Building a computer question.

Hello all,
I have an old HP Pavilion 8280 that I am thinking about
building into a updated system. Right now it has no sound seeing I
burned up the sound card, learned a valuable lesson there.

My question is if I bought a newer motherboard, CPU, power
supplies and sound card could I use the older parts until I decide to
upgrade them. Right now I just want it to be a little faster, more
power and sound with out spending a bunch of money. This is just a
backup computer for the kids.

TIA for any feedback...

Steve

Steve

depends on whether it has a proprietary case. A standard motherboard and
power supply might not fit. Otherwise, you should be able to use the
existing harddrive, CD drives, etc. Incidentally, how did you "burn up" the
existing sound card?



"Steve" <d56mich(remove)@comcast(remove).net> wrote in message
news:...
> Hello all,
> I have an old HP Pavilion 8280 that I am thinking about
> building into a updated system. Right now it has no sound seeing I
> burned up the sound card, learned a valuable lesson there.
>
> My question is if I bought a newer motherboard, CPU, power
> supplies and sound card could I use the older parts until I decide to
> upgrade them. Right now I just want it to be a little faster, more
> power and sound with out spending a bunch of money. This is just a
> backup computer for the kids.
>
> TIA for any feedback...
>
> Steve

You would probably be ahead by starting with a new case and power supply to
match the form factor and power requirements of the new board. A new main
board and cpu would likely use a different type memory than you have in the
old machine. The floppy, cd and hard drive could probably be plugged in to
the new works but would have less capacity and performance than new
hardware. You would probably only save about $150 by using the old drives
in the new machine. You could even use the old hard drive as a slave drive,
but why take the old machine apart for such slight benefit?

Sound cards come cheap. A new modem card could improve performance, too.
You may be able to add memory and upgrade the cpu for a bargain price. Your
options depend on your current motherboard and parts availability.

If you are only looking for a machine for the kids, shop around for
clearance items. Many stores have a few of last seasons machines to move
out the door. Last seasons machines can be a big improvement over what you
are using now. Sears is my favorite place to look for bargains, but other
stores have these items to move. Look for a row of clearance tags on the
bottom shelf in the corner of the department. Get one in an unopened box.
(If only the display item is available, ask for further discount) They have
a full warranty.

Pepperoni

"Steve" <d56mich(remove)@comcast(remove).net> wrote in message
news:...
> Hello all,
> I have an old HP Pavilion 8280 that I am thinking about
> building into a updated system. Right now it has no sound seeing I
> burned up the sound card, learned a valuable lesson there.
>
> My question is if I bought a newer motherboard, CPU, power
> supplies and sound card could I use the older parts until I decide to
> upgrade them. Right now I just want it to be a little faster, more
> power and sound with out spending a bunch of money. This is just a
> backup computer for the kids.
>
> TIA for any feedback...
>
> Steve

You just had to ask that question. The power supply on this system
went out and I bought a Generic one from Best Buy. I told the person
at Best Buy how many connectors my old supply had and he claimed he
never heard of one going to the sound card. So after installing the
new power supply I noticed an extra plug that looked like it would fit
the sound card, wrong! It must have been to high of voltage and for
some other device. Once I turned on the system a small flame started
to grow on the sound card so I pulled the plug, now no sound. After
doing a little research on power supplies I found out the system uses
a special power supply. I believe the sound card has an built in
amplifier and needs power to work. Yes I learned a lesson, only hook
up connectors that match the original color of the wires.



On Sat, 29 Nov 2003 23:09:11 -0500, "Thor" <> wrote:

>depends on whether it has a proprietary case. A standard motherboard and
>power supply might not fit. Otherwise, you should be able to use the
>existing harddrive, CD drives, etc. Incidentally, how did you "burn up" the
>existing sound card?
>
>
>
>"Steve" <d56mich(remove)@comcast(remove).net> wrote in message
>news:.. .
>> Hello all,
>> I have an old HP Pavilion 8280 that I am thinking about
>> building into a updated system. Right now it has no sound seeing I
>> burned up the sound card, learned a valuable lesson there.
>>
>> My question is if I bought a newer motherboard, CPU, power
>> supplies and sound card could I use the older parts until I decide to
>> upgrade them. Right now I just want it to be a little faster, more
>> power and sound with out spending a bunch of money. This is just a
>> backup computer for the kids.
>>
>> TIA for any feedback...
>>
>> Steve
>

"Steve" <d56mich(remove)@comcast(remove).net> wrote in message
news:...
> You just had to ask that question. The power supply on this system
> went out and I bought a Generic one from Best Buy. I told the person
> at Best Buy how many connectors my old supply had and he claimed he
> never heard of one going to the sound card. So after installing the
> new power supply I noticed an extra plug that looked like it would fit
> the sound card, wrong! It must have been to high of voltage and for
> some other device. Once I turned on the system a small flame started
> to grow on the sound card so I pulled the plug, now no sound. After
> doing a little research on power supplies I found out the system uses
> a special power supply. I believe the sound card has an built in
> amplifier and needs power to work. Yes I learned a lesson, only hook
> up connectors that match the original color of the wires.

