Maximum PC

Okay so I have this computer. Emachines W3629 at Newegg I believe the motherboard has died. I'm not sure as I was not using it when it was dying. But I do know that it almost unbearably slow. So I want to try to rebuild it using the orginal case, psu (if i can 300 watts), and hard drive. I would like to reuse the cd drive but it uses the older flat cables. I would also like to reuse the copy of windows that came on it. But I've read mixed things on doing that.

The budget is $400. Including a copy of windows if I have to buy that. It will mostly be used for surfing, watching youtube, and netflix. Would like to be able to run some lighter games. Mostly like the free to play models. If I can't rebuild it then can I get a recommendation what to buy as a replacement. The motherboard does need to be Micro-ATX, I believe it is the same for the psu if that needs to be replaced. I do have a picture of the specifications for the psu but it won't attach to the post. (any info on how to make it attach would be appreciated also)

If any other information is needed I will do my best to find it and give it to you. Thank you very much for your time and looking at my problems.

I think you would be hard pressed to find a Pentium 4 board, and I have a feeling it's also a BTX board, which is pretty much impossible to find. And with $400, you could just build yourself a budget system that would be even better.

It may be a BTX. But when I checked it looked like a Micro-ATX. I will look into that again. But I was intending to change CPU and RAM as well. Not just the motherboard. The only things I want to re-use is the case, psu, and hard drive. But I'm open to starting from scratch as well. Just thought I might get more power if re-used parts to save money.

EDIT: I am now very sure it is not a BTX board. The cpu is not at a 45 degree angle and their is no thermal module as described in the article I read. The heatsink does have a duct but it sticks straight off and lines up with slots on the left side of the case. (when looking at the front) And as far as I can tell, looking at ATX boards the layout is the same. Add on slots below cpu, ram to the right of it, I/O to the left. One more note. The psu is a top mount if that makes a difference at this point.

In relation to the front of the case, if it's mounted on the left side of the board with the expansion slots on the bottom and the I/O in the middle, it's a BTX board no matter if it has the other characteristics of BTX or not. Otherwise, if it's mounted on the right side with the expansion slots on the bottom and I/O in the middle, it's ATX.

I wish I could make a picture a work. Okay, their is nothing on the left side of case. The motherboard is mounted on the right. You remove the left panel to access the innards of the pc. The right panel extends over the top of the case as well. All relative to the front of the case where the power switch is. Does this clarify it enough for us to figure it out? I apologize if that sounder rude, it's just seems ridiculous to have so much trouble figuring out the form factor, yes I realize it is mostly me.

If it mounts right and the expansion slots are bottom to the I/O panel, it's ATX.

Okay. Glad thats solved. Any advice as to what would be the best to put in it for $400.

If you don't care about high performance graphics, I'd suggest a Core i3 based system. Motherboard, processor, and RAM should only set you back about $350 or so. If you want some graphical prowess, an AMD APU system will do just fine. I specced a few when I was bored a while back, you could get away with the main components for $300-ish.

So something along these lines?

MSI H61M-P20
Intel Core i3-2100
G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB)
XFX HD-657X-ZDF2 Radeon HD 6570
ASUS 24X DVD Burner

I would really like some help picking out a decent video card for around $50-$70.

EDIT: Changed the ram.

Question. The psu in the case has a 20 pin main connector, with a 4 pin for the cpu. But the motherboard has a 24 pin main connector and a 4 pin for the cpu, as does the one listed above. With power supply being short 4 pins will this cause a problem?

It shouldn't, since this is just for power. But just to be safe, get one of these http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6812201001

Okay. That answers that. What do you think of the parts I picked out? Thank you for all your help, you have answered all my questions.

Those will do for a good low-power PC.

Okay. Thanks for all your help.