E5400 System Buff

[Random32]

I have a friend who has a pretty bad computer. E5400, 4GB DDR2, 8400GS. It BSOD's every couple of hours. Also, his CPU cooler just sits on top of his CPU and his GPU Cooler is a case fan lined up with the GPU Chip. He also lives on the equator, so heat is a real thing for him I guess. I want to help him out with what I have lying around and maybe what I can get my hands on. So far, I have a spare HD 5570. I want to get him a new 775 CPU cooler, a new RAM kit (240pin DDR2 800Mhz). My budget is around $50 USD give or take a few. Can I get some help on what I should focus on and maybe get some links to some deals I can get my hands on? Best case scenario would be a new MoBo and RAM, because those BSODs sound really suspicious. I really don't know what direction I should be going in...

[Shd0w2]

Sorry if I'm not of much help, but try your luck on ebay or craigslist. (Ebay probaby). They might sell some things like the ram you want for $5 or $10, cooler for $10 just because of its raw materials maybe, and yep.

[Mohenjo]

the q6600 is your best bet at only 50 bucks. since switching to a newer cpu (if you can even find a g3220 for 50) would require a new motherboard and RAM. if you think the GPU is more important then shop around on craigslist. i have recently seen someone selling a 560 ti for 50 bucks and i bet you can get a great deal on other components as well. and considering you need to ship it that far i would look into good packaging 

[Random32]

the q6600 is your best bet at only 50 bucks. since switching to a newer cpu (if you can even find a g3220 for 50) would require a new motherboard and RAM. if you think the GPU is more important then shop around on craigslist. i have recently seen someone selling a 560 ti for 50 bucks and i bet you can get a great deal on other components as well. and considering you need to ship it that far i would look into good packaging 

Well I don't care about the GPU the 5570 that I have lying around will do him enough justice. I'm just not too clear on how 775 upgrades work to be confident in any purchases having to do with the CPU or Motherboard. If I'm not mistaken, the upgrade path on 775 is a bit weird? like it's not consistent?

[Mohenjo]

Well I don't care about the GPU the 5570 that I have lying around will do him enough justice. I'm just not too clear on how 775 upgrades work to be confident in any purchases having to do with the CPU or Motherboard. If I'm not mistaken, the upgrade path on 775 is a bit weird? like it's not consistent?

i mean it wasn't for me, my motherboard that originally had an e4400 in it didn't work with an e8400. even after bios update. i tried it on another more modern lga 775 motherboard and it worked just fine. it was a bit weird for me. 

[ApolloX75]

Well I don't care about the GPU the 5570 that I have lying around will do him enough justice. I'm just not too clear on how 775 upgrades work to be confident in any purchases having to do with the CPU or Motherboard. If I'm not mistaken, the upgrade path on 775 is a bit weird? like it's not consistent?

775 can be confusing because of the length of the time the socket was in use. Early boards limited to 800mhz and 1066mhz FSB speeds can be very finicky especially towards later Quad cores. We would need to know the exact motherboard model to give a more accurate recommendation.

The BSODs are likely symptomatic of overheating especially if the CPU cooler is just "sitting there". A simple $10 eBay cooler or even a replacement stock cooler would probably solve those issues pretty quick as long as nothing has been damaged.

Also some early model DDR2 boards maxed our at 4Gb to 8Gb RAM capacity and had trouble with high density modules (higher than 2Gb). Keep that in mind.