I have a Compaq Presario CQ5320F Desktop set-up for my 3 daughters. It will remain primarily a web surfing, homework/word processing, entertainment (music, pics) machine. Recently, it just failed to start. Ran it to Geek Squad who provided "free" diagnosis and isolated the Motherboard. I'm a novice, this is my first, but I'd like to get into the case and replace/upgrade it myself verses canning it because it already has a PowerSource upgrade (EVGA 80plus 500W) and dedicated video card upgrade (EVGA Nvidia GEFORCE GT 610) and RAM expansion to 8GB (2x4GB DDR3 DIMM 240pin PC3-10600). I did these things trying to get WIN10 Home Edition 64bit working. So, the WIN10 is also a clean install USB Media Creator which I have.
I am hoping you can just give me some quick plug-n-play aftermarket solutions. My head is spinning. I've discovered the threads here, started a build and component record on PCPartPicker and listings on Egghead. Seems my options are:
1. Get same motherboard: Pegatron Narra6 mATX w/ NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce 430 chipset, AM3 socket, 2xDDR3, 1xPCIx16 slot, 2xPCI x1, 1PCI. and hopefully AMD Athlon II x2 240 CPU is okay and OS boots up. I realize this is a pretty basic machine.
2. Upgrade Motherboard & CPU --- within reason < cost of new machine or $200? Future upgrades of SSD and RAM are possible. But, as I move into this domain, all the many variables start to confuse:
Will I ever get BIOS and OS back running?
If I've upgraded motherboard and CPU - what other components constrain performance and put a cap on MB & CPU upgrade?
What else do I need to share to get a few product ideas. You can see where I started heading on PCPartPicker - but, thought I was constrained by AM3 socket.
Thanks in advance,
CigarXO
I am hoping you can just give me some quick plug-n-play aftermarket solutions. My head is spinning. I've discovered the threads here, started a build and component record on PCPartPicker and listings on Egghead. Seems my options are:
1. Get same motherboard: Pegatron Narra6 mATX w/ NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce 430 chipset, AM3 socket, 2xDDR3, 1xPCIx16 slot, 2xPCI x1, 1PCI. and hopefully AMD Athlon II x2 240 CPU is okay and OS boots up. I realize this is a pretty basic machine.
2. Upgrade Motherboard & CPU --- within reason < cost of new machine or $200? Future upgrades of SSD and RAM are possible. But, as I move into this domain, all the many variables start to confuse:
Will I ever get BIOS and OS back running?
If I've upgraded motherboard and CPU - what other components constrain performance and put a cap on MB & CPU upgrade?
What else do I need to share to get a few product ideas. You can see where I started heading on PCPartPicker - but, thought I was constrained by AM3 socket.
Thanks in advance,
CigarXO