model ?
if the later then you should be able top replace it with a more power PSu and then upgrade video card.
The next upgrade will be ram, 6gb is not sufficient, and depending on your desktop model (read me the product label on the side of case) may or may not be able to be upgraded, if you can, then I would push for 8gb or 16gb...
the 2tb hard drive unless it is a 5400 rpm drive could be reused, again upgrade wise would be a consideration of reformatting it clean, then adding an SSD ( 60GB/120GB are pretty cheap) for the new OS install and keep the 2tb for storage.
then finally the choice of video card.... : )
so depending on your budget.... this can get expensive quickly.
KirbysHammer
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The Ryzen chip only has about a 10% lead in single thread performance. You're basically suggesting OP spend 400 extra dollars out of a tight budget to get... what exactly?
13thmonkey
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yep, wipe it, clean it, consider more ram, new PSU, and a decent GPU and you are set. SSD would be nice.
ohiou_grad_2006
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Yeah, op already has a decent PC. Op, if it's a full tower, grab a new PSU and drop in a GTX 1050ti or a 1060, 6gb is preferable there.
If you are stuck with a low profile system, could look at this
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B06WWLWWJM/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1506078684&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=gtx+1050+ti+low+profile&dpPl=1&dpID=5173FpDEReL&ref=plSrch
I would still recommend a better psu if you can find one. Upgrading team to at least 8gb would be a good idea but ram is high right now. Maybe find some used on eBay or Craigslist.
That system won't be the best but it should hold you for a year or so until you can save up for a better box. Also, if it's got Windows 7, I think you can still upgrade Windows 7 to Windows 10 free. I don't believe it's supported officially but has worked and activated with zero issues the last few times I've tried it.
If you are stuck with a low profile system, could look at this
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B06WWLWWJM/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1506078684&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=gtx+1050+ti+low+profile&dpPl=1&dpID=5173FpDEReL&ref=plSrch
I would still recommend a better psu if you can find one. Upgrading team to at least 8gb would be a good idea but ram is high right now. Maybe find some used on eBay or Craigslist.
That system won't be the best but it should hold you for a year or so until you can save up for a better box. Also, if it's got Windows 7, I think you can still upgrade Windows 7 to Windows 10 free. I don't believe it's supported officially but has worked and activated with zero issues the last few times I've tried it.
13thmonkey
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but you can re-use everything from the old one, and add things to it, the only weak point is the PSU. No need to throw away the CPU/MOBO/RAM to replace them with Ryzen. If it was core 2, then i'd agree, but it's still plenty strong enough.
ohiou_grad_2006
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I don't mean it will only last a year. What I mean is that within the next say 1.5-2 years it may not play games as well as newer equipment that will be on the market. I'm sure it will still play, but if you are going to be at a place where you want to keep playing on high/ultra settings, you'll want to upgrade.
Basically, I just mean PC hardware is not what we call "future proof". That i5 is a couple of years old, and still a strong cpu and with a good graphics card will do well with today's games and for the next year or 2 still do well. But as time goes on, more up to date chips and graphics cards etc will come into the market. As game developers start to push the boundaries, you will just eventually want an upgrade.
So that is why I'm suggesting upgrade this, but save a little here and there and when it gets to where you feel like you want to upgrade, then you may have most of the cash to get a new i7 with the latest greatest graphics card or whatever is out at the time. Myself, I probably upgrade every couple of years. I can usually afford mid range parts, so usually after a year or two, I'm switching graphics cards, maybe a little less often cpu and motherboard etc. I just kind of have myself into a cycle to where I try to keep a relatively up to date system.
For example, this year I was able to get an AMD Ryzen 1600 cpu, board, ram and a used AMD RX 480. While that's all fine equipment, I'd say probably next year when volta comes out from nvidia, or whatever GPU from AMD releases if that's better, I'll probably upgrade to that and get some coin for the 480, and maybe try to upgrade from 8gb of ram to 16gb. In 2019 since I'm on socket AM4, I'll probably upgrade my bios, and then see what new Ryzen 2 chip that I can place into my system. Then later see if I need a new power supply, etc and so on.
