Is a Motherboard kit a good idea.

justaquestion

Hi folks,


I haven a computer eight years old brought from pcspecialist, and wondering down the road rather than just buying a new computer I might just upgrade the computer with a motherboard kit.


Current computer has windows 7 and 10 32 bit OS 4gb ram, has got a few upgrades, 500gb SSD 600 watt power supply, a few extra had drives.


The case is a mid tower coolermaster silio 500 that has got foam padding to reduce noise.


SO what do you think of these motherboard kits, the full package I would like is 16gb ram and a a good CPU +motherboard?


Would want to get something between £300 and £400.


On the question of an operating system am I right in thinking that Microsoft will activate a current windows 10 system say if a fault was to develop in motherboard?


Many thanks

JJ_Egan

MS if it fails activation due to component change .
A phone number shows to contact MS and explain component failed and they reactivate .

bertiewhite

I upgraded PCs for quite a few years by buying motherboard/CPU/memory bundles and just swapping out from the main case.

I haven't had a desktop for a few years now but I guess the principle is still the same - with memory & CPUs being updated quicker than you can blink, as long as the form factor is the same and your PSU can handle the new hardware, you'll know that the new combination of motherboard/CPU/memory will work with each other.

Cisco001

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-8400 2.8GHz 6-Core Processor (£143.00 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - B360M Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (£70.98 @ Box Limited)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory (£160.05 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £374.03
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-04-19 14:30 BST+0100


By the way, do you really need 16GB RAM?

stragglebod

What processor & motherboard do you have at the moment?

A local PC repairer might be happy to offload 4GB of used DDR2/3 memory for a reasonable price, see what it's like with more memory and 64bit Windows 10.

that

Depending on age, I would worry about that old PSU and check that it is fit for purpose.

justaquestion

stragglebod wrote: »

What processor & motherboard do you have at the moment?

A local PC repairer might be happy to offload 4GB of used DDR2/3 memory for a reasonable price, see what it's like with more memory and 64bit Windows 10.

I have an asus M4A785TD-EVO board and its a quad core AMD Phenon 11 945 processor. Wish I had a 64 bit OS rather than the 32 bit but I made that choice to run a few old music apps when I bought computer.


I have to say though that the computer doesn't seem to run as hard in windows 7 as it does in windows 10.


Thanks to everyone for helpful replies.

System

that wrote: »

Depending on age, I would worry about that old PSU and check that it is fit for purpose.

Was just going to post this. They changed the main power socket for the motherboard in the last half decade adding extra pins, 4 extra as I recall.

bertiewhite

that wrote: »

Depending on age, I would worry about that old PSU and check that it is fit for purpose.

Tarambor wrote: »

Was just going to post this. They changed the main power socket for the motherboard in the last half decade adding extra pins, 4 extra as I recall.

I already mentioned that....

bertiewhite wrote: »

as long as the form factor is the same and your PSU can handle the new hardware, you'll know that the new combination of motherboard/CPU/memory will work with each other.

Cisco001

that wrote: »

Depending on age, I would worry about that old PSU and check that it is fit for purpose.

I assume OP already upgrade PSU? He mentioned he upgrade 500GB SSD and 600W PSU...

esuhl

I wouldn't worry about a decent-brand PSU if it supplies sufficient power and has the right connectors. It should last a lot longer than 8 years.

And yes -- if the case and PSU are suitable (cool enough, suitable cables, etc.) then a mobo/CPU/RAM upgrade would be a great idea.