Plenty of Computer questions.

[TyphX]

Ok, I'm trying to buy/ make my own new computer. I'm REALLY strapped on cash and i need to know if my Windows 7 Hard drive from a compaq presario (c: 2009 ish) from my old computer into my new one. If i can, then how? Also, i have a really nice lightscribe disk drive that i want to use in my new computer. Thanks!! and respond fast please.
I also need instructions like if i have to use the device manager plz.


Currently from Ibuypower.

Specs currently:

Case 1 x NZXT Alpha Gaming Case-Black
Processor 1 x [= Quad Core =] AMD Phenom™ II X4 945 Quad-Core CPU
Motherboard 1 x [SLI] ASUS M4N98TD EVO -- NVIDIA nForce 980a w/ 2x PCI-E 2.0 x16
Memory 1 x 4 GB [2 GB X2] DDR3-1333 Memory Module-** FREE Upgrade to DDR3-1600 ** Corsair or Major Brand
Video Card 1 x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti - 2GB-SLI Mode (Dual Cards)
Case Lighting None
Power Supply 1 x 850 Watt -- Thermaltake TR2 W0319RU
Processor Cooling 1 x Liquid CPU Cooling System [AMD]-[Free Upgrade] Standard 120mm Fan
Video Card Brand 1 x Major Brand Powered by ATI or NVIDIA
Primary Hard Drive 1 x 500 GB HARD DRIVE -- 16M Cache, 7200 RPM, 3.0Gb/s-Single Drive - Valentines Day Special: FREE Upgrade to 640GB SATA3.0 SingleDrive
Data Hard Drive None
2nd Optical Drive None
Optical Drive 1 x 24X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive-Black
Sound Card 1 x 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard
Speaker System None
Network Card 1 x Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)
Monitor None
Keyboard 1 x iBUYPOWER USB Keyboard-Black
Mouse 1 x iBUYPOWER Internet Mouse
Operating System 1 x None- Pre-formatted Hard Drive Only
Warranty 1 x Standard Warranty Service-Standard 3-Year Limited Warranty + Lifetime Technical Support
Rush Service 1 x Rush Service Fee (not shipping fee)-No Rush Service, Estimate Ship Out in 5~10 Business Days
Video Camera None
Headset None
Meter Display 1 x NZXT Sentry 2 Touch Screen Fan Controller & Temperature Display
Flash Media Reader / Writer 1 x 12-In-1 Internal Flash Media Card Reader/Writer-Black
2nd Monitor None
iBUYPOWER Labs - Noise Reduction None
iBUYPOWER Labs - Internal Expansion None
Motherboard USB / SATA Interface 1 x Motherboard default USB / SATA Interface
Subtotal $1,250.00

Any suggestions on where to buy parts cheaper or cheaper gaming prebuilts too?

 

[aznshinobi]

Better off buying and building it yourself. That's way to much for just a low build like that. For 1250$ you could get a so much better build. Refer to the builds in my siggy. I think you'll find what you see there.

Also, try to wait for SB, that would give more life to your build as well for that budget.

 

[TyphX]

Better off buying and building it yourself. That's way to much for just a low build like that. For 1250$ you could get a so much better build. Refer to the builds in my siggy. I think you'll find what you see there.

Also, try to wait for SB, that would give more life to your build as well for that budget.

KK thanks, i didn't know what to do. but will my current hard drive and CD-ROM work in my new computer? and also, (sorry to be a noob) but what is SB?

 

[T_T]

Using your old hard drive may be possible. Just make sure of two things:
1. your old HDD is a SATA interface; and
2. you reformat the HDD and install a fresh copy of Windows.

Using your old Optical Disc Drive shouldn't be a problem either. Like the HDD, the ODD requires an availble interface to connect to, be it SATA or IDE.

SB is an acronym for Sandy Bridge, Intel's new line of CPU. The reason aznshinobi told you to wait is because of the recent 'recall' of the previously shipped lots. Read this article for more info.

 

[aznshinobi]

SB = Sandy Bridge = LGA 1155.

 

[ScrewySqrl]

the copy of Win 7 in the old PC is an OEM version. so you probably will have to rebuy Windows.

