Computer geeks Bunny needs you...

[Aethian]

So as I posted I got a new guy in my life and he did something really special...got me a desktop computer that I can hook up to my tv. It's a okay...model but it's a freak computer. I need to know if I can reuse the case for a nicer mother board and CPU. I don't think I'll be able to add in the video card I want but we'll see. Don't have specs on me right now but I can post them when I get home along with pictures. I mostly wanted to get this thread started so some of you can prepare yourself for the answers.

[Chromatix]

The key thing is whether it uses standard form-factor parts inside or not.

The motherboard will either be ATX, Micro-ATX or Mini-ITX (in descending order of size) if so, and the PSU will need to have an ATX 20- or 24-pin plus a 12V 4- or 8-pin plug, plus preferably a 6-pin PCIe plug. It doesn't matter if the optical drive is something odd, since you'll be able to keep that.

Do post photos, especially of the insides and the back panel.

[Aethian]

I pulled up some of the specs from the place where my wonderful lunkhead <3 got the computer.


Gateway SX2110G-UW23 Desktop PC:

Key Features and Benefits:

AMD E1-1500 accelerated processor
1.48GHz, 1MB Total Cache

6GB DDR3 SDRAM system memory (expandable to 8GB)
Gives you the power to handle most power-hungry applications and tons of multimedia work

500GB SATA hard drive
Store 333,000 photos, 142,000 songs or 263 hours of HD video and more

16x SuperMulti DVD drive
Watch movies, and read and write CDs and DVDs in multiple formats

10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet
Connect to a broadband modem or wired broadband router with wired Ethernet

Integrated AMD Radeon HD7310 Graphics

Additional Features:
1 memory card reader
6 x USB 2.0 ports, 1 x headphone HD jack, 1 x microphone HD jack, 1 x RJ-45 Ethernet port, 3 x audio ports, 1 x VGA port, 1 x HDMI port, 2 x PS/2 ports
1 x PCI Express (x16) slot, 1 x PCI Express (x1) slot, 1 x 5.25" bay, 1 x 3.5" bay


Pictures will come after I get home this evening.

[Chromatix]

An interesting little machine. Seems to be meant as a nettop rather than a full-blown desktop. The m/board will doubtless be the smallest type, Mini-ITX, which does make it more difficult to fid a high-powered upgrade - but not completely impossible. The case is very small, and the availability of decent graphics cards will be very restricted unless there is a riser adapter, but that in turn would probably interfere with the heatsink required for a good CPU.

At this point it is necessary to ask - what do you want to use it for, or what are you currently having trouble with? The AMD E-series CPU and integrated graphics should be sufficient for all basic tasks, but it would struggle with many games. Poor performance on basic tasks would be better corrected with a disk upgrade, or a switch to Linux instead of Windows.

[Aethian]

I think it's insides could fit nicely into one of the older laptop shells. I'll use a ruler against the case when I take the pictures if that will help.

But you've hit the nail on the head. A lot of my games refuse to even download because they say they can't be played at all or the quality will be too poor. Some of them are just on the line of being good but the CPU is just a bit to slow. One says it will run fine but I'm constantly getting stuck at very poor frame rates which have cost me game death more then once.

[Chromatix]

That sounds about right. I have an E-450 box here which is reasonably similar, but since the case is bigger I've been able to try it with a better graphics card as well. The built-in graphics is fully featured but has very weak performance, and that's probably what is holding back the games that will run.

I have a couple of potential solutions in mind, but I'll need to see the photos before I commit to any of them. The ruler will probably not be necessary, as long as I have a clear view of the back panel.

[Aethian]

I thought I could get into the machine itself but the case is riveted shut. :/

[Chromatix]

Upgrading it at all is going to be very difficult if you can't get inside the case.

Fortunately, I don't think it's completely inaccessible. Looking from the back panel, there is clearly a handle for opening the case built into the left-hand panel (which corresponds to the "top" of the machine when opening it for servicing). Either side of the handle, there seems to be a screw holding the panel closed, disguised with a tamper-evident warranty sticker.

Assuming that is the case, we are indeed looking at a Mini-ITX machine, I think. The specs list two PCIe slots, and there are two "low profile" slot covers visible at one end of the back panel. So, at minimum, you could put in a better graphics card, such as this one. That wouldn't solve the problem with the games that refuse to even install (since those are looking at the CPU speed, probably requiring 2.0 GHz minimum), but it would help a lot with the ones that now run slowly.

For a more comprehensive upgrade, there are two paths you could take. One is to use an Intel CPU and a separate graphics card (ie. the one linked above). The other is to build using an AMD A-series APU, essentially the big brother of the E-series you currently have. This would give you noticeably better graphics than you currently have, without needing a separate graphics card, and also giving a fast enough CPU to allow your other games to install properly. You can then still add a dedicated graphics card if the built-in one turns out to not quite be enough.

For the Intel build, you'll need the graphics card above PLUS a motherboard and a CPU. I've chosen a CPU with a low power requirement, since the PSU in the machine is not very strong *and* the small case will make cooling difficult.

For the AMD build, you'll need a motherboard and a CPU, which in this case is available as a handy bundle. Here, the separate video card is probably not necessary, so it's overall cheaper and the relatively high power requirements of the CPU are more easily accommodated.

In both cases you could use the RAM from the existing machine, although the new machine may perform slightly better with a matched pair of modules. This will be particularly important for the AMD build, since the graphics performance will also depend on this memory.

It's probably feasible to build a cheaper version of the AMD build using a less powerful version of the processor, if cost is going to be a problem.

[Aethian]

I think I want to go with the intel specs instead of the AMD build. Not this paycheck but the next one I'll be able to order the three pieces. Would it be possible to go with the i5 or i7 CPU tho? Or would I need to look into then changing the power supply? I don't think I'm going to have to worry about air flow too much since the one side I didn't show is about 75% air flow holes.

How long could I get away with the memory sticks I have before I would need to change then? Or should this be a once and for all change over?

[Chromatix]

I think the PSU and case should be able to cope with the variants of the Core i5 and i7 that are specifically set up for low power consumption. One problem is that they are substantially more expensive. You probably won't get a major improvement (to justify the major price hike) from getting a Core i7, but the upgrade from dual to quad core probably makes sense for getting a Core i5.

Core i5
Core i7

The RAM you already have will be one 4GB and one 2GB module. This will work fine in the new board, but because the sizes are not matched, the system can't spread the traffic evenly between the two channels. (The AMD E-series only has one channel, to which both modules are attached.)

However, this won't be as big a problem on the Intel build as it would be on the AMD build, because you're using a dedicated graphics card which has it's own memory for the really heavy data lifting. So there might be a performance improvement from using a matched pair, but it's not going to be a crippling problem either way.

If you are going to wait to upgrade the RAM, then you might consider getting 16GB instead of 8GB. That will make it a worthwhile upgrade for two reasons rather than just one. It will also max out the system, so that you won't be throwing anything away in future.

[Aethian]

Mom came up with a question that I hadn't noticed. Do I still need the graphics card right away with the i7 cpu?

[Chromatix]

Technically, you can run the Intel-based system with the built-in Intel graphics for a while. That won't really help the gaming performance though, especially the games that already run but are slow. In general, Intel graphics are very slow, even though their CPU cores are fast and efficient.

You could however spend that time setting up the OS, and *installing* all the games that refused to install on the E-series CPU.

Or you could buy the graphics card first, fit it to the E-series board now, and start playing some of your games better (the ones which don't mind a slow CPU). Then, when you take out the E-series board and replace it with the Intel one, just slot the graphics card in that again.