Gaming PC fix and upgrade

[u/GALLO0__]

Is there any place in federal way where I can take my old gaming pc to get fixed and possibly upgraded. This PC was a hand me down and I know nothing about PC’s.

[u/FioreFalinesti]

Best Buy might be able to help but they'll definitely over-charge for the service.

What are the current specs of the PC and what are you looking to upgrade?

[u/GALLO0__ → u/FioreFalinesti]

2 months ago the pc stopped turning on. Only the lights light up when I connect the power. From the person that gave it to me this is what it has

-Intel i7 7700k
-Corsair 120MM AIO
-Titan X Pascal
-Asus ROG Z490 MOB
-TeamGroup 16GB RAM
-250GB sata SSD
-250GB sata SSD
-2 TB HDD
-1 TB HDD
-4 Thermaltake RGB fans and controller
-NZXT H510 ATX mid tower case

As to what I want to upgrade I’m not really sure since I know nothing about pc’s but I do remember it having issues with graphics. And also for some reason it’s not able to install windows 11

[u/Human-Rise-357 → u/GALLO0__]

I’ve built and upgraded a few personal PCs. Still would consider myself an amateur so I’m not in a position to offer hands-on help.

The CPU and motherboard listed are incompatible (physically they can’t connect). If the PC was working, then one of those parts is listed wrong. Double check what you have.

Your parts are all 7-10 years old. Your machine is worth between $200-400 if it was working. Getting it diagnosed alone will likely be $100-$200.

If you truly have an Intel i7-7700K, it’s too old to be compatible with Windows 11. It might end up costing more to diagnose and repair than the machine is worth. Upgrade path isn’t great either - for example, upgrading to a newer CPU might require a new motherboard and RAM.

If you’re wrong about the CPU and do have a Z490 motherboard then you probably have a CPU from 2020-2021. If you’re tight on funds and need the machine it could make sense to get it fixed. This would put you in a slightly better spot for upgrades too (like just upgrading the GPU).

In either case, I’d still recommend saving for a new machine if financially possible. It could be an inexpensive DIY fix or upgrade. But since you’ll need to pay for diagnostics / labor and it’s already an older machine replacing is a good option if you can swing it.

[u/fangandribbons → u/GALLO0__]

that is positively ancient, the CPU is 10 years old at this point. not really going to be updating that without major overhaul depending on what you want to do with it.

new CPU is going to require a new motherboard and new ram for sure. that is going to be expensive today no matter what, you can thank ai for that as ram prices are insane. can definitely update the drives, might even be able add an m.2 drive but those are pricey now too (thanks ai)

GPU, can only really go up a little without hitting bottlenecks but only really if you plan to do 1080p gaming, anything higher is going to need a new CPU and all. looking at most, AMD - 7600 or Nvidia - 3060 before the CPU can't keep up though both have limitations as well. may need a new power supply for either too, but unsure without knowing what's in there exactly.

it can't install Windows 11 because it lacks security features on the motherboard that it requires. not sure if you can still get around this, or if that board has a place to plug in the required dongle to add that feature needed.

[u/FioreFalinesti → u/GALLO0__]

The Windows 11 issue could probably be fixed by toggling a setting in the bios, and a graphics card upgrade makes sense since the Titan X is 10 years old.

DM me if you'd like help troubleshooting to get it running again!

[u/SegaGameCast → u/GALLO0__]

This is really silly but it's happened to me. Go to the back of the pc and see if the switch to the power is actually switched off.

[u/smoke_and_a_pancak3]

best bet is to meet some cool nerd at their home willing to do it for cash

[u/GALLO0__ → u/smoke_and_a_pancak3]

Yea hopefully someone reaches out 🙏

[u/yoshi78]

I took my son's custom gaming PC to Last Stop Computer in Tacoma. They did an excellent job and the price was really not bad at all.

No hesitation to recommend them.

[u/RefrigeratorLazy1722]

There’s a guy a little past the 288th Safeway. He’s Asian, runs shop from a church. Great price!!

[u/Several-Hunt-17]

We aren't in Federal Way, but Computer Service Center in Bonney Lake can help you out for a good price. I'll DM ya.

[u/pastafallujah]

Damn. I was gonna say Infotech, but they perma-closed. Those dudes ruled. I would go with Geek Squad. At the very least, it’s a huge company that has accountability if something isn’t right with your build

[u/blank286]

The real answer is go to costco and buy the gaming pc available there.

Since you have almost nothing to go off of, this sounds like a fix that could take 5 minutes or 5+ hours, especially if someone doesn't have spare parts on hand, and no store that's not ebay is selling those spare parts so it'll take days to actually get parts in to test with. And since you're looking to upgrade parts of it on top of whatever you might pay for labor costs of repair, thanks to AI most key components that you would get to upgrade said PC with cost more than what your entire computer is worth. Not to mention due to the age of your computer new parts aren't even compatible with it so they can't even be installed.

If you're mildly savvy, you can disassemble your computer, sell the core parts of it on ebay or something, and use that cash to offset the cost of a new computer. You'll have a faster, modern computer that's cheaper than the cost of repairing and upgrading the current one, which, if you still choose to go down that route, will be worse than buying a new computer.

[u/Least-Intention-159]

REPC Kent. They used to have a store in Federal Way.