What shall I do with this old PC

Strider590

That spec is very similar to my own PC, this one was a self built gaming rig in 2009 and it's still very capable of running the latest software/games/etc.

But performance comes at a cost, i've had GFX card failures and i've had a power supply failure (cheap Chinese sh*t rebranded as a premium make). One thing I do have to do is blow out dust once a month with compressed air, which means partial disassembly (all covers and air filters removed), otherwise everything starts overheat. The difference from dust to no dust is 20 degrees at the processor.

I would say that PC has some sort of cooling failure and should be a very easy fix (which fan isn't working?).

Cisco001

Thebestmumalive wrote: »

It was over 2 years ago so I don't think they'll look at it again (well not without more expense). I did think at the time that it didn't seem right but my son needed the PC sorted - so I let it go.

He has since bought a new one and I could do with updating mine which is an even older Dell but still going strong.

I am going to get my husband to have a look inside and see if there is anything obvious. We have kept if as dust free as possible because of the previous problem - but I will get him to check all the fans are working and the cooling system.

Your motherboard have 3 years warranty.
If you are sure motherboard is faulty, get Asus to fix it.

EdwardB

Thebestmumalive wrote: »

i have my son's old pc which powers itself off after a few minutes. We have already had the motherboard replaced once as it overheated and I suspect the same thing has happened again. I'm just wondering whether I should try to fix it again or just give up and throw it out. The spec is:

Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i7 Processor Extreme Edition i7-980X (3.33GHz) 6.4GTs/12MB Cache
Motherboard ASUS® P6X58D-E: DDR3, USB 3.0, SATA 6.0GB/s, 3-Way SLI
Memory (RAM) 6GB SAMSUNG DDR3 TRI-DDR3 1333MHz (3 X 2GB)
Graphics Card 1GB ATI RADEON™ HD 5870 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11
2nd Graphics Card 1GB ATI RADEON™ HD 5870 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11
1st Hard Disk 160GB Intel® X25-M 2.5" SSD (34nm / upto 250MB/sR | 100MB/sW)***SPECIAL***
2nd Hard Disk 1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 10x BLU-RAY RE-WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW
Memory Card Reader INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply CORSAIR 850W PSU (TX850) 80+ ULTRA QUIET (£99)
Processor Cooling COOLIT ECO A.L.C (ADVANCED LIQUID COOLER) (£59)
Sound Card ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB Options 6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS)

It is old - he bought in 2010.

So what should I do?

Do NOT throw it out, I would be grateful for such a spec and I am sure there are others too near you, but let us not see if we can get to the bottom of what is going wrong so you can make some use of it.

At first sight it seems a very powerful machine albeit dated, what jumps out at me is why two graphics cards, was it a gaming rig?

Some of these graphics cards need an extra power connector from the bottom of the card, so it could be when it is pulling a lot of juice via the bus or even with the cable, it is too much and the PSU shuts down to prevent problems.

SO there is an old engineering saying that a problem is not a problem unless you can reproduce it at will.

Can you do that?

If not you have to track it so you can manage it

In firmware there are settings for CPU heat

So if you just leave it running in bios will it shut off eventually?

Can you download some diagnostics so you can tax it?

Once you can reproduce the fault it is a case of testing

I would do ONE THING at a time, remove one of the graphics cards, then see if you can still reproduce the fault. If so, swap it out with other one.

Do same with memory

6gb is an unsual amount, memory is usually paired

Are the modules compatible with each other?

Remove one, then see if you can reproduce error.

If it IS the CPU/Motherboard it could just be too much dust, could be fan issue on CPU, or a bad thermal connection for CPU cooler. All easy fixes, is that liquid cooler doing it's job, check the temp.

You can put software in windows so you see temp while you tax it

If you decide to bin it I will send courier to collect it!!!

EdwardB

If you spend a lot of money you can always use your consumer rights.

PQT

Purpose
Quality
Time

A product has to be

fit for Purpose
of a merchantable Quality
last for a reasonable period of Time

These are your statutory rights afforded to you by the sale of goods act and conumer law updates in 2015.

It does not matter if they have a warranty and your contract is with who you bought it from. SO they are the ones with an obligation to you.

Your PC is not fit for purpose because it keeps crashing
It seems to have a manufacturing defect which means it is not of merchantable Quality
It has not lasted for a reasonable period of time.

For the Time aspect, the price is important.

