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Thinking of Upgrading PC

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KingofKaboom
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19 Apr 2009, 2:42 pm

Alright I have an Emachines EL1200-07w
I just tried to play a game on it and it tells me that I have too little Memory and my CPU frequency is too low as well....

I was wondering if it would be worth it or even possible to upgrade it so that it would be better off... Keep in mind that I'm not rich or skilled with computers beyond basics so any ideas would be great... oh and the game was "Assassin's Creed" so it doesn't meet it's minimum Req....


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19 Apr 2009, 3:15 pm

Look for a used machine, or a barebones PC on which you can install XP if you still have an old disc. Or you could buy the components yourself and put one together cheap. There are online guides to doing so, and it likely is not as difficult as it sounds.


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kip
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19 Apr 2009, 3:30 pm

Isn't that the computer you just bought? If it is, return it, and go buy something... better. You can get lappys that will play that game for petes sake.

To stay in your budget, you might look for something used...


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KingofKaboom
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19 Apr 2009, 3:43 pm

Well I have my old PC which is busting b/c of overheating and I was thinking of upgrading it since I have this new one. My PC is filthy on the inside I could try and clean it out to see if it's still the overheating causing it to shut off and not the motherboard like the lappy it's a T4480 would it be possible to upgrade it on the side overtime?

And I'm not buying any new comp's unless I have to used or otherwise, I wanna try and make a custom computer ultimately...


As for getting rid of this one not gonna happen it serves it's purpose and I can't be off the web for such a long time besides if I can save my other PC I can give this to my bro who simply can't afford this with a baby to care for and all....

Incidentally I just think it would be fun to do upgrading my own PC


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kip
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19 Apr 2009, 5:42 pm

KingofKaboom wrote:
Well I have my old PC which is busting b/c of overheating and I was thinking of upgrading it since I have this new one. My PC is filthy on the inside I could try and clean it out to see if it's still the overheating causing it to shut off and not the motherboard like the lappy it's a T4480 would it be possible to upgrade it on the side overtime?

And I'm not buying any new comp's unless I have to used or otherwise, I wanna try and make a custom computer ultimately...


As for getting rid of this one not gonna happen it serves it's purpose and I can't be off the web for such a long time besides if I can save my other PC I can give this to my bro who simply can't afford this with a baby to care for and all....

Incidentally I just think it would be fun to do upgrading my own PC


K, well ram upgrades will be quick and easy, but all that really does is make your computer faster. If you need a faster processor, you'll be better of taking that comp back and getting something faster. Proc upgrades are a pain, most boards have a limited range of processors they can take. But, you can take the specs to any store and tell them you want to upgrade it. They'll be able to walk you through swapping out parts, which honestly isn't that hard.


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KingofKaboom
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19 Apr 2009, 5:59 pm

Well I don't want to tinker with the one I bough b/c mostly it has a warranty I don't wanna void but if I open my other one will it explode or zap me? I only ask b/c if I want to clean it out and check the innards out I'll need to know that :oops:


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kip
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19 Apr 2009, 6:17 pm

KingofKaboom wrote:
Well I don't want to tinker with the one I bough b/c mostly it has a warranty I don't wanna void but if I open my other one will it explode or zap me? I only ask b/c if I want to clean it out and check the innards out I'll need to know that :oops:


Naw, the only thing that would zap you is the power supply innards, you would have to fight to get to those. The main harm would be if you were to zap your computer. Grab a hold of anywhere on the case before touching any chips and then you'll be good.


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KingofKaboom
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19 Apr 2009, 6:23 pm

Awesome, yeah I just opened it and I gotta say it's so obscenely dirty with dust I can't believe it worked at ALL! I mean I moved one fan over and it was just a pad of dust! I don't know how to clean all this out so I'll move one part at a time with cotton swabs and dust spray.... Also how would I go about getting a new OS for it? Assuming it works the old one would be fine except I really think it's full of viruses and just want to upgrade and wipe it clean... It has XP but I lost the disc to recover it so I dunno..


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19 Apr 2009, 7:02 pm

KingofKaboom wrote:
Awesome, yeah I just opened it and I gotta say it's so obscenely dirty with dust I can't believe it worked at ALL! I mean I moved one fan over and it was just a pad of dust! I don't know how to clean all this out so I'll move one part at a time with cotton swabs and dust spray.... Also how would I go about getting a new OS for it? Assuming it works the old one would be fine except I really think it's full of viruses and just want to upgrade and wipe it clean... It has XP but I lost the disc to recover it so I dunno..


Vaccum it. Use the softer bristle ones, it's a LOT faster than qtips.

And... by all technical means, you could download it. It's the key that makes it a legal copy, and the key is what MS really frets about. You could also try a linux distro, as those are pretty much all free, but it's up to you if you want to learn a new OS. Also, Dell reinstall disks work on ANYTHING, so get a dell disk from a friend. Barring that, if your friend has a generic windows XP disk, the same version, like home or pro? You could use that to install.

Check the fans while you're in there. If any of them spin really slowly, or have broke blades, they won't move air properly and they will cause overheating. They break pretty easy when unbalanced by dust.