The card, whether it has a built-in amp for non-amplified speakers or not,
gets it's power from the slot it is plugged into. The connector on the sound
card was likely for auxilliary sound inputs, or a modem sound input, etc.
I've never, ever seen a sound card that required an extra power supply feed.
Sometimes a power supply will have an additional plug for system fan
monitoring. That may have been what you saw. You are very lucky that you
didn't fry much more than just the sound card.

On Sun, 30 Nov 2003 12:48:54 -0500, "Thor" <> wrote:

>
>"Steve" <d56mich(remove)@comcast(remove).net> wrote in message
>news:.. .
>> You just had to ask that question. The power supply on this system
>> went out and I bought a Generic one from Best Buy. I told the person
>> at Best Buy how many connectors my old supply had and he claimed he
>> never heard of one going to the sound card. So after installing the
>> new power supply I noticed an extra plug that looked like it would fit
>> the sound card, wrong! It must have been to high of voltage and for
>> some other device. Once I turned on the system a small flame started
>> to grow on the sound card so I pulled the plug, now no sound. After
>> doing a little research on power supplies I found out the system uses
>> a special power supply. I believe the sound card has an built in
>> amplifier and needs power to work. Yes I learned a lesson, only hook
>> up connectors that match the original color of the wires.
>
>The card, whether it has a built-in amp for non-amplified speakers or not,
>gets it's power from the slot it is plugged into. The connector on the sound
>card was likely for auxilliary sound inputs, or a modem sound input, etc.
>I've never, ever seen a sound card that required an extra power supply feed.
>Sometimes a power supply will have an additional plug for system fan
>monitoring. That may have been what you saw. You are very lucky that you
>didn't fry much more than just the sound card.
>
>

Your right the power was not for the sound card, I did a little
research and the extra plug is called a "The original unit on some
models may have a P8 4 Pin Video Power Connector." Either I plugged
it into the wrong plug on the sound card or I have a card that is both
a video & sound card. I do know that the card has both sound jacks
and a TV & S-Video jack. The P8 is only found on the original HP
power supply and 1 after market piece. At least now I know I can
replace the sound card with out worrying about the plug I did have. I
know enough about computers to do minor repairs, but the HP is
different then my Dell when it comes to cards. It was top of the line
when I bought it many moons ago. The case was one of the last full
size cases HP made and has plenty of room inside. This is why I was
thinking of using this case and rebuilding it.

Thanks for you input...Steve

Here are my personal ratings based on Performance, Quality, Tech Support
and compatibility. 10 = Best, 0 = DO NOT BUY (even if free):

Alienware ............ 8.5
Dell ................. 8.3
Micron ............... 7.6 (inflexible and pricey)
IBM .................. 6.8
Gateway .............. 6.0 (fails in Customer/tech support)
Compaq ............... 5.6
Acer ................. 5.3
Sony ................. 4.5
AOpen ................ 3.5
HP ................... 3.0
NEC/Packard Bell ..... 2.0
EMachines ............ 1.5
Daewoo ............... 0.2 (anything from them)

Shop/Custom built machines are impossible to give a general rating
because they are all different and vary daily, although it is here that
you find the ratings of 9's and 10's..

Steve wrote:
> Your right the power was not for the sound card, I did a little
> research and the extra plug is called a "The original unit on some
> models may have a P8 4 Pin Video Power Connector." Either I plugged
> it into the wrong plug on the sound card or I have a card that is both
> a video & sound card. I do know that the card has both sound jacks
> and a TV & S-Video jack. The P8 is only found on the original HP
> power supply and 1 after market piece. At least now I know I can
> replace the sound card with out worrying about the plug I did have. I
> know enough about computers to do minor repairs, but the HP is
> different then my Dell when it comes to cards. It was top of the line
> when I bought it many moons ago. The case was one of the last full
> size cases HP made and has plenty of room inside. This is why I was
> thinking of using this case and rebuilding it.
>
> Thanks for you input...Steve