Upgrading restarting PC, core2 to i3/i5?

[foladar]

Okay, my current PC (built in 2007) is restarting constantly, likely due to failing motherboard (I was able to switch the ram slots previously to cause it to stop rebooting) however all 4 ram slots cause a reboot now so, I'm considering upgrading ...

Current PC specs are e6400, ATX board [ECS], 2gb ddr2, Geforce 8600gt.

I generally (very) lightly game, some work on the PC (data entry), as well as lots of multi-tasking (watch a movie, doing some work, etc) ..

I was considering the i3 2100, however the i5 2400 is +$75 .. is it worth the performance? Should I consider micro as it seems to be quite cheaper? And has anyone tried the BIOSTAR TH67+? Essentially, it would likely be replacing the cpu/mobo/memory.

 

[Outlander_04]

Theres no performance difference between m-ATX and ATX motherboards . All you lose is a couple of expansion slots , and most people will never use those anyway .

For multi tasking then yes the quad would be the first choice and worth the price difference .


Have you tried increasing the voltage to the RAM in your current build?

 

[foladar]

I don't usually mess with overclocking or anything, I just run everything stock. I was considering picking up a 775 motherboard though, probably micro cuz it seems easier/cheaper, and fixing the current build & upgrading at a later date (black friday or so)

Are there recommended 775 mobos?

 

[Outlander_04]

a socket 775 wont take an i3 or i5 cpu .

The number is literally the number of pins on the processor , and needs to be matched to the motherboard socket .

Intel have 3 different sockets in production 1155 , 1156 , 1366 and they confusingly have no relationship to the i3, i5 , i7 brands .

Follow socket numbers

The i3 and i5 cpu's you mention need socket 1155 motherboards

 

[foladar]

Right I meant to grab a 775 motherboard and run the e6400 further into the ground, so to speak, as all the other parts seem 'adequate' and work, except the motherboard (I hope). It's a $50-$70 investment vs a $300 investment, plus I can watch the market instead of diving in now and find the best value.

And in the end, I'll have two working desktops, not just one, if I went that route.

 

[Outlander_04]

Right I meant to grab a 775 motherboard and run the e6400 further into the ground, so to speak, as all the other parts seem 'adequate' and work, except the motherboard (I hope). It's a $50-$70 investment vs a $300 investment, plus I can watch the market instead of diving in now and find the best value.

And in the end, I'll have two working desktops, not just one, if I went that route.

Sorry for the confusion .

Its probably not worth getting another socket 775 mb IMO .
If your windows is an OEM version of Vista or 7 you will probably have to factor that cost in as well

I would try tweaking RAM settings before you do anything else . Head to BIOS and see if you can tweak voltage settings and/or slacken timings . Im less sure its a motherboard fault

 

[foladar]

It's a retail version of Vista Ultimate. I have a second copy as well from a contest a while ago.

What would I do re: RAM settings? Reset to default? I've never messed with them, but I'm assuming it was a RAM issue as this happened two? months ago, with 4gb of ram in there, so I had to remove the other stick and go down to 1gb of ram, which I later installed one stick of 2gb, and the issue resolved for the time being. Fast forward another month, restarting again, switched to another memory slot, and fixed. Now it's restarting in any memory slot.

I haven't tried just 1gb of memory, but that would be painful with Vista.

 

[Outlander_04]

I think you should check in BIOS to see the RAM is set to its default timings and voltage . If it is then raise the voltage one 0.05 of a volt .
and/or ease the timings

The RAM might be a red herring and not the cause of the problem but its worth a bit of tweaking to see if you can stabilize the computer and maybe defer the cost of an upgrade IMO

 

[foladar]

I've tried other ram previously, it use to have 4gb but I had to reduce the PC down to 2gb due to restarting. I've tried other ram as well with the same issue.

 

[Outlander_04]

The RAM doesnt decide how much voltage to give its self .

Thats a motherboard setting , and even if the motherboard is set correctly its not unknown that RAM manufacturers are optimistic about the voltage and timings their RAM will run at

Since the cost is zero its definitely worth checking in BIOS

 

[foladar]

But it's been working for 3 years and just started within the last 3 months, is it possible for the motherboard to just change the setting like that?

 

[foladar]

For what it's worth, tried setting the timers or whatever, same issue. It restarts a couple times then just shuts off.

Pretty sure it's the motherboard due to last issues, and pretty sure it's not the ram/power supply as they're both new (last 6 months).

 

[foladar]

For what it's worth, replaced the motherboard and so far so good. Just figured I'd toss an update in and hope to not jinx myself.