[SOLVED] I want to build a PC for my dad

[Rappa_]

My dad will turn 50 soon and I would like to build him something for his birthday or get the parts and assemble it together. His current PC was my 1st ever using an awful CPU. It doesn't have to be overkill or with the newest parts. In fact, I could pick up one of our now-replaced PCs from work which is a HP Elite 7500. It has an i5 3470, 8GB of Kingston DDR3 and a DVD Drive which I wanted to use. I'm a student so I don't have much money, things I have lying around are a KFA2 750TI,a decent PSU with 400W and an SSD and one HDD.

So, what I'd need would be a mainboard (I don't think the stock HP one would be useful), a Case and a cpu fan, no?

Before you ask, my dad plays World of Tanks and AoE, Borderlands and Skyrim.

I'd be really happy if someone could help me with this one

 

[Mtop]

Look thru systems first, many have asked this question.
Then you need to decide on a budget, Processor and motherboard for needed tasks. When I made my build I opted for the most sata connections for storage which limited choices.

 

[Obakasama]

Is there any particular reason for wanting to replace the motherboard of the original PC? In doing so you'd need to find a compatible one, at a certain cost, and it doesn't really gain any benefit. That said, whether the HP motherboard can be transferred into a new case could be an issue (some prebuilt motherboards don't quite match industry spec for standoffs).

 

[Rappa_]

I just don't know if it's okay to use for gaming, then again... I don't know much about PC parts so I was just wondering.

The Mainboard in question is the HP PMMB-FM

 

[Obakasama]

In that case then you don't need to replace the motherboard. It works with the components you have after all, so it would seem like unnecessary expenditure to me if you're on a budget.

From what I can find out about the motherboard it should use standard ATX stand offs, so you should be safe to install it in a new case (just make sure it's big enough). It looks like it uses standard ATX power connector too, so you should be fine there with a different PSU. If you can, then perhaps upload a photo and link here for more opinions (and hopefully confirmation).

I think you're on the right lines about the way you want to upgrade it. If possible I would look into perhaps replacing the original RAM with a 16GB DDR3 kit. It should game okay, depending on expectations. There will be some limitations, especially on the graphics side as the GTX 750ti was a fairly budget card at the time (but it was good).

 

[Rappa_]

He's using an Fx4100 at the moment, everything is better than that

thanks for your heads up though, I'll be sure to post a picture of the final result (pre-built or assembled together) once his birthday rolls around

 

[hang-the-9]

That HP motherboard looks like a standard Micro ATX board, which is nice since you can get any micro ATX case and stick that in it, that is really all you will need, along with your 750Ti and SSD it will be a nice setup for not demanding games. I was looking at smaller cases recently, I like the design of this white one https://www.newegg.com/white-darkflash-dlm-21-micro-atx/p/2AM-008X-00007 It would depend on what colors your dad likes. You can even get some nice sleeved cable extensions and combs and make the thing look pretty custom even with the HP motherboard, especially if you find some RAM sets with colored heatspreaders or just buy some for what you have. Same thing for a heatsink and fan for the CPU, spending $20-30 on something that looks and works nicer than the stock HP one is probably worth it.
https://www.amazon.com/LINKUP-Sleev...t=&hvlocphy=9001834&hvtargid=pla-574179862776

It will look like this in a case, of course colors is up to you, there are plenty to pick from, but I bet if he sees a case in color he likes with a window with a nice clean cable setup he will be smiling like a kid LOL

 

[Rappa_]

Hey everyone, me and my dad came around to assemble the PC today. I've asked him if he wanted anything changed (case, cpu fan, new RAM) before putting it together but he didn't want any of that. The Cable management is not the best, but the PC works perfectly fine and he is very, very happy with the result. Thanks for all your suggestions

 

[Obakasama]

Nice. And cable management isn't the easiest thing to do.....