Computer gurus, I need help

bert873

So I've been having problems lately with my desktop. First there was an overheating issue but I took it apart pulled the heatsinc off the processor and cleaned it/re applied thermal compound and that has been fixed. My problem now is when the computer is supposed to go to sleep the monitor does but the tower won't. Then when I go to wake it up it won't wake up and I have to hold the power button down to turn it off and then turn it back on. When I go to turn it back on it makes a constant beeping noise which I will post a video of in just a bit. I then have to unplug the power cord for a few moments and re-plug it in and everything is fine after that.

bert873

Well it wouldn't let me post the video directly but here's a link to it.
http://vid1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh530/bert387/random/D4A77A59-82E2-4BDC-AA7E-DD3AB96DF957_zps9g1afxoe.mp4

0patience

Sounds like your power supply is failing.
Either that or your processor heat sink isn't working right.
This is the power supply we just bought for my son's gaming computer, because he was having troubles.

Is the fan coming on all the time or at all?

bert873

I did a little research and I was thinking it could be the power supply. I'll look into seeing if that one will work with my computer. 
Yes the fan does come on. 

0patience

What are you running? Windows 7 or 10?
What memory (how much memory) and what processor (Ghz)?

What brand and model?
I'm assuming it's a tower?

avengethis

First thing I would try is clearing your CMOS. Easiest thing is to disconnect power cord and remove the battery. Then hit power button to drain any power from the system. Put battery back in, plug in cord and power back up

bert873

0patience said:

What are you running? Windows 7 or 10?
What memory (how much memory) and what processor (Ghz)?

What brand and model?
I'm assuming it's a tower?

Windows 10. 
Memory 6144mb
ram 6gb
AMD Athlon II x4 630 processor 2.80 Ghz

HP
model p6310y 

yes it's a tower

bert873

avengethis said:

First thing I would try is clearing your CMOS. Easiest thing is to disconnect power cord and remove the battery. Then hit power button to drain any power from the system. Put battery back in, plug in cord and power back up

I will try this tomorrow

Nolagizmo

Based on audio it should be power suply. I can give you an accurate answer after 8am tomorrow. Good diagnosis @0patience

bert873

avengethis said:

First thing I would try is clearing your CMOS. Easiest thing is to disconnect power cord and remove the battery. Then hit power button to drain any power from the system. Put battery back in, plug in cord and power back up

Gave this a try and still having the same issues so looks like I'll be replacing the psu. How do I go about making sure I'm purchasing a compatible psu? I want to upgrade it enough that I can upgrade the graphics card down the road.

0patience

bert873 said:

avengethis said:

First thing I would try is clearing your CMOS. Easiest thing is to disconnect power cord and remove the battery. Then hit power button to drain any power from the system. Put battery back in, plug in cord and power back up

Gave this a try and still having the same issues so looks like I'll be replacing the psu. How do I go about making sure I'm purchasing a compatible psu? I want to upgrade it enough that I can upgrade the graphics card down the road.

My son's PC is a full on gaming computer with a 4GB graphics card.
One of the gaming sites he visits recommended the EVGA 600W power supply, because it would handle everything he needed it to do.
It fits in the HP tower my son has.

He plays Wolrd of Warcrack and a ton of other games and works on games.

But he warned me that this power supply is a beast. If you have a fan running to your HD or disk drives (which he said mostly gamers run these), then you'll play hell getting the fan back in after installing the power supply.
But he said EVGA has a forum and they can answer any questions.

jgibv

I like corsair brand power supply.  You can go to pcpartpicker.com, enter all your components + graphics card you may want and see what compatible power supplies are available.


Also, run Command Prompt as Administrator and enter "sfc /scannow" to see if you have any corrupt Windows files.  If so you may just need to repair the files and that could fix the issues.

bert873

jgibv said:

I like corsair brand power supply.  You can go to pcpartpicker.com, enter all your components + graphics card you may want and see what compatible power supplies are available.


Also, run Command Prompt as Administrator and enter "sfc /scannow" to see if you have any corrupt Windows files.  If so you may just need to repair the files and that could fix the issues.

