Original computer:
Sony Vaio VGC-RB30 (2005)

Specs:
Intel Pentium 4 HT (3.0Ghz)
1GB RAM DDR
200GB hard drive (7200RPM SATA)
NVidia 8500 GT
PSU: Stock – Max 308w
Drive: HP DVDRW dvd1140i (IDE)

Served me well until 2008, when I purchased my Macbook Pro.

If you own this computer and are wishing to upgrade it, read on. There’s a couple of things you need to know and ask yourself.

Update: Oh hey! I was indeed able to get Snow Leopard installed on this custom build! And it runs fantastic! You can see the follow up post here.

What exactly do you want to upgrade and why? What will you be using it for? The motherboard in that computer is a LGA755 (Socket T). The Dual/Quad Core (last generation) chips are designed to fit on the board but are not compatible with it. Not only has the motherboard not been updated to be compatible, but the board itself is five years old, with support only for 2GB (max) DDR400 (Old) RAM. So if you really want the computer to run the latest Intel chips, you’re going to have to buy brand new components. You can get by upgrading the computer for as little as $300 (Core i3 + 1GB RAM + New Motherboard + New PSU). In this project, i go midway with a Core i5 750 (potentially overclocking in the future), 4GB of DDR3 RAM and a graphics card. Please note, you’re going to have to upgrade the PSU. The stock power supply is 308W max. Modern day motherboards, processors, graphics cards require more than that. Depending on your usage, your needs will vary. For me, a 630W PSU will suit me just fine.

If you buy a motherboard with PATA/IDE, you can re-use the same drives (assuming they still work that is, which both of mine did not). Because the HDD is SATA, you can re-use it. Is 200GB enough for you? It is for me. For the time being, anyway.

Upgrading to:
Processor: Intel Core i5 750 (2.66Ghz) | $200
RAM: Corsair 2GB x 2 DDR3 | $100
PSU: Raidmax 630w | $6
Motherboard: Gigabyte H55M-USB3 (LGA 1156 / H55 Chipset) MicroATX | $110
+Aftermarket CPU cooler | $30
+Thermal Paste | $10
+500GB Hard Drive | $45
+NVidia Geforce 9800 GTX+ | $90

Total spent on project: $645 (Excluding taxes/shipping)

Read on to see more information and pictures.

You don’t need the same motherboard I own but you’ll need to look for a MicroATX board. It’s smaller than a regular full sized ATX board and should fit just fine in the Sony Vaio case. MicroATX boards are similar to their larger brothers but are missing expansions ports. If you don’t plan on using dual graphics cards (which you may have trouble finding a compatible Micro board), then you should be fine. Even then, if you do plan on SLI/Crossfire-ing, you’ll have to dump the Sony case and get a bigger one to fit the cards and improve airflow.

I will be reusing the same case, DVD drive, hard drive, and graphics card. I will later upgrade the hard drive and the graphics card in the near future. This computer will serve as my main music creation and gaming machine.

Buy local if possible. But don’t buy at Best Buy because their prices aren’t even remotely sane (nor is their selection). If you have a Fry’s Electronics in your area, go there. There’s been a lot of bad word going around about Fry’s but locations vary. For instance, the NASA location here in Houston has been super, incredibly helpful. Either way, do your research. Buying local is great because if a component is DOA or is incompatible, you can simply return it to the store and buy the new one. Buying online requires you to ship it back (and possibly pay restocking fees) or only get an exchange of the same product. Not to mention shipping would be a hassle.

The front USB ports and the FireWire port do work but the same can not be said about the card reader. The card reader appears to be USB based but there are no Windows 7 (32-bit or 64-bit) drivers available. The orange light on the device (read light) appears to stay on from time to time but that’s about it.

Most MicroATX boards do not have a built-in speaker (used to sound beeps if something is wrong with the hardware) and the Sony Vaio case does not have a speaker built in. Pick up a small speaker and connect it so in the event something is wrong with the hardware, you’ll know quickly instead of wondering why your computer isn’t booting properly, like my RAM fiasco below.

Connecting the front switch and lights are covered near the end of this post.

Read some articles on building a PC and remember to destatic yourself before working on the computer!

To upgrade in the future:
Hard Drive to 500GB | $60 (Done)
Graphics Card | ~$150-$200 (Geforce 9800 GTX+. An excellent last generation card for only $90)

July 6, 2010: Products purchased.