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19 Apr 2009, 7:47 pm

KingofKaboom wrote:
Awesome, yeah I just opened it and I gotta say it's so obscenely dirty with dust I can't believe it worked at ALL! I mean I moved one fan over and it was just a pad of dust! I don't know how to clean all this out so I'll move one part at a time with cotton swabs and dust spray.... Also how would I go about getting a new OS for it? Assuming it works the old one would be fine except I really think it's full of viruses and just want to upgrade and wipe it clean... It has XP but I lost the disc to recover it so I dunno..


A combination of sprayed dry air and a vacuum within a few inches(dont get too close) will do the trick. You might never get the film of dust off, but the lumps and clumps need to be removed. On the CPU heat sink, under the fan, pay special close attention.

Unfortunately power supplies can get gunked up too. You dont want to open that though. While you are in the case, take note of some numbers, such as the wattage rating of the power supply. it will be labeled with a sticker. These things are good to know..

If you have a ribbon cable from the motherboard to the hard drive and cd rom, you can replace them with a rounded style which allows better circulation. If you are using sata cables, then no worries.


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KingofKaboom
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19 Apr 2009, 7:49 pm

Well I have an industrial vacuum... and lots and lots of Q-tips ha..

Anyway I don't suppose you could help me find one assuming it's not forbidden to tell me if you can PM me b/c I've looked b4 on torrent and such I just can't find one...


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KingofKaboom
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19 Apr 2009, 7:51 pm

Fuzzy wrote:
KingofKaboom wrote:
Awesome, yeah I just opened it and I gotta say it's so obscenely dirty with dust I can't believe it worked at ALL! I mean I moved one fan over and it was just a pad of dust! I don't know how to clean all this out so I'll move one part at a time with cotton swabs and dust spray.... Also how would I go about getting a new OS for it? Assuming it works the old one would be fine except I really think it's full of viruses and just want to upgrade and wipe it clean... It has XP but I lost the disc to recover it so I dunno..


A combination of sprayed dry air and a vacuum within a few inches(dont get too close) will do the trick. You might never get the film of dust off, but the lumps and clumps need to be removed. On the CPU heat sink, under the fan, pay special close attention.

Unfortunately power supplies can get gunked up too. You dont want to open that though. While you are in the case, take note of some numbers, such as the wattage rating of the power supply. it will be labeled with a sticker. These things are good to know..

If you have a ribbon cable from the motherboard to the hard drive and cd rom, you can replace them with a rounded style which allows better circulation. If you are using sata cables, then no worries.
I don't know which it is actually... or whats what inside there :/.... I'm just gonna look around and try to clean it up as best I can


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kip
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19 Apr 2009, 8:21 pm

It's against forum rules for me to tell you exactly where to go, but I can tell you a google search for 'emachines recovery disk' yields some promising results.

If you're willing to pay, here's a link directly to emachines: LINK


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19 Apr 2009, 8:30 pm

KingofKaboom wrote:
Fuzzy wrote:
KingofKaboom wrote:
Awesome, yeah I just opened it and I gotta say it's so obscenely dirty with dust I can't believe it worked at ALL! I mean I moved one fan over and it was just a pad of dust! I don't know how to clean all this out so I'll move one part at a time with cotton swabs and dust spray.... Also how would I go about getting a new OS for it? Assuming it works the old one would be fine except I really think it's full of viruses and just want to upgrade and wipe it clean... It has XP but I lost the disc to recover it so I dunno..


A combination of sprayed dry air and a vacuum within a few inches(dont get too close) will do the trick. You might never get the film of dust off, but the lumps and clumps need to be removed. On the CPU heat sink, under the fan, pay special close attention.

Unfortunately power supplies can get gunked up too. You dont want to open that though. While you are in the case, take note of some numbers, such as the wattage rating of the power supply. it will be labeled with a sticker. These things are good to know..

If you have a ribbon cable from the motherboard to the hard drive and cd rom, you can replace them with a rounded style which allows better circulation. If you are using sata cables, then no worries.
I don't know which it is actually... or whats what inside there :/.... I'm just gonna look around and try to clean it up as best I can


The power supply? Tts a box inside the computer, near the back, probably on the top, but sometimes at the bottom. The power cord plugs into that, and a bunch of 12volt cables are dispersed around the computer from there.

The ribbon cables are about 1/16 inch or 1 millimeter thick, and about 2 inches wide, or 5 centimeters. They are always too long, dangly, messy and twisted.

The CPU fan is the only one not mounted to the case. Its mounted to the circuit board. Under that will be a aluminum structure that looks sort of like a comb, with metal fingers pointing at the fan on top. You want to get as much of the dust out of that as you can.


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KingofKaboom
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19 Apr 2009, 8:32 pm

yeah I dunno if I'll pay but I do know that it won't work now... one the fans turn on but they never turn off ever..... Also I think I got the heat sink (assuming it's the little plate filled looking thing under a fan) at any rate the monitor won't acknowledge the old PC now it's being used fine on new desktop and it worked b4 on the old PC... I didn't break anything or disconnect anything sigh it just isn't working now... On another note the power box thing is filled with dust I can't get too.


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