Maximizing Frankenstein

Hello everyone - I got tipped off to this forum by Ex_Brit and am hoping some of you good folks might be able to help. I recently inherited my old work computer as the entire office got hardware upgrades, and I'd like to see what I can do with it.

Until I lobotomized it using CCleaner (I'll spare you all the details and ask about that issue in a more appropriate forum), Frankenstein was running some form of Vista 32bit on an Asus P5B Plus Vista Edition motherboard. By all appearances, it doesn't look to be a factory-made rig, as there are no identifying corporate logos on the case, just a cryptic "Cooler Master" down the front. The motherboard and the CPU - an Intel Core 2 type - are the only thing I've been able to positively identify (mostly because I'm a complete novice at tinkering with the insides of computers) so I have no idea about anything else on the inside except for the two DIMMs in the 'A' slots.

So I guess first - how do I go about identifying what's in there?

And second - I know it's an old rig, but what can I do even at this late date to maximize its potential, especially as regards gaming? I know the Asus motherboards are generally good for that kind of thing; do I have something I can work with here or is it just better as a paperweight by now?

Thanks in advance for all your time and help!

Welcome.

Use cpu-z, it'll tell you the cpu, motherbard and ram installed. CPU-Z CPUID - System & hardware benchmark, monitoring, reporting
then use gpu-z to find out the video card. GPU-Z Video card GPU Information Utility

Then you are going to have to open up the case and find out what power supply size is.

Then I need to know what game you want to play

Hi Patonb - thanks for your response. Before I can get into all that, I need to rescue Frankenstein from the accidental lobotomy I performed on it. There's a separate thread in "Crashes and Debugging" on that particular subject if you think you might be able to help.

While I'm trying to figure out how to undo the lobotomy, what information am I looking for on the power supply?

Also, I'm an extremely casual gamer and the stuff I use most is Minecraft and a few older games like SPORE, but I'd like to be able to get back into a couple online games like Allods, and maybe pick up Skyrim at some point.

Hi, you need to find the label and find the Watts and the Amps on the 12V.
This should help you find it: Power Supply Guide at SVC.com