Building Help !! Few questions

[mfaulk]

Hey there ! I am sure there are a lot of threads with this title, but I tried to find the answers beforehand and couldn't.

I want to build a new computer this winter season.

I am currently using the HP Pavilion p7-1414, and have been for 2.5 years.

FIRST OFF - The computer physically has 8 GBS of RAM. I checked, it has two 4GB sticks.
On the official manual for my computer it says it only has 6, and 5.40 usable. On my system info it says the same! Weird stuff.

I wanted to know if I could use the 8 GB (6?) for my next build, or if its been 'worn down'. Is all RAM the same or do some sticks work more efficiently than others? Next I want to know if I can use my hard drive in the next build. It is a TB hard drive and would be great to reuse if I could.

With that said, I want to perform high end gaming on my new computer. If I can salvage the RAM and hard drive I can spend about 400-500 MAX on new parts ( I know, not a lot).

What processor's and graphics cards are the most bang for your buck today?

I am not very keen on this stuff, so I wonder if I could also salvage basics like power supply, etc. Any and all help would be appreciated! Thank you.

FULL CURRENT SPECS

Processor
AMD A8-5500

Memory
6 GB

Video Graphics
AMD A8-5500

Motherboard
MSI MS-7778 (Jasmine)

 

[jake strassberg]

You can use the ram and hard drive from you old computer in your new build, ram doesnt get "worn-down" in the sense that it gets slower over time. If you want to reuse the hard drive you're probably going to have to format it and reinstall windows (tons of tutorials online). Also theres a bunch of stuff online for the best bang for your buck components.

 

[blazorthon]

The hard drive is certainly reusable. The memory should be too. Not all memory is the same, but it doesn't really wear down and you don't need top of the line RAM. Are you sure that both sticks are 4GB? OEMs often use odd configurations like 4+2GB instead of using same capacity sticks.

The power supply probably should not be reused. OEM power supplies are rarely of decent quality and even when they are, they generally aren't meant to power much more than what the PC ships with.

 

[mfaulk]

The hard drive is certainly reusable. The memory should be too. Not all memory is the same, but it doesn't really wear down and you don't need top of the line RAM. Are you sure that both sticks are 4GB? OEMs often use odd configurations like 4+2GB instead of using same capacity sticks.

The power supply probably should not be reused. OEM power supplies are rarely of decent quality and even when they are, they generally aren't meant to power much more than what the PC ships with.

I opened my computer up this morning and read the code on the sticks. They have the same code

MT16JTF51264AZ-1G6M1
it also says 4GB 2RX8 on each stick.

My motherboard would need to be replaced too correct?

Since I am currently running on AMD I don't really know about Intel but it seems they are better when it comes to higher end?

 

[mfaulk]

ALSO-- I want to eventually run 3 monitors on this computer. Could someone recommend hardware for my budget overall of 4-500 for the rest of the parts

 

[blazorthon]

Here is a build list to consider in the middle of your budget:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Biostar Hi-Fi B85S3+ Ver. 6.x Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($58.00 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 950 2GB Video Card ($138.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Enermax ECA3212-BL ATX Mid Tower Case ($36.00 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Fractal Design Tesla R2 500W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: Masscool FD12025B1H3/4 81.0 CFM 120mm Fan ($4.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $452.75
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-06 15:20 EST-0500

Or, closer to your max budget for more graphics power:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Biostar Hi-Fi B85S3+ Ver. 6.x Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($58.00 @ Newegg)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 380 4GB PCS+ Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Enermax ECA3212-BL ATX Mid Tower Case ($36.00 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Fractal Design Tesla R2 500W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: Masscool FD12025B1H3/4 81.0 CFM 120mm Fan ($4.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $493.75
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-06 15:23 EST-0500

Another option to reduce cost would be to step down from the i5 to an i3. Your CPU won't be very much of an upgrade, but you can fit a stronger graphics card or just lower cost about $75.

 

[blazorthon]

For high end, yes, Intel is better.

Yes, you need a new motherboard.

What do you want to do with those three monitors? If you want to play three-monitor gaming, then you might need to lower settings or resolution drastically if you aren't playing very light games because you'd need to spend your entire budget just or the graphics card to get a card that can handle that with higher settings in more intensive games.

 

[AridTalons]

As said above, you can keep the RAM as its DDR3 RAM. I checked up on your motherboard and its a DDR3 board. Your RAM is probably telling you that you can only use 6GB of RAM as the OS is taking 2GB of RAM to run. The hard drive can be used again as well. Just format it and do a clean install of Windows. I also wouldn't suggest salvaging the power supply as its probably a low wattage, piece of crap from HP.

Since you want a "high end" system and you're on a tight budget I suggest grabbing an AMD CPU. The FX-6300 is a six core, low wattage CPU that can be had for less the $100. You might want to consider spending a little more on a motherboard if you want a high end one from the 990FX lineup. Or you could save some money and grab this board: ASUS M5A97 R2.0 AM3+. Its a nice budget board with plenty of features.

 

[mfaulk]

For high end, yes, Intel is better.

Yes, you need a new motherboard.

What do you want to do with those three monitors? If you want to play three-monitor gaming, then you might need to lower settings or resolution drastically if you aren't playing very light games because you'd need to spend your entire budget just or the graphics card to get a card that can handle that with higher settings in more intensive games.

Currently I am using a two monitor setup and its mostly because I enjoy the handiness of multiple monitors. OK lets restrict it to two. I think I was getting a little too excited. Thank you for those recomendations ! I would like to add more RAM, maybe another 4GB stick. Would that be applicable with the setups you gave me?

 

[mfaulk]

ALSO: What about fans? Fans are fans right. I have two in mine >.> Could those be used? Haha I probably seem like im trying to salvage everything but if I could salvage those I could put more money into upgrading the other stuff.

 

[blazorthon]

If you're not playing intensive games across all monitors, you can use three just fine. Its only a problem in intensive games.

The fans are reusable if they're the correct size for the case. The case that I suggested has slots for another three 120mm fans or one 120mm fan and one 140mm fan. That's approximately five inches and six inches. Smaller fans are not compatible, so measure how tall your fans are.

You shouldn't mix memory. If you want more than 8GB, then you should to buy a 2x8GB kit for 16GB. Memory sold in kits is guaranteed to work together. Otherwise there is never a guarantee (not even with memory of the same model).

 

[mfaulk]

If you're not playing intensive games across all monitors, you can use three just fine. Its only a problem in intensive games.

The fans are reusable if they're the correct size for the case. The case that I suggested has slots for another three 120mm fans or one 120mm fan and one 140mm fan. That's approximately five inches and six inches. Smaller fans are not compatible, so measure how tall your fans are.

You shouldn't mix memory. If you want more than 8GB, then you should to buy a 2x8GB kit for 16GB. Memory sold in kits is guaranteed to work together. Otherwise there is never a guarantee (not even with memory of the same model).

I want to be able to run the latest games and do many tasks at once. I think 8GB should be ok to stick with ... ? haha

 

[blazorthon]

16GB might be better for heavy multitasking, but 8GB is usually fine right now. I can't say how much longer that will be true for, however. I occasionally find the 8GB in my laptop to be insufficient and need to close some things to keep working.