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| Emachines 540; Upgrade Advice | |
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| Topic Started: Nov 25 2007, 03:26 PM (1,144 Views) | |
| norfolk_lad | Nov 25 2007, 03:26 PM Post #1 |
NEWBIE
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Hi. Ive been looking for a cheap pc to use as a second computer for the children (just to handle basic tasks like email, internet, msn, office applications etc) and managed to find an old emachines 540. It was in rather poor condition, but I was surprised how well it cleaned up inside and out. I reloaded Windows XP and updated to SP2 and downloaded all the updates and windows media player 11. Again, really pleased with how it runs. Heres the spec: Emachines 540 Processor - 1.3 GHz Celeron (Tualatin) Skt 370 Memory- 256MB PC133 sdram (Hyundai) Hard Drive - 40GB Maxtor Display adapter: Intel 82810E CD R/RW / DVD Rom Windows XP Home PhoenixBios 1.02 Motherboard - Trigen / Lornita Chipset i810e Power Supply 230W (?) Monitor - NEC HR17 I know that its really limited in term of upgrade potential, but just wondered what was possible. The first thing I thought about was adding some more memory to help Windows XP and system performance (another 256mb in slot 2). This is not a games machine and the onboard graphics handles everything just fine. Is anything else possible? I tried to find out some more information about the 540 model, but there isnt much on internet about it. I came across this web site and thought would just ask to see what was possible or advisable. Regards. Norfolk_Lad (UK) |
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| TD25x | Nov 25 2007, 03:53 PM Post #2 |
Collector of Rocket Widgets
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You're right,,,very limited in upgrade potential with the Lomita.... Follow the tread HERE on upgrading memory. PSU upgrade would be worthwhile as well |
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T5224 Intel DG33TLM Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2 x 1GB Crucial PC6400 DDR2 EVGA GeForce 8800GT 512MB 1- WD 80GB SATA2 10,000RPM Raptor 1- WD 1.0TB SATA3 7200RPM Samsung 22x DVD-RW SH-S222L Corsair AX750W PSU Win7 Ult x64 Logitech wireless keyboard & mouse DELL - UltraSharp 2408WFP 24-inch Flat Panel Bose Companion 3 speakers | |
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| norfolk_lad | Nov 25 2007, 03:59 PM Post #3 |
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NEWBIE
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Thanks mate for that link - some useful information there. PSU - is that because you think it is underpowered or because it could a reliability problem in future? |
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| TD25x | Nov 25 2007, 05:13 PM Post #4 |
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Collector of Rocket Widgets
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Yes |
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T5224 Intel DG33TLM Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2 x 1GB Crucial PC6400 DDR2 EVGA GeForce 8800GT 512MB 1- WD 80GB SATA2 10,000RPM Raptor 1- WD 1.0TB SATA3 7200RPM Samsung 22x DVD-RW SH-S222L Corsair AX750W PSU Win7 Ult x64 Logitech wireless keyboard & mouse DELL - UltraSharp 2408WFP 24-inch Flat Panel Bose Companion 3 speakers | |
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| azpicturethis | Nov 25 2007, 06:38 PM Post #5 |
SENIOR FORUM CONTRIBUTOR
  ![]](http://z1.ifrm.com/static/1/pip_r.png)
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E-machines are notorious for both with their PSUs. |
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Cooler Master 932 HAF AMD edition Computer Case AMD Phenom II X6 1090T MSI 870A Fuzion mobo Patriot PC12800 DDR3 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory 8GB 1- Seagate 1Tb HDD EVGA GTS 450 1Gb DVD±RW w/Lightscribe Windows 7 Professional 64bit | |
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| norfolk_lad | Nov 26 2007, 02:05 PM Post #6 |
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NEWBIE
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Thanks for your comments. I've just found a really good site with some good information on emachines. www.e4allupgraders.info Is the PSU only 120W? Can anybody recommend a suitable 'cost effective' PSU (mATX) replacement? Thanks in advance. |
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| TD25x | Nov 26 2007, 05:54 PM Post #7 |
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Collector of Rocket Widgets
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Yeah, I like that site too............ 
Most likely it is
We have that covered in THIS THREAD. Some of those links in that thread may be dead of out of date. Some good prices HERE on mATX PSU's (close to the bottom of the page). Not sure what their shipping policy is to the UK. |
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T5224 Intel DG33TLM Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2 x 1GB Crucial PC6400 DDR2 EVGA GeForce 8800GT 512MB 1- WD 80GB SATA2 10,000RPM Raptor 1- WD 1.0TB SATA3 7200RPM Samsung 22x DVD-RW SH-S222L Corsair AX750W PSU Win7 Ult x64 Logitech wireless keyboard & mouse DELL - UltraSharp 2408WFP 24-inch Flat Panel Bose Companion 3 speakers | |
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| norfolk_lad | Dec 11 2007, 01:54 PM Post #8 |
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NEWBIE
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I had a problem with my hard disk (a Maxtor 40GB 5400RPM). Keep getting an error message on boot "The file Windows\System\Config32\System is either corrupted or missing". I reloaded windows twice to have the same thing happen. Everything seemed to work for a while then the error occured. Anyway, I suspect the HDD is faulty and have ordered a 40GB replacement. I couldn't enen reformat the HD on my third attempt (the hours I've wasted!). The Windows XP recovery console wasn't much help. Everything else seems fine. I added another 256Mb memory module and that's working fine - 512Mb in total now. I checked the PSU and to my supprise, it's a 180W unit (+3.3v 16.7A, +5.0v 16.0A, +12.0v 12.0A, +5.0v & +3.3v=118W Max). Just wanted to know if it still needs upgrading bearing in mind the information I supplied in my first post? Regards. |
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