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Questions regarding upgrading my older PC
Ok, back in 2007, I built a top end PC. Over the years I upgraded parts such as my NVIDIA Graphics Card, RAM, and Sound Card. I just replaced the PSU about two yrs ago. About a year ago, my PC crapped out on me. I believe it was my old Asus MB that finally died. I'm about to upgrade everything starting with the MOBO, and I'd like some help from this awesome community.
Ok, here goes.
1) Motherboard: I love Asus. Looking to spend no more than 150ish.
2) Processor: I've always been a fan of AMD. I'd like to stay in the 100-150 dollar range.
3) RAM: I have 8 gigs of DDR2 Corsair right now. I should probably upgrade to 16 DDR4
4) Hard drive: I have a Seagate now. But thinking of adding another.
5) Sound Card: I bought a Sound Blaster about 5 years ago, so I doubt I need to upgrade that.
6) Graphics Card: I have a NVIDIA GTX 490. Not sure where to go here, was thinking getting a 1060 and staying at around 200 dollars.
7) PSU: I just bought a Antec 750 Watt TruePower Classic a cpl yrs ago, but still new in box. I doubt this needs upgrading
If there is anything else I'm missing, let me know. Or would it be safe to just buy a new PC? I love my Tower, though, Lmao! It was around 150 dollars alone.. Any help ans suggestions would be very appreciated.
Ok, here goes.
1) Motherboard: I love Asus. Looking to spend no more than 150ish.
2) Processor: I've always been a fan of AMD. I'd like to stay in the 100-150 dollar range.
3) RAM: I have 8 gigs of DDR2 Corsair right now. I should probably upgrade to 16 DDR4
4) Hard drive: I have a Seagate now. But thinking of adding another.
5) Sound Card: I bought a Sound Blaster about 5 years ago, so I doubt I need to upgrade that.
6) Graphics Card: I have a NVIDIA GTX 490. Not sure where to go here, was thinking getting a 1060 and staying at around 200 dollars.
7) PSU: I just bought a Antec 750 Watt TruePower Classic a cpl yrs ago, but still new in box. I doubt this needs upgrading
If there is anything else I'm missing, let me know. Or would it be safe to just buy a new PC? I love my Tower, though, Lmao! It was around 150 dollars alone.. Any help ans suggestions would be very appreciated.
Rallithon Oakthornn
(Retired Heirophant of the 60th season)
Comments
For a processor, at current prices, I don't see sensible options in a strict $100-$150 range. You can go a little over the top of that range:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113496
And if you're not willing to pay that, then you must as well stay under $100:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113481
For a motherboard, you want something that is Socket AM4 with either a B450 or X470 chipset.
For memory, yeah, 16 GB of DDR4 is probably the thing to get. Anything modern will require DDR4, which you seem to already know. Make it two 8 GB modules, not some other configuration.
A hard drive that is several years old should not be assumed to be reliable anymore. You definitely want an SSD. They've gotten so cheap, even from good brands like this:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820156173
If 500 GB is enough space for you, then just get an SSD and that's it. If 500 GB isn't enough but 1 TB is, then get a 1 TB SSD and be done with it. Only if you need more than 1 TB of capacity does it really make sense to get a hard drive anymore--and even then, you get both an SSD and a larger hard drive.
For a video card, on a strict $200 budget, a Radeon RX 580 is the thing to get unless you have a strong preference for Nvidia. For example:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150794
A GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB tends to cost more than that, and also tends to be a little slower. A GTX 1060 3 GB is substantially slower, as well as having only 3 GB of memory.
The power supply is an older Seasonic model. You don't want to keep it forever, of course, but you should be able to get several good years out of it, as it's plenty nice.
For the sound card, few people use discrete sound cards anymore. If you're a serious audiophile who has really looked into this, then go ahead and do whatever. But if not, then I'd probably try the integrated sound first, and only even bother with the discrete sound card if there is some way that the integrated sound isn't good enough.
I may just get a so called gaming PC from Best Buy for 900, and add/swap out a couple parts. Any thoughts on this rig?
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/cyberpowerpc-gamer-master-desktop-amd-ryzen-5-series-8gb-memory-amd-radeon-rx-580-2tb-hard-drive-240gb-solid-state-drive-black/6290721.p?skuId=6290721&ref=212&loc=1&&ref=212&loc=1&ds_rl=1266837&gclid=CjwKCAiAyMHhBRBIEiwAkGN6fBaSUci9q51rd3zHQiIueajNzv1wgZ5o7VGfq_C8ek8q9tngCMB1ZBoCiCEQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Rallithon Oakthornn
(Retired Heirophant of the 60th season)
But buying that and then immediately starting to swap parts doesn't sound like a good idea. It would be a lot cheaper to build your own computer.
https://www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews/3401-walmart-gaming-pc-overpowered-dtw3-not-worth-it-review
It's okay to get a computer built to order that tells you exactly which parts they're going to use. But if they don't tell you which part, then you should assume that it's the cheapest thing that technically meets their claimed specs without being so awful that someone who is clueless about computers will be able to tell that it's broken.
