[DIY]Rebuilding Friend's Rig

[mangopudding]

PC will be used to play dota2 and watch movies. No need OS. Budget around 800. Thanks!

Any recommendations? Probably swapping to intel side.

His current specs:
-AMD Phenom II x2 555
-Asus M4a77td Pro
-Kingston Ram KVR1333D3N9/2G *2
-Palit Gt620
-Seagate 500gb 7200rpm
-PSU Cooler Master GX550

 

[Alternative X]

Suggested upgrade parts:
RAM: CRUCIAL PC 12800/1600MHZ DDR3 CL11 VALUE RAM (4GB) (48)
GPU: POWER COLOR R7 260X 2GB O.C (179)
SSD: OCZ VERTEX 460 240GB (165)
PSU: FSP AURUM S 500W (89)

Total Cost: $481

Buy at PC Themes, #04-15, and ask for discounts. DIY yourself. If you can't into DIY, get PC Themes to assemble for you for a fee.

Notes:

1) The objectives of this upgrade are:
-Upgrade RAM to 8GB
-Add in a SSD as the OS drive
-Upgrade GPU to enable DOTA 2 to be playable at max settings in 1080p
-Change out the PSU for a more power efficient and better performing PSU.

2) As DOTA 2 is a single threaded game, the Phenom II X2 555 is still good for playing DOTA 2 and thus there is no need to upgrade the CPU or the motherboard.

 

[mangopudding]

Suggested upgrade parts:
RAM: CRUCIAL PC 12800/1600MHZ DDR3 CL11 VALUE RAM (4GB) (48)
GPU: POWER COLOR R7 260X 2GB O.C (179)
SSD: OCZ VERTEX 460 240GB (165)
PSU: FSP AURUM S 500W (89)

Total Cost: $481

Buy at PC Themes, #04-15, and ask for discounts. DIY yourself. If you can't into DIY, get PC Themes to assemble for you for a fee.

Notes:

1) The objectives of this upgrade are:
-Upgrade RAM to 8GB
-Add in a SSD as the OS drive
-Upgrade GPU to enable DOTA 2 to be playable at max settings in 1080p
-Change out the PSU for a more power efficient and better performing PSU.

2) As DOTA 2 is a single threaded game, the Phenom II X2 555 is still good for playing DOTA 2 and thus there is no need to upgrade the CPU or the motherboard.

Hello, thank you for your input.

I forgot to mention that my friend's com unable to display graphic when on, fan speed always at max, and seems to be on a loop. Fan will be blasting at max and slow a split second and max again, continuously. MB has no video port, so unable to test. But highly suspect MB uplorry already, so thats why need to change MB also. Any recommendations for MB+Cpu?

 

[Alternative X]

Hello, thank you for your input.

I forgot to mention that my friend's com unable to display graphic when on, fan speed always at max, and seems to be on a loop. Fan will be blasting at max and slow a split second and max again, continuously. MB has no video port, so unable to test. But highly suspect MB uplorry already, so thats why need to change MB also. Any recommendations for MB+Cpu?

1) G3240 + Asrock H81M-HDS, $152.

2) Boot loop?

i) Reseat all connections in your friend's rig.

ii) Reseat RAMs, rub gold contacts with clean eraser. May want to use 1X RAM stick at a time and try different RAM slots.

iii) Bring your PSU to your friend's place and use your PSU on your friend's rig and see if it is PSU issue.

iv) May want to bring thermal paste and isopropyl alcohol in case it is dry thermal paste causing CPU to overheat.

v) If all else fails, disassemble rig and setup a barebones setup consisting of the CPU, mobo, CPU cooler and your PSU. Keep the front panel connections to the casing as you will need the switch. Switch on the rig to see if there is boot loop. If no boot loop, got beep, slowly add more components until boot loop occurs or rig can startup.

vi) If bootloop still persists in the barebone setup, bring the CPU, mobo and CPU cooler to PC Care & Solutions, #02-32, SLS, and have Nigel test your parts to see which parts are still working. If CPU is still working, buy Asus M5A78L-M LX V2 for $97 instead and use the Phenom II X2 555 with the AM3+ mobo. The M5A78L-M LX V2 is compatible with both AM3 and AM3+ CPUs and thus allowing you to save lots of $$$ from buying a new CPU+mobo combo.

 

[mangopudding]

1) G3240 + Asrock H81M-HDS, $152.

2) Boot loop?

i) Reseat all connections in your friend's rig.

ii) Reseat RAMs, rub gold contacts with clean eraser. May want to use 1X RAM stick at a time and try different RAM slots.

iii) Bring your PSU to your friend's place and use your PSU on your friend's rig and see if it is PSU issue.

iv) May want to bring thermal paste and isopropyl alcohol in case it is dry thermal paste causing CPU to overheat.

v) If all else fails, disassemble rig and setup a barebones setup consisting of the CPU, mobo, CPU cooler and your PSU. Keep the front panel connections to the casing as you will need the switch. Switch on the rig to see if there is boot loop. If no boot loop, got beep, slowly add more components until boot loop occurs or rig can startup.

vi) If bootloop still persists in the barebone setup, bring the CPU, mobo and CPU cooler to PC Care & Solutions, #02-32, SLS, and have Nigel test your parts to see which parts are still working. If CPU is still working, buy Asus M5A78L-M LX V2 for $97 instead and use the Phenom II X2 555 with the AM3+ mobo. The M5A78L-M LX V2 is compatible with both AM3 and AM3+ CPUs and thus allowing you to save lots of $$$ from buying a new CPU+mobo combo.

Ok! I tried step i and ii but still the same. Will try the rest, thanks for your advice.