The OEM $99 version you buy is the one ALL the major buyers (Dell, Compaq, HP, etc) use in their system

 

[TyphX]

Oh ok. Yeah i wanted to avoid reinstalling everything.

 

[UniqueName]

I think you can use the old hard drive but still need a new license. Use the new license key when Windows asks you to reactivate. BTW wouldn't this make your old computer useless? Seems a waste. Better off donating it and taking the tax deduction. Old hard drives are bad too. They tend to die eventually...

Edit: Reinstalling the OS is usually a beneficial experience also.

 

[aznshinobi]

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Cougar-Point-Sandy-Bridge-B3-Stepping-product-change-notification-chipsets,12184.html#xtor=RSS-998

Cougar point back again this month.

 

[kitaware]

Since you
1. posted this in PREbuilt
2. say you're strapped for cash

Consider a HP Pavilion Elite refurbished...from the office/business outlet for $465
Pavilion Elite HPE-310t W7HP-64 i5 750 2.66GHz 700GB SATA 6GB DVDRW(LS) 512MB NIC 15-in-1 Rmkt PC

The i5-750 gets high marks for gaming and overclocking...
Yes, it has a low end (300wt) power supply, and video card (ATI 5450), but at $465 you have plenty of money left over to upgrade after the warranty expires in 3 months...

 

[aznshinobi]

O.O 3 month warranty on a refurbished item? I don't like the looks of that. Just because I'm not a big fan of those kinds of things. But another thing, doesn't HP use really crappy mobos as well? Wouldn't that restrict him of future upgradability. His mobo would render any future crossfire/dual card useless. But also I dunno, I didn't look, but it doesn't seem as though the mobo will have USB 3 either.

 

[kitaware]

1. This is not the build-it-yourself forum...I was just addressing the pre-built option...
2. OP is already running HP (compaq) so he/she has experience with HP
3. Most PC problems occur within the 1st few months
4. OP says nothing about buying a PC that would be upgraded in the future
5. @ $750 less than OP's posted PC, another entire PC can be bought in a couple of years when Sandy Bridge problems are all settled...and other new technologies are out...


I'm running an HP Pavilion Elite i7-860 refurbished unit and it's running very cool and quiet...most problems with new PCs happen in the 1st few months...at this price any new parts can be gotten and it'll still be pretty cheap....

 

[TyphX]

uhh ok. Let me address all of your suggestions all at once. I already have a HP (Compaq but it's owned by hp so who cares) Desktop, and i'm trying to get a comp that can at least use SLI and have more that 4 gigs of ram. (I'm into heavy gaming and benchmarking) Also, i want a mobo that supports unlocked processors and can overclock. I went on newegg to get parts for my new pc, but even then, the parts cost more than the prebuilt i listed up above. Also, i went onto yahoo answers and asked about the CD/HD ROM drive thing and someone said that i could reuse the old HD if i uninstalled the drivers using device manager. Anyone know if this is true?

 

[aznshinobi]

Yes you can but the interface has to be the same, meaning it has to be SATA. Not IDE.

 

[TyphX]

Yes you can but the interface has to be the same, meaning it has to be SATA. Not IDE.

I think the interface on both the hard drive and the mobo are IDE.

 

[ScrewySqrl]

that's going to be trickier then.

Most AM3 boards have a single, legacy IDE controler slot that can handle your DVD and HDD. But Sandy Bridge abandons IDE entirely, and it's possible Bulldozer will as well

 

[aznshinobi]

IDE: http://carpc.kyferez.com/Products/images/DVD-E616P2-QT_2.JPG
SATA: http://www.pcstats.com/articleimages/200708/LGGSAH62N_sata2.jpg

That should give you the jist of the ports. And like Screwy said, AM3 has 1 IDE while SB has left IDE alone. Mainly because it's so old, I guess they want to move on with SATA II and SATA III.

 

[TyphX]

IDE: http://carpc.kyferez.com/Products/images/DVD-E616P2-QT_2.JPG
SATA: http://www.pcstats.com/articleimages/200708/LGGSAH62N_sata2.jpg

That should give you the jist of the ports. And like Screwy said, AM3 has 1 IDE while SB has left IDE alone. Mainly because it's so old, I guess they want to move on with SATA II and SATA III.