I heard guy on radio with 5 year old PC he spend best part of £2k on, got a brand new machine after various attempts to resolve it failed. Note the same error means it is a recurring fault that was never satisfactorily fixed in the first place.

I am using a computer over 5x older than that, I paid £300 for it.

The way they work out the time element depends on whether you have had "some" use out of it or whether you just put it away after being frustrated with it.

I think an expensive PC has a reasonable life of 10 years, a cheap one maybe 3 years and a midrange one 5 years.

So if you spend £1000 and reasonable expected 120 months of utility but have only had 4 and half years, so say 78 months of good use, less say 2 months of it being in repair or not working. The calculation is

1000 /120 = £8.33 per month
76 x £8.33 = £633.08

£1000-£633.08 = £366.92

So you need a £366.92 refund or credit against a new machine.

They may decline at first in fact staff are trained to, but PM me the supplier and location, I will refer to someone who will sort it, but you must try yourself first.

agrinnall

EdwardB wrote: »

If you spend a lot of money you can always use your consumer rights.

Your post contains so many errors that I'm not going to try to point them out, you can go away and spend some time researching on the Consumer Rights board, but I would suggest to the OP that any attempt to go down this route after 7 years would be a waste of time.

EdwardB

agrinnall wrote: »

Your post contains so many errors that I'm not going to try to point them out, you can go away and spend some time researching on the Consumer Rights board, but I would suggest to the OP that any attempt to go down this route after 7 years would be a waste of time.

Well if you refuse to give detail what you say is backed up by no authoritative content.

I was suprised at the length of time

I have heard two such cases on BBC Consumer show, one with PC World and one with Dell. Dell attempted repair and replaced with a brand new £2k alien pc, PC World paid out pro rata.

If you are going to nit pic at other people's posts then do so with cogent argument, otherwise probably best to just post in response to the OP's posts and help them if you are capable.

My sig which is quoted from MSE FAQ really applies to you, bite your lip.

DoaM

Expecting 10 year life from a PC is optimistic. Remember also that the statute of limitations is 6 years ... therefore the seller (if they still exist) have no requirement to offer any form of remedy, unless they had offered a warranty of more than 6 years at the time of sale.

Notwithstanding this, beyond 6 months from sale the seller can require the consumer to commission a report to prove (on the balance of probabilities) that the issue was caused by an inherent fault. This would likely prove very difficult, and would be nonsensical for a 7 year old PC.

And lastly ... electronic goods do not have a linear depreciation. If expected life is 10 years, 50% of the value will have been lost in the 1st 3 years most likely.

So as agrinnall said (perhaps not so politely) your advice is somewhat misguided in the OP's situation.

Cisco001

By the way, my best guess on the faulty components would be CPU cooler or one of the video card.

If you don't bother to spend time to fix it, put it on eBay for £300-400 as part not working with the description mention earlier. It sold easily.

Your CPU still sell for over £100 on eBay

Thebestmumalive

I won't be going back to the seller after 7 years, especially as we had it repaired elsewhere 2 years ago. I probably should have gone back to them 2 years ago!

We will have a look at it and see if any of the steps above help.

Thanks Cisco001 for giving me an idea of the value - I hadn't got a clue.

esuhl

Thebestmumalive wrote: »

I wasn't sure that anything from 2010 would still be of any use to anyone.

I work in IT, spend all day with computers, and consider myself a "techie"... and my PC was built in 2008!

Like yours, it was a good spec and still works tremendously. It's still one of the fastest PCs I've used. I have no imminent plans to replace it. It works so well.

Strider590 wrote: »

That spec is very similar to my own PC, this one was a self built gaming rig in 2009 and it's still very capable of running the latest software/games/etc.

But performance comes at a cost, i've had GFX card failures and i've had a power supply failure (cheap Chinese sh*t rebranded as a premium make).

Performance costs more up-front, but can definitely save you money in the long-run if you do it right. If you can afford to get a decent components, you can avoid cheap Chinese junk and buy from reputable sources.

By getting decent components, you can keep them when you upgrade. My next computer can use the case, PSU and drives from the existing one -- saving more money.

Strider590 wrote: »

One thing I do have to do is blow out dust once a month with compressed air, which means partial disassembly (all covers and air filters removed), otherwise everything starts overheat. The difference from dust to no dust is 20 degrees at the processor.

Wow! That sounds like you need a bigger case with better airflow or some more fans.