I can't replace a thing in a computer. That's not my expertise. He redid mine and did a great job. The motherboard he was looking at wasn't a i5 or i7. It was one that would work. It has one TB for the HD. So he was looking at keeping things fairly simple since he knows she will mostly be on Facebook looking at stupid post people put up there or playing the games on there. I might opt for him to pick out a at least an i3. I told him to let us know what would be the best option.
If you're not experienced with changing a motherboard, it's best to let someone who knows what they're doing do it. But if you don't put the same motherboard in that was in it originally, you'll probably need to put in a new processor, CPU cooler, and memory. You also need to be sure the old power supply can power the motherboard and CPU you select. That's extra cost you may incur. An hour to replace a motherboard is more than sufficient, so don't let anyone charge you $300 for labor. However, by the time you pay for a new motherboard, cpu, cooling fan, memory and power supply, you're going to spend about as much as a brand new PC. Just something to consider.
I'm leaving the decision about what to do with my friend that's a computer wiz. He will decide what's our best option. Either fix this tower if that's the cheapest way to go or just buy another tower. If it comes down to buying another tower I will make sure he's there so we get the right one for the price we want to pay and I will make sure this time to pay for the extended warranty. That was the mistake I made buying this one.
These days, computers a really just another commodity. You can buy a decent computer for around $300 with a one year warranty, and you can usually get 4-5 years of good use out of it. I'm talking about a PC you can use to perform typical business operations and Internet browsing. When it craters, you toss it and buy another. If you want to go really cheap, you can buy a good refurbished PC for $100, and it will likely last a couple of years or more. Extended warranties on new PC's are not worth the cost. If something is going to go wrong or there's a defect, it will almost always show up within the first year, and will be covered under the standard warranty. If something breaks several years down the line (and it will), it probably won't be covered under the extended warranty anyway, and that's if the warranty has not expired. All PC's break sooner or later, so back up everything that's important to you.
you refuse to read what I said and didn't say! I never said I was going to have Micro Center fix it. My friend will do it if he decides that's the best option and he won't charge me for fixing it.
Hopefully one of the partners didn't snake you ...