Basically, I just mean PC hardware is not what we call "future proof". That i5 is a couple of years old, and still a strong cpu and with a good graphics card will do well with today's games and for the next year or 2 still do well. But as time goes on, more up to date chips and graphics cards etc will come into the market. As game developers start to push the boundaries, you will just eventually want an upgrade.
So that is why I'm suggesting upgrade this, but save a little here and there and when it gets to where you feel like you want to upgrade, then you may have most of the cash to get a new i7 with the latest greatest graphics card or whatever is out at the time. Myself, I probably upgrade every couple of years. I can usually afford mid range parts, so usually after a year or two, I'm switching graphics cards, maybe a little less often cpu and motherboard etc. I just kind of have myself into a cycle to where I try to keep a relatively up to date system.
For example, this year I was able to get an AMD Ryzen 1600 cpu, board, ram and a used AMD RX 480. While that's all fine equipment, I'd say probably next year when volta comes out from nvidia, or whatever GPU from AMD releases if that's better, I'll probably upgrade to that and get some coin for the 480, and maybe try to upgrade from 8gb of ram to 16gb. In 2019 since I'm on socket AM4, I'll probably upgrade my bios, and then see what new Ryzen 2 chip that I can place into my system. Then later see if I need a new power supply, etc and so on.
Kenton82
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My MOBO, RAM & CPU are nearly 10 years old. Still gaming well on high settings @ 1080 with a GTX970 in toe. Depends what you want to be playing, and how high you want the graphics. The OP could end up with quite a nice little gamer there.
ohiou_grad_2006
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Exactly. It depends. I mean that i5 next year should be about equivalent to the i3 for the next 2-3 generations before he gets to a point where it absolutely won't play.
I should preface my statement, I'm a computer tech, as well as I like to fire up a game when I've got time, so I like having the latest equipment I can to play with. I usually sell my old stuff on ebay so I recoup some of my money.
As far as my RX 480, I got that from a good friend of mine, who bought it originally from Microcenter, and bought their 2 year replacement warranty on it. So before the warranty expires, I'm going to go there with him, trade the card in under the warranty, get the money back for it, put some extra cash with that, and pick up a newer more powerful, probably volta or something like that GPU. Buy the 2 year replacement on the new card, and basically keep trading every year and a half to two years.
But as far as the op's system, no that is just fine. If I had say 500 dollars and didn't have a rig, that would be a good way to start is pick up an old business class pc refurbished for about 150-200 with hopefully an old i7 in it, upgrade the power supply and graphics card, and bam you have a budget gaming box. The only other thing I would caution, the op may want to pick up some extra fans, and may need a pci slot cooling fan to put under the GPU since those OEM rigs don't usually have the best cooling, he will want something to help especially with the GPU he gets, to help keep temperatures in check.
I should preface my statement, I'm a computer tech, as well as I like to fire up a game when I've got time, so I like having the latest equipment I can to play with. I usually sell my old stuff on ebay so I recoup some of my money.
As far as my RX 480, I got that from a good friend of mine, who bought it originally from Microcenter, and bought their 2 year replacement warranty on it. So before the warranty expires, I'm going to go there with him, trade the card in under the warranty, get the money back for it, put some extra cash with that, and pick up a newer more powerful, probably volta or something like that GPU. Buy the 2 year replacement on the new card, and basically keep trading every year and a half to two years.
But as far as the op's system, no that is just fine. If I had say 500 dollars and didn't have a rig, that would be a good way to start is pick up an old business class pc refurbished for about 150-200 with hopefully an old i7 in it, upgrade the power supply and graphics card, and bam you have a budget gaming box. The only other thing I would caution, the op may want to pick up some extra fans, and may need a pci slot cooling fan to put under the GPU since those OEM rigs don't usually have the best cooling, he will want something to help especially with the GPU he gets, to help keep temperatures in check.
ohiou_grad_2006
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Yes. Though if he shops he can get a deal. I just sold my old Radeon 7950 on ebay for 70 bucks, so someone got a good deal, considering that was about the same performance level as the 1050 ti I would say. I probably could have gotten more, but for whatever reason I listed it at 1:30 in the morning before going to bed. Had I listed it to come off at like 8pm I might have gotten more, but it's all good.
