[SOLVED] Replacement for the motherboard on a 12-year-old PC

[flint5]

Hello. I need to upgrade my old PC with minimal investment. The task is to increase the amount of RAM to at least 8GB (16Gb would be great). My current motherboard supports a maximum of 4GB. So, the plan is to replace it and add more RAM, if possible without replacing the rest of the hardware.

My current build looks like this:

• CPU: DualCore Intel Pentium E5200, 2533 MHz (12.5 x 203)
• Motherboard: Asus P5KPL-C/1600 (3 PCI, 1 PCI-E x1, 1 PCI-E x16, 2 DDR2 DIMM, Audio, Gigabit LAN)
• Motherboard Chipset: Intel Bearlake G31
• System Memory: 4096 MB (DDR2-800 DDR2 SDRAM)
• Video: GeForce 8800 GT (512 MB)
• Power Supply: 500 W

I already have a slightly more powerful used ASUS P5QL / EPU Intel LGA775 ATX motherboard that I'm going to replace mine with. This motherboard supports 16GB of RAM and is compatible with my CPU (as far as I figured out this issue).

So, my main question is: do I need to install a more powerful power supply if I install ASUS P5QL motherboard? Is it necessary, or 500W PSU is enough for 8/16 Gb RAM?

I will also be grateful if you would be so kind as to answer an additional question:

Is my graphics card compatible with ASUS P5QL / EPU Intel LGA775 motherboard?

Thank you all in advance for your answers.

 

[USAFRet]

For a 12 year old PSU that was probably low end when it was new...you probably need to replace it.

Not necessarily "more powerful", but...new.

 

[SkyNetRising]

do I need to install a more powerful power supply if I install ASUS P5QL motherboard? Is it necessary, or 500W PSU is enough for 8/16 Gb RAM?

What is the exact brand/model name of your PSU?

Upgrade from 4GB (2 modules) to 16GB (4 modules) wouldn't cause much of power requirement increase.
It's ~ 3-5 W per DDR2 ram module. So if current PSU is fine, then it would be also fine after memory upgrade.

Is my graphics card compatible with ASUS P5QL / EPU Intel LGA775 motherboard?

Yes.

 

[punkncat]

I have not done any research on the parts you posted, but as a VERY general response.

IF that motherboard supports the CPU and RAM AND is the same size format/fit as is what is in your case now I see no particular reason why you would need to change the PSU unless there is some missing proprietary connection that you can't find and adapter for.

 

[punkncat]

Of other mention, make sure you aren't on a 32bit OS.

 

[flint5]

SkyNetRising, thank you. Looks like PSU is fine, never seen problems with it.

What is the exact brand/model name of your PSU?

My PSU is Gembird 500 W. I'm not very good at this, so I made a photo of the sticker.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/a7d4at3l4mb9hun/P00729-152849.jpg?dl=0

punkncat, thank you, too.

IF that motherboard supports the CPU and RAM AND is the same size format/fit as is what is in your case now I see no particular reason why you would need to change the PSU unless there is some missing proprietary connection that you can't find and adapter for.

Yes, the size is the same, Form Factor ATX.

Of other mention, make sure you aren't on a 32bit OS.

I'm on a 64bit OS MS Windows.

 

[SkyNetRising]

My PSU is Gembird 500 W. I'm not very good at this, so I made a photo of the sticker.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/a7d4at3l4mb9hun/P00729-152849.jpg?dl=0

That is essentially 204W PSU (17A on 12V rail). Replace it. It's a crap/fire hazard.
GT8800 requires 350W minimum PSU.

 

[flint5]

That is essentially 204W PSU (17A on 12V rail). Replace it. It's a crap/fire hazard.
GT8800 requires 350W minimum PSU.

SkyNetRising, thanks for your answer. But are you sure about that? Just trying to figure out a real situation.

Because I was guided by the last column in the table on the sticker. And judging by it, this power supply is 500 watts.

This PC assembly was done for me in a store. I found a shortlist of the hardware they installed. And it states that the PSU is 500 watts. I don’t think that the guys from the store could have supplied such a weak PSU while installing this video card. In addition, it worked for 12 years and there were no problems with it.

I would like to replace it, but not now. At the moment, if this PSU is acceptable for the motherboard and 8/16 Gb RAM, I'd like to use it for a while.

 

[SkyNetRising]

But are you sure about that?

Yes. Sure.

Because I was guided by the last column in the table on the sticker. And judging by it, this power supply is 500 watts.

It's 204W PSU, marketed as 500W. If you put 500W load on it, it will blow up, kill every component in your pc and then may be also burn down your house.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6snWfd1v7M&t=7s

 

[flint5]

Yes. Sure.

It's 204W PSU, marketed as 500W. If you put 500W load on it, it will blow up, kill every component in your pc and then may be also burn down your house.

SkyNetRising, thank you a lot. Now I see where I was wrong. Will replace it.