THIS MONTH THE DOCTOR TACKLES...

> Reuse components

> Win11 sleep issues

> Convert to GPT

Cannibalizing old components

I’ve been a subscriber since 1998 and have some components lying around I’d like to reuse. I would like to consider utilizing some or all of the following components: a Rocketfish RF-FULLTWR Aluminum Full-Tower Case (huge, great reviews and modable), a barely used 700-watt OCZGXS700 PSU, and a new A8-7670k CPU I bought as an impulse buy four years ago (along with a mobo I can no longer find).

Alternatively, I have a new ASRock 775Dual-Vista 775 MB mobo I could build a system around, but my first thought is to use the A8 CPU, case, and PSU for a server build. I also have an ASUS U3S6 PCIe4 x4 card that offers USB 3.0 ports.

I found a review from 2016 where the processor was purchased for a small home virtualization server and was capable of handling Plex in conjunction with a repurposed Radeon gaming card, making it capable of handling simultaneous playback and transcoding to multiple devices in HD. It was also very quiet and capable of mild overclocking. It was described as an “awesome budget CPU” for utility/workhorse purposes. Would that review still apply today, or can I use the case and PSU in an all-new build? Your thoughts would be appreciated.

—Dean Johnson

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THE DOCTOR RESPONDS: That’s quite an eclectic mix of components, Dean. Your first thought is a good one— ditch the ASRock mobo, which is too old, and look at pricing a system around the A8-7670k CPU instead. That is easily powerful enough for server and Plex duties, without needing a secondary graphics card, particularly if you optimize your media (see MPC Dec 2019) to minimize the need for transcoding.