If he's willing to take a chance on used stuff, there are diamonds in the rough so to speak.
If he's willing to take a chance on used stuff, there are diamonds in the rough so to speak.
KirbysHammer
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When OP is no longer satisfied with their PC's performance they will get a whole new one then. Future proofing is silly on low budgets. The hardware available will be better for the buck by the time OP needs a new CPU.
It could cost as much as $400 to replace the platform, which could be twice OP's budget.
The 4460 is still a solid CPU.
KirbysHammer
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You're telling me that they don't check to make sure the card has defects before they let you trade it in? That sounds like a business model set up for failure. You might want to check in to that warranty policy and maybe rethink your plan if they only offer a replacement of the same card.
If it REALLY worked as you think it does don't you think it would be phased out?
ohiou_grad_2006
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Always works every time I trade anything else. You pay a premium for the warranty. Been in there multiple times. They take the card back and I'm assuming send it back to the manufacturer, probably get it back and resell it as refurbished. I but their warranty on a good number of parts I buy there, and have rebuilt entire systems due to using their warranty.
Basically you pay for their replacement plan. On say a 200 dollar card it might run 30-50 extra. Pretty much you can can cash in the warranty once, and after that you have to buy it again on the next part you get, otherwise you don't get the extra coverage. I've taken back stuff just because I wanted to get a better part than what I originally bought. Plus they know their customers will refer new people there. But you are effectively buying the warranty at extra cost. So they make money on that side too.
But I think what happens is they send it back, it gets checked, and they may resell them as refurbished. So they are making money. For example, if I get money at Christmas I'm thinking a new 144hz monitor would be nice.
I don't get it on everything, like my new cpu I didn't, but I did on my motherboard.
Basically you pay for their replacement plan. On say a 200 dollar card it might run 30-50 extra. Pretty much you can can cash in the warranty once, and after that you have to buy it again on the next part you get, otherwise you don't get the extra coverage. I've taken back stuff just because I wanted to get a better part than what I originally bought. Plus they know their customers will refer new people there. But you are effectively buying the warranty at extra cost. So they make money on that side too.
But I think what happens is they send it back, it gets checked, and they may resell them as refurbished. So they are making money. For example, if I get money at Christmas I'm thinking a new 144hz monitor would be nice.
I don't get it on everything, like my new cpu I didn't, but I did on my motherboard.
KirbysHammer
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Well that's rather interesting. I'm surprised it works that way.
I have a laptop I bought from Costco a year and a half ago, and I'm interested in selling it to help finance getting a better PC build.
It has some mild overheating issues that I can live with.
Would this be cause to return for a refund? Costco offers a 2 year warranty by default on all their products.
I'm genuinely curious because that would be a difference of around 450 bucks when you account for the value lost thanks to the overheating issue.
ohiou_grad_2006
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As I said you pay a premium for the warranty so they make something on the front side. As I understand the warranty on PC's is you take it back, and if they can't fix it, or determine the fix is more costly than the value of the computer, they give you a gift card for the original purchase price.
I like their warranties very much, as I've had things not work or cards go bad, and been able to exchange and buy a different part.
I like their warranties very much, as I've had things not work or cards go bad, and been able to exchange and buy a different part.
KirbysHammer
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Screw getting a gift card. I can't buy PC parts at Costco.
On the other hand I do have some family that shops at Costco that might be willing to buy a gift card from there from me for a discount.
As for upgrades, he can get an I7-4690 for that system easily enough, and use it for next 5 years. all he needs is able power supply and video card with enough ram.
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