Computer upgrade

ikonix360

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I just bought this computer from ebay which only needs a hard drive and OS to be fully functional as is.

Reading the manual for the motherboard I would like to upgrade to 8 gigs of RAM and a quad core processor along with a solid state drive.

I also am upgrading the CPU fan with one that is quieter and blows more air. The other two heatsinks will get the same type fan even though they don't really need it, but will keep the chips cooler with air blowing on the heatsinks.

I plan on using it with a 32" HDTV

My question is this.

What Nvidia PCI-E video cards with HDMI output will fit in this computer without having to modify the card other than maybe modding the metal bracket? I also have a PCI slot that could be used as well if there's a card that will fit there and do what I need.The two cables are adapters to allow the cards it would have come with to fit properly and connect to the motherboard.

The HDMI ports have to fit within one of the existing openings.

The reason I specify Nvidia is that this game I have Driv3r was made for the Nvidia cards and won't display quite right on ATI cards at least not the ATI cards in the two laptops I've used to play the game. Now if a proper AMD video card will display the game properly I'd be interested in that as well.

I use one of these stock with solid state drive and Windows 10 home at church to do sound recording and it works great for that and is fast.

Using a quad core processor and 8 gigs of RAM in the one I got for myself will make it even better.

Also due to a miss wiring of the LCD backlight driver cable that goes from it to the motherboard the backlight brightness cannot be controlled through Windows nor will correcting the wiring work as the control line from the motherboard in its stock configuration was shorted to ground by the miss-wiring so I will have to manually control that line using a variable resistor if I want to have control over the backlight brightness.
 

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The pictures are helpful, but it's important that you tell us what components you have.

If you don't do that, we may end up recommending things that are not compatible with that board.

How can we know what kind of CPU you can buy if we don't know what kind of socket you have?

So, please, tell us:

  • The motherboard you have
  • Each component you want to improve, replace or add
  • What is it that you want to do with the final computer

I know you already mentioned all those things, but it's better if you provide something cleaner, like a couple of lists.
 
Motherboard is

NEXCOM Embedded Computing (5.25” CPU Board) EBC 550

The manual is here

http://www.nexcom.com/fildata/getpdf/b6a27d97-37e3-40b9-8dae-3aa226917b2e

I want to upgrade

1. RAM
2. Processor

I'll use the built in display as well along with the external video card.

Now if it isn't possible to fit a video card inside I can still get 1300 X 768 resolution from the stock VGA connector, but I don't know if the on board graphics can display Driv3r properly which is a must as I love that game.

The goal is

1. Audio streaming.
2. Video streaming
3. Audio processing.
4. Some gaming mainly console emulators and older games.
5. Other typical computing tasks.
 
OK, I don't know what CPU you have know, but the best one you can get is apparently this one: https://ark.intel.com/products/3703...ocessor-Q9100-12M-Cache-2_26-GHz-1066-MHz-FSB . If I'm not wrong, then this are the only 2 4-core processors you can get: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Core_2_microprocessors#Core_2_Quad_2

Source:
https://nexcom.eol.parts/single-board-computers/ebc-550.htm said:
CPU: Intel® Core™ 2 Quad (Q9100 2.26GHz) (non longevity CPU); Intel® Embedded Processor List (Intel® Longevity CPU): Intel® Core™ 2 Duo (T9400 2.53GHz); Intel® Celeron® 575 2.0GHz

Abou the RAM:
https://nexcom.eol.parts/single-board-computers/ebc-550.htm said:
Main Memory: 2x 240-pin DDR3 DIMM Socket, up to 8GB non-ECC 1066 MHz DRAM
anything that falls within those specs will be fine. So:
  1. DD3
  2. 240-pin
  3. 2 sticks
  4. 4GB each

2 things I coulnd't find online, maybe you can provide that:
  1. SATA version?
  2. PCIE version?

You probably have 2.0 in both, but it'd be great to know.

EDIT: The Q9100 seems to be your best option: http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core2-Quad-Q9100-vs-Intel-Core2-Duo-T9400/m27411vsm3645 .
 
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It has

2 x PCIe GbE
1 x PCIe x16
1 x PCIe x4
1 x PCI

Whatever GbE means.

I'm still used to only PCI and AGP. Those I understand

PCI-E I don't understand yet.

I'm tempted to buy the processor on Ebay as it includes a tube of heatsink grease and the price is lower than what Newegg sells it for.

That said will the current heatsink be enough with the better fan or will it require a better heatsink?

If I need a better heatsink then that might be a deal breaker given how close the processor is to the RAM.

It may be almost a month before I have the money to buy the hard drive, OS, RAM and processor though.

Sure there's way better stuff out there, but at $59.99 for the computer I ain't complaining.
 
i'd bet you can fit at least a gt 710 or even gt730 in there with that pcie extender. take a measurement from the rear of the case to the big bulky black cables next to the psu, and that'll determine your maximum gpu length. the 710 and 730 are both half height/half length, so they should fit in just fine. you might even be able to use a gt 1030 if the power can support it...
 
I'll have to take a look at those.

If I selected the right CPU that is what the computer currently has then the quad core one recommended in this topic has a +60% effective speed.

Security Check - UserBenchmark

Here's a photo showing the specs of the power supply.
 

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While I wait for my other post to be posted since it has a link.

Will either of those cards fit the short PCI-E slot or they for the longer PCI-E slot?

The adapters I have are for the standard PCI slot and the short PCI-E slot.

If one of those video cards will fit I'll have to mod the rear of the computer case so all of those connectors on the video card are accessible.

I could then run up to four external monitors if so desired.

I could do two VGA monitors a HDTV then with a DVI to HDMI adapter I could run a second HDTV.

Why would I do that?

Because I can :D

In all reality though I more than likely will not do that.
 
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I think GBE is related to Newark connectivity. It's not what we care about.

Please check next to the PCIe slots to see if it says anything on the motherboard. It should say something like "PCIe 2.0" or something. Try this if you don't find anything: https://superuser.com/questions/872196/how-to-tell-what-version-of-pci-express-slot-your-system-has

The biggest problem should be your space. As Cortb said, you should try measuring or finding the manufacturer's website and check the maximum size of card that supports. Usually they'll tell you something like "Supports cards up to 280mm x 150mm" or something similar.

Try finding that information and write back. Without that we are just guessing.
 
According to the motherboard manual the other PCI-E GBE is for the two LAN ports.

Unfortunately there's nothing on the motherboard telling me what version the PCI-E X4 and X16 slots are and the manual doesn't say.
 
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