Dead Core 2 Duo E8400 - Cheapest upgrade?

[Kongar]

I know this isn't particularly [H], but my father in law's PC that I built for him like 6 years ago finally up and died. I haven't seen it personally yet (being shipped) but I suspect the motherboard is kaput.

You know how store people are - they are trying to sell him a $800 PC when he doesn't need or want a new PC. I told him I'd fix it up for much less than that. Case is good, HDD are good, fans are good, vid card is old but suits his needs, etc...

That said - seems kind of silly to spend any money at all on core 2 duo stuff. I'm thinking for $250 I can buy a new mobo, chip, and ram and it'll be faster than the E8400. Maybe something like an i3-3245 3.4GHz?

What do you all think? Can it be done even cheaper? (sites don't tend to sell older stuff so...) Got a good cheap RAM recommendation?

Let's call this the ultra budget test

Thanks
Kongar

 

[Dangman]

Well, what case and PSU does that PC have?
Is that OS a retail or OEM key?

 

[Kongar]

Bah sorry, standard atx case, plenty of room. Power supply is a 5 year old 550W corsair iirc. Retail OS - just gonna swap components. No funny business, was a custom build from back in the day with what was then standard parts.

I'm convinced this is the way to go (new ram, mobo, chip) - but it's funny how quickly the major retailers drop the older stuff. Can't blame em - can't imagine there are many people looking to install 2year old processors...

 

[tiraides]

Here's a cheap combination:

$178 - Intel Core i3 3225 and MSI H61M-P31/W8 combo
$34 - G.Skill Value Series F3-10666CL9S-4GBNT 4GB DDR3 1333 DIMM
=====
$212 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)

The motherboard is nothing special for most enthusiasts, but it should more than meet your father's needs.

Your father should be fine on 4GB of memory. You'd spend nearly $30 more to double the amount.

The i3-3225 is only 100MHz slower than the i3-3245. You'll never know the difference.

Depending on what your father does, the 3225's IGP may be good enough for him to forgo the video card.

 

[techbob]

I know this isn't particularly [H], but my father in law's PC that I built for him like 6 years ago finally up and died. I haven't seen it personally yet (being shipped) but I suspect the motherboard is kaput.

You know how store people are - they are trying to sell him a $800 PC when he doesn't need or want a new PC. I told him I'd fix it up for much less than that. Case is good, HDD are good, fans are good, vid card is old but suits his needs, etc...

That said - seems kind of silly to spend any money at all on core 2 duo stuff. I'm thinking for $250 I can buy a new mobo, chip, and ram and it'll be faster than the E8400. Maybe something like an i3-3245 3.4GHz?

What do you all think? Can it be done even cheaper? (sites don't tend to sell older stuff so...) Got a good cheap RAM recommendation?

Let's call this the ultra budget test

Thanks
Kongar

I have an old motherboard that had an e7200, so would support the e8400. I'll send if you reimburse me for shipping. PM if interested otherwise it will be dispatched to a landfill.

 

[Kongar]

Hmm good combo deal find tiraides. I wonder if a micro ATX board will fit in his case...

Thanks for the offer on the old motherboard techbob - but I think he can part ways with a few hundred bucks and just go for the upgrade. Just seems silly not to. Besides I'm not 100% sure it's the board, so new RAM, board, and chip sounds like the best way to go. Thanks though

 

[GreenMonkey]

I don't even bother to build for my dad any more. I just get him a dell refurb or the like. You get something like a Dell 660s (small form factor) for like $200-$250 after a coupon on the Dell Outlet. I've been considering one for ages as my replacement HTPC rather than building my own mini/micro ATX system.

And that includes everything without piece-mealing it or building it - newer HDD (faster than the old ones), CPU (Celeron system runs about $200 - i3 runs about $300), RAM, case, keyboard, mouse, and Windows license. And no time spent building the system/installing Windows/etc.

 

[Kongar]

Ya, I'm with you on the "don't build rigs for people anymore" thing. I've steered many family members towards ipads - it does everything they use a computer for anyway (websurfing, email, lolcats). But my father in law is right on the edge. Meaning he appreciates the custom rigs even if he doesn't fully utilize them, and he uses his computer for more than lolcats and office. So I don't mind doing it for him.

He's just [H] enough to hate preloaded crap, so first thing he wants to do is format c: A Dell would probably just irritate him (even though it'd be fine for what he does). Having a case and peripherals that get reused and $ saved - that gets him excited To each his own. I personally think he should build a bad ass rig and show it off - but that's just me talking

I'm gonna get the i3 3225 with a cheap motherboard and a cheap RAM stick. I don't think his case will line up with a micro ATX mobo too well, so I'll keep my eyes peeled for a good combo deal - maybe take a ride to microcenter after all. Looking at benchmarks - it should net him like a 30% boost. I may even talk him into slapping a cheap SSD in there and ghosting his existing drive over to it. Then it'll boot quick and stuff. He'll be tickled pink, and will have only spent $300-400.

 

[xLokiX]

You might have a problem getting that processor and motherboard to play nice. You probably need a sandy bridge chip to flash it with a bios that will support ivy bridge. Look for a b75 motherboard if you want cheap, or h77 if you need more features.

 

[gankernation]

I agree with loki find a cheap one in microcenter for a b75 or h77 chipset. I believe they also have some cheap 4gb ram sets too.

 

[tiraides]

You might have a problem getting that processor and motherboard to play nice. You probably need a sandy bridge chip to flash it with a bios that will support ivy bridge. Look for a b75 motherboard if you want cheap, or h77 if you need more features.

NewEgg and the manufacturer's page give the impression that the MSI H61M-P31/W8 can support Ivy Bridge processors without the need of a BIOS update.

If you (the OP) want to play it safe, however, here are a couple of cheap alternatives:

$60 - Biostar B75MU3B (has $15 discount promo code BIO15, expires 7/31)
$58 - MSI B75MA-E33

Keep in mind that you'll lose the combo deal "discount" with the i3-3225 (and you'll have to pay shipping on the Biostar board). In that case, consider one of the following processors instead:

$121 - Intel Core i3-3220
$128 - Intel Core i3-3240

The only difference among the three is the onboard GPU embedded in each processor. The i3-3225 has the best IGP.

I agree with loki find a cheap one in microcenter for a b75 or h77 chipset. I believe they also have some cheap 4gb ram sets too.

Micro Center gives you an instant $30 discount when you buy any Socket 1155 motherboard alongside the i3-3245.

 

[motolube]

Newegg has some good Combos on a weekly basis I think, have you tried that yet?

Although I despise Dell because of their horrible horrible customer service tactics, that could be another way to go but I wouldn't do that to your father in law... unless of course you don't like him very much and this is your chance of getting back to him for all those lonely nights he made you endure back when you were daiting her daughter! .