[Juliebythesea]

Go to Office Depot they have a smart young man there who seems very sincere when I asked about repairs on mine. I’m taking mine to him tomorrow

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

I love my 27" monitor and really don't want an "all in one" computer. My current computer works fine, but for a bad fan that needs replacing. The other two fans are in perfect shape.

Problem is, my computer is -not- upgradable to Win11, and Win10 will no longer be supported this coming year - and some of the "apps" already don't work on it anymore.

I'm thinking - maybe I could get a new hard drive? Or even an SSD? I'd have to buy Win11 but that's cheap enough, I can get the license and download for less than $50. A new SSD I think can run under $200.

That seems a lot more useful to me than spending $600+ for a new tower.

My current computer comes with an older generation Intel i7, and at 2.8ghz is fast enough for my needs.

The computer itself is not a "true" component computer, but it's also not fully integrated. So I can swap out the hard drive, I'm pretty sure the motherboard is easily removable, I've already reseated the heat sink with new thermal paste so I know that's doable (thanks to villagetinker for the smear of paste).

It's been SOOOO long since I've worked on a computer other than the heat sink, and my CompTIA A+ certification was from back in the days when DOS was still included with Windows so - I'm really not up to speed on technology anymore.

Does adding an SSD or swapping out for an updated hard drive sound like the right move here? Or should I get rid of my beautiful Acer 27" monitor that's only 2 years old and works great, and go for an all-in-one that's cheaper than $500?

My budget is limited. I can go UP TO $500, no matter which way I go. I'd even consider an "out of box" or certified refurbished tower from Best Buy, but it needs to be a new(er) model computer if I go that route instead.

I -will not- buy a Dell. I wouldn't even take on if someone gave it to me. I prefer HP, but I'm not opposed to Acer, Asu, MSI, or even Lenovo.

I prefer a computer that comes with a dvd r/w and it must have a card reader.

Suggestions, things to watch out for, things to avoid, can my idea of keeping my tower and upgrading it work?