# Suggestions on where to get a CPU



## sotzo (Aug 5, 2007)

I have an HP a1410n desktop. Only 1 yr old, but the motherboard recently went belly up. Anyone have any recommendations on where on the net I can find somebody who sells CPUs without all the peripherals (monitor, keyboard, etc)? My goal is to keep my monitor, keyboard, other peripherals without having to buy the whole system all over again...at the end of the day, it may be the case that the price difference between buying just the CPU and the entire system all over again is very slight.

Many thanks, in advance, for any help!


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## VaughanRSmith (Aug 5, 2007)

There are heaps of places to find cheap peripherals, try Newegg.com first.


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## Semper Fidelis (Aug 5, 2007)

to Newegg. I was going to recommend the same.

If you can salvage the hard drive and re-use the RAM then you'd need a case with a Power Supply and I'd recommend getting a CPU with built in video unless you already have a really nice video card.

Putting together a PC is really not too hard. It's just screwing the motherboard to the case, connecting a few cables from the Power supply and from the case to the MB, putting your components in, etc.

It's actually a lot of fun. Whenever people at Church have trouble with computers, I always feel guilty that they have to go to Best Buy or some place like that to pay some guy $60 just so he can run diagnostics or crack open the case for them.


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## jsup (Aug 5, 2007)

I recommend Tigerdirect, but Newegg is good too. I bought my motherboard, cpu, and videocard from Tigerdirect. They have a phenomenal selection and speedy shipping (even though I selected ground).


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## Semper Fidelis (Aug 5, 2007)

It's funny but Tiger Direct used to be a place that only sold crummy stuff and I've never been able to make the turn mentally to think of them in any other way. It does seem like they've completely changed from the kind of stuff they sold 15 years ago.


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## VaughanRSmith (Aug 5, 2007)

I thought all computers in 1992 were crummy?


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## Semper Fidelis (Aug 5, 2007)

Not quite. I still remember going over to my Commanding Officer's house one Saturday to help him set up his 486/33MHz he had just purchased. It was really fast. Of course, it ran Windows 3.1 which was really a GUI on top of DOS. I still preferred DOS for most things anyhow.

It had a CD-ROM drive and everything. I think it had 4MB in RAM.

My first computer I bought in 1990 was about $2500 - a 386/20 with 2 MB RAM and a 40 MB hard drive. DOS 3.3 couldn't handle partitions larger than 32 MB so it was partititioned in 2 drives. That was fine with me anyway because I couldn't conceive of filling up 33 MB of hard drive space at the time.


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## Semper Fidelis (Aug 5, 2007)

In fact, I still have one piece of computer equipment that still works that I bought in 1992. I bought an HP Laserjet 4 for $1500. It's only got 2MB RAM and is a bit slow to print at only 6 ppm but it still does a great job on text and toner is cheaper than ink jet.


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## sotzo (Aug 5, 2007)

Great. I'll visit NewEgg...

Rich, how do you find a CPU that has only the items you need? For instance, I think my hard drive is fine because a repair shop down the street was able to pull my data files off of it. Do I just go to NewEgg and locate the parts I need?

Sorry...I'm definately a neophyte on this one!


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## Semper Fidelis (Aug 6, 2007)

It seems the only thing you'll need to make sure of is that you get a case that has the controllers your hard drive needs.

I'm a bit hesitant to give you an exact recommendation unless I know what kind of power you need in it. Is this mainly for surfing and stuff like that?

Here are some barebones systems that have the case and CPU (they're all pretty small and will support a single hard drive along with your DVD-ROM drive if you have one):

Here's an example of the minimum you could get away with:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856110056

Here is a list of their barebones (Case and MB) combos. Some come with the CPU, others don't. In all cases, you need to make sure you get the RAM you need:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010030003&bop=And&Order=RATING


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## VaughanRSmith (Aug 6, 2007)

That computer has an Athlon 64 socket, so you'll need a 939-pin CPU. 

This one should be perfect for your computer, or if you want a Dual Core processor, go for this one.

They are the same type as your old processor, but faster 

EDIT: SORRY! My bad, I didn't realise you wanted a whole system. I speed read your original post and missed most of the details. Also... CPU = Processor, for future reference


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## dalecosby (Aug 6, 2007)

Check for a barebones kit.
I had this same issue about a year ago.
I went to Fry's electronics and got a shuttle style barebones kit and a new CPU for about 150 total.
i then took the hard drive etc out and built the system from there.
Newegg, Tiger Direct and frys.com are the places I usually look.

BUT.....
I must also suggest that you look at one of these:
http://www.apple.com/macmini/

This is a complete system sans the periperals.
Ready to go as soon as you add your own keyboard, mouse monitor and speakers.
I paid $550 for mine 3 months ago but I got mine refurbished.

I am not sure what all you do with these but I have set several friends up with them and I have not had the first problem yet with any of them and everyone loves them.
THey are tiny.


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## sotzo (Aug 6, 2007)

Exagorazo said:


> Also... CPU = Processor, for future reference



Aha! I thought the CPU referred to the whole box!

We used our machine mostly for homeschooling (educational games, testing, etc.) and ProTools. The latter takes up a huge chunk of system resources I'm sure. The instructions even recommended to partition the hard drive.

I'll check out the links you all have sent. BTW, here are the specs on my machine: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/genericDocument?docname=c00607954&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN ...again, it appears it is the motherboard that is the issue so maybe at egghead I'll be able just to find a motherboard...otherwise, I'll look at the systems along the lines of what you all have recommended.

Very much appreciate the help!


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## Scott (Aug 6, 2007)

dalecosby said:


> Check for a barebones kit.
> I had this same issue about a year ago.
> I went to Fry's electronics and got a shuttle style barebones kit and a new CPU for about 150 total.
> i then took the hard drive etc out and built the system from there.
> ...


And, as he is using it for homeschooling he can buy it at a discount.


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## dalecosby (Aug 6, 2007)

> We used our machine mostly for homeschooling (educational games, testing, etc.) and ProTools.


Ahh, another Pro Tools user!
By all means. check out a Mac.
I use Pro Tools 7 on my Mac Mini and it is great!
You will want 1 GB of RAM or more though for best performance.


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