The Build

July 7, 2010: Set up
(11:30am) – Removed original motherboard and installed new one. Success! Perfect fit.

(1:00pm) Connected all cables, installed CPU and RAM.
(1:10pm) Computer boots, fans spins for 5 seconds and everything turns off. 4 seconds later, the process repeats itself. Bad RAM?
(1:30pm) Tried individual RAM. Same results. If it’s the RAM, then i’m unlucky to get two DOAs.
(3:00pm) Spoke to lady at Asus, had me troubleshoot:
Control: CPU + RAM installed = Computer boots, shuts off and repeats itself.
Process 1: CPU only installed = Computer boots, stays on, no video.
Process 2: CPU installed, removed EATX 8-pin power = Computer boots, stays on, no video.
Process 3: CPU removed = Computer boots, stays on, no video, no surprise.
Process 4: RAM only installed = Computer boots, stays on, no video, no surprise.

PSU is fine. Tried with 3 different power supplies and they all came to the same conclusion.

(4:20pm) Spoke to man at Intel. Told me RAM seems fine and that the fault could either be the processor or the motherboard. I would need to have both tested.

(8:30pm) I had previously ordered a PSU off of Newegg a day ago. The one I have now i purchased from Fry’s temporarily to see if all the components worked correctly. I will be returning this PSU and the CPU and going ahead and upgrading to the Core i5 chip.

July 8, 2010: Trips back and fourth
(7:30am) I’ll be going back to Fry’s to return the processor and PSU and upgrade to the new i5. I won’t be able to test it until tomorrow when my previously purchased power supply comes in.

(9:00am) Surprise surprise! The processor is fine. It’s the motherboard. It made sense, actually. If it was the processor, the computer would boot further in. Exchanged the i3 processor for the i5. Will go back and exchange the motherboard.

(11:00am) Well, shit. I accidentally bought the Intel i5 650 (Dual-core). I exchanged it for the i5 750 (Quad-core) and a brand new Mobo by Gigabyte.

(1:30pm) With the new motherboard: Power up, splash screen, will not take keystrokes, shuts off by itself after 5 seconds. Am I just that unlucky?

(3:00pm) Still trying to troubleshoot what’s going on. Is it bad RAM? Another dud motherboard? A crap PSU?

(4:45pm) I’m taking everything back to the store to get them tested. I’m just completely stumped on what the problem could be the second time around. RAM? PSU? Processor? ANOTHER faulty motherboard? We’ll see what happens.

(7:00pm) The RAM! THE RAM! The source of all things evil! The motherboard was just fine! The RAM was at fault! I got rid of that PoS and went ahead and upgraded to 2GB x 2 Corsair sticks. I made sure I tested everything before i left the damn store.

(8:10pm) Everything is running fine so far. Currently installing Windows 7 x64. Asus and Intel had great technical support about their products (even if they were both wrong). Gigabyte is lagging mad behind, relying solely on e-mails instead of live-chat and phone. I guess e-mails WOULD be fine if they were actually fast about it, which they aren’t.

Connecting front switch/lights

This Sony Vaio originally had a 6 pin connection (bracket) that plugged into the old motherboard. Depending on the new motherboard you get, chances are, you won’t be able to just plug it in. Thankfully, it isn’t all too hard.

Start by removing the front cover. There are two tabs on the bottom of the machine, near the front panel that when pulled, allows you to snap the front panel off (with a bit of force).

you’ll see 8 wires in total. 4 connecting to the 2 lights that light up the Sony Vaio logo and the other light under the flip-down compartment. Red/Brown is Positive. Black is Negative. Find out which pair of wires goes to what and label them, as shown below.

Refer to the manual that came with your motherboard about what two pins does what. To connect the pins, pull each individual wire from the holding bracket. Then you can simply push those down onto the pins on the motherboard.

The top light is the HDD activity light (which for some reason, never correctly worked for me), bottom is power LED light. Followed by power switch

If your motherboard supports two power LED connections, then you can connect the decorative lights to the secondary pins. If your Mobo does not support it, you’ll have to live without them.

~

The build is finished! To be honest, this isn’t much of an upgrade. It’s almost a brand new computer (with the exception of re-using the case and a few things). You can buy a slightly larger case for $60 and just fit a full-sized ATX board in it. Which I may or may not end up doing, since this case isn’t all too nice looking to begin with.

There! I hope you find this post informative. If you liked it and wish to show your thanks or if you have any questions, leave a comment below!