Thanks I'll give that a try. 

bert873

I play Diablo 3 and it plays like crap cause my graphics card isn't good enough. I was looking at what people are replacing it with and saw a lot of bad reviews about the motherboard that's in this hp and everyone was saying to just save the $ and build a better computer. If I did build one do you think I would be able to salvage some of the parts from this one without any issues? (hard drive, cd/dvd drive, etc)

jgibv

Yes you *should* be able to salvage the HDD, optical drive, and maybe even the ram....but there's definitely newer/faster versions available.

if you do decide to build a new comp you may want to consider upgrading some of those parts (like an SSD for your OS & Diablo 3 for faster load times)....but you could still use the existing HDD for media/doc storage/etc.

and you may have to get all new RAM depending on your motherboard

Nolagizmo

Devils advocate. It's better to get a barebones with right processor drop your money in ram and video card and give yourself extra power on ps.
Don't keep putting band aids on open wounds.

I make money for best buy on people that won't give up the dead outdated pc (which yours is OK for 1 to 2 more years and not dead)  get the right solution that will last way more than a couple of years IMHO .
You can build great for 600 to 1k and be set for years with the ability to upgrade as needed 3-5 years from now. Beren builds great pc's I like his style.

bert873

Nolagizmo said:

Devils advocate. It's better to get a barebones with right processor drop your money in ram and video card and give yourself extra power on ps.
Don't keep putting band aids on open wounds.

I make money for best buy on people that won't give up the dead outdated pc (which yours is OK for 1 to 2 more years and not dead)  get the right solution that will last way more than a couple of years IMHO .
You can build great for 600 to 1k and be set for years with the ability to upgrade as needed 3-5 years from now. Beren builds great pc's I like his style.

Are you saying just get everything brand new? If I wiped my existing hard drive would I be able to use it? Just wandering as I would like to try and save $ where I can. 

Nolagizmo

You can use your hard drive. Hard drives aren't expensive though. The major money is video card and processor and motherboard.

0patience

You shouldn't have to wipe your hard drive.

bert873

0patience said:

You shouldn't have to wipe your hard drive.

Oh ok. I was researching different builds and kept reading comments that said it would mess things up by having the HD with driver software to different processors. 

bert873

I also assume that any graphics card I get for gaming will be sufficient enough for photo editing. I'm wanting to get into light photo editing as well. 

Crisius

I spent 2k on mine. Been building my own computers since I was 8. You don't have to wipe a hard drive. When you install the new card, you just have to uninstall the old video drivers and install the new ones. Which is a simple process.

If you are looking at a new build, use http://www.pcpartpicker.com/

For people new to building, it is a great resource. You can price everything out there, it will tell you what type of Power Supply you need. It's really great helping people figure out a build.

0patience

bert873 said:

I also assume that any graphics card I get for gaming will be sufficient enough for photo editing. I'm wanting to get into light photo editing as well. 

I do graphis work (vinyl cutting, image editting and logo making) on my PC. My graphis card is probably half the card my son's gaming card is, so anything set up to do gaming should easily handle what ever photo editing you will do.

I can run Adobe Illustrator, Corel and Inkscape at the same time with a 2 gb graphics card.

EssPee2u

I remember when I had these questions, used to build my own pc's, switch from intel to AMD, etc etc...reminds me why I am happy I switched to Apple three years ago.  However I must say that I don't use them for gaming.

bert873

EssPee2u said:

I remember when I had these questions, used to build my own pc's, switch from intel to AMD, etc etc...reminds me why I am happy I switched to Apple three years ago.  However I must say that I don't use them for gaming.

I thought about getting a Mac but just don't have that much extra cash

bert873

Thanks for all the input so far. Since I don't even know where to start when picking out the hardware I've just been searching various builds. I found this one. Does this sound like a good setup?

http://pcbuildsonabudget.com/best-gaming-pc-build-under-500-dollars-2016

bert873

And would that setup allow for easy upgrades down the road?

avengethis

That would be a very solid build. The 1 suggestion I have would be run the 1tb drive for storage and not often used programs and added a SSD for your operating system and frequently used programs.

[Deleted User]

Nice build. I can't believe how much SSD prices have dropped...

bert873

Just ordered the parts for the build. When I get them do I just assemble and turn on or are there other steps I need to take?

avengethis

You need a copy of Windows or Linux.