Ok i popped open the case ( i'm usually too lazy to) and it turns out that it was a SATA port. So i can reuse the old hard drive without reinstalling everything right? If i can can you give me instructions? i've heard of using device manager.

 

[TyphX]

Ok since i upgraded my current desktop a while ago,, i decided to reuse some of the parts. The slot AM3 Athlon X2 and CD-ROM and Hard Drive are to be used if possible, and I might keep the 500W PSU if it can support the new SLI cards (GTX 570s) I also might keep the case fans b/c the MSI cards i'm getting (Twin Frozrs) don't push the hot air out of the case. Oh yeah do you guys know if i can get a 570 for under $300? Also, i heard they might not come with the SLI bridge. Do you know if i can buy these anywhere?

 

[aznshinobi]

Most likely you won't be able to re-use the PSU, the 570's SLI requirement is 750w I believe. Also, might I ask why the 570? The 560 Ti or 6950 1gb would be good enough in most cases. I actually really confused at your reused parts. Is the "slot AM3 Athlon X2" the CPU or the Mobo? Because if it's the motherboard, you won't be able to SLI in most cases. AMD and SLI aren't really there yet, possibly until the BD series comes.

Also judging by your budget, why don't you try out the 1200$ build on my website in my siggy. That should work out fine since you don't need to get a CD/DVD drive or HDD.

 

[TyphX]

Most likely you won't be able to re-use the PSU, the 570's SLI requirement is 750w I believe. Also, might I ask why the 570? The 560 Ti or 6950 1gb would be good enough in most cases. I actually really confused at your reused parts. Is the "slot AM3 Athlon X2" the CPU or the Mobo? Because if it's the motherboard, you won't be able to SLI in most cases. AMD and SLI aren't really there yet, possibly until the BD series comes.

Also judging by your budget, why don't you try out the 1200$ build on my website in my siggy. That should work out fine since you don't need to get a CD/DVD drive or HDD.

I meant the CPU. And do you know if i would have to erase the drivers on the HD in order to avoid a complete reinstallation?

 

[ScrewySqrl]

If you have an OEM copy of win 7, and load it on a system with a different motherboard, it requires a new license. The only exception is if your old motherboard dies and you replace it, you can get an exception for re-registering the new motherboard.

 

[TyphX]

If you have an OEM copy of win 7, and load it on a system with a different motherboard, it requires a new license. The only exception is if your old motherboard dies and you replace it, you can get an exception for re-registering the new motherboard.

So all i have to do is get another key/ call microsoft to license it?

 

[TyphX]

Current Specs and price for items not yet bought:

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000 (PC3 16000) Desktop Memory: $69.99
XION PowerReal AXP-850R14N 850W ATX 12V v2.2 / EPS 12V v2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Power Supply:$74.99
(2X)ASUS ENGTX560 TI DCII/2DI/1GD5 GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support:$249.99 each
ASUS M4N75TD AM3 NVIDIA nForce 750a SLI ATX AMD Motherboard:$99.99
Antec Dark Fleet DF-10 Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case:$79.99
AMD Athlon X2 250 3.0 Ghz Dual core (already bought)
Lightscribe CD-ROM(already bought)
HD w/Win7 64bit (already bought)
Anything i'm forgetting?

 

[TyphX]

Most likely you won't be able to re-use the PSU, the 570's SLI requirement is 750w I believe. Also, might I ask why the 570? The 560 Ti or 6950 1gb would be good enough in most cases. I actually really confused at your reused parts. Is the "slot AM3 Athlon X2" the CPU or the Mobo? Because if it's the motherboard, you won't be able to SLI in most cases. AMD and SLI aren't really there yet, possibly until the BD series comes.

Also judging by your budget, why don't you try out the 1200$ build on my website in my siggy. That should work out fine since you don't need to get a CD/DVD drive or HDD.

I used your siggy guides and shopped for parts. I went astray on some parts to either make it better or cheaper. I ended up with a end cost of about $850. Tell me if i'm missing anything from the parts list i put above.