Among other things, that computer doesn't tell you what power supply it has, and is probably just a single memory module, meaning that it leaves a memory channel vacant, thus cutting your bandwidth in half.
In this case, someone posted the specs in a review. Expect to need to swap out the power supply and do something to fix the memory configuration yourself, though it otherwise looks a lot less bad than a lot of the other off the shelf "gaming" desktops that you could buy.
I like how the PSU's are on the bottom instead of the top portion of the Tower. I don't like all the tight fitting plastic coverings. I'd rip them out. I want proper airflow at all times so the MOBO, gfx card, processor etc doesn't overheat.
These towers are mid size, mine is twice as big with no unnecessary parts crammed in to take away from 100% proper in and out air flow.
I do like how there are these air duct ridge holes on built on the top and bottom of the towers. I guess this is meant to allow 4 way in and out air flow, but I prefer to have more open space than these mid towers give you...
Ok, with this said, I educated myself a bit more with what I want in regards of a mid to upper level rig.... The 879.00 machine would be great if:
1) The Radeon 580 was 8gig instead of 3
2) 16 gigs of ram instead of 8
3) Ryzen 7 Processor instead of 5
4) Oh, and the PSU is only 450! I have a 750 Watt unused, so I can just pop that in.
So, If those upgraded parts were put in, it would cost an additional couple hundred dollars, and you'll get a much better PC.
If I were to buy all the parts for a upper mid level gaming PC and build it myself, It would cost me no more than 1000 dollars.
It's much more worth it than paying 900 for this, even tho its not horrible, just cheaper on purpose...
Rallithon Oakthornn
(Retired Heirophant of the 60th season)
On the power supply, what matters is the quality of the unit, not just the nominal wattage. A cheap junk power supply that says 750 W on the label is not what you want, either. Regardless, if you've already got a good 750 W power supply, you might as well swap it in to whatever you get.
I did my own calculations and If I bought the parts including a new case without a master copy of Windows 10, etc, I'm looking at around 1000 dollars for a machine that would cost around 1800 already built.
I understand why these pre built machines come with the lesser versions of parts. It's bc most people buying the parts themselves will go for the upgraded ones a few dollars more as opposed to the cheaper versions. It's not to say the cheaper are horrible, it's just they charge a similar price for older versions for the rig than newer parts that u can get for around the same price...
Meaning, I should be able to get what I want for around 1000 dollars already built. Not 1800. The 879.99 pc would cost around 550 if i bought the exact parts myself.. I understand they have to make money, but damn.
Rallithon Oakthornn
(Retired Heirophant of the 60th season)
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-omen-by-hp-obelisk-desktop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1060-1tb-hard-drive-256gb-ssd-hp-finish-in-shadow-black/6285800.p?skuId=6285800
Also parts for build your own were pretty much all on sale.
All time classic MY NEW FAVORITE POST! (Keep laying those bricks)
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Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017.
Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018
"Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018
All time classic MY NEW FAVORITE POST! (Keep laying those bricks)
"I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator
Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017.
Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018
"Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018
But you are not just buying parts and labor when you go through them... your warranty also goes through them, so if anything goes wrong with the unit as a whole, you can just send the whole thing back and let them deal with troubleshooting and repair - rather than having to troubleshoot it yourself and then deal with RMA for whatever you think the problem part is.
The better shops, with the best service, are going to charge a heavier markup (and, in my experience, are the least likely to have issues to begin with). Bargain basement shops that rely on volume are renowned for crappy customer service (and sometimes questionable workmanship), but hey, you got a cheap PC. For some people that's worth the price, for either piece of mind or lack of time or whatever reason.
I appreciate everything the comminity has suggested and advised.
This allowed me to do more intense research and comparisons myself.
I have not been up to date with newer PC's, parts, towers, etc. But I have built and upgraded my own PC's from the late 90's until around 2014..
I will probably end up getting the pre built PC for 879, hopefully it goes on sale soon. Then I'll just swap out the 450 W PSU with the 750 W, along with adding 8 more gigs of RAM for 16, and upgrade the lesser 580 Radeon card with the 8 gig one or better later in the year.
The MOBO is fine, the AMD Ryzen 5Processor is fine but If I want the 7 later in the year, I'll just get that then. This would mainly be for If I decide to Stream on Twitch, which I'm not sure yet.
Other than that, I should be fine and ready to go for Pantheon ROTF for Beta and when it comes out.
Rallithon Oakthornn
(Retired Heirophant of the 60th season)
If you're going to swap out the processor and power supply, then you're doing a large chunk of the work that it would take to assemble your own, so you might as well just build your own. If the problem with building your own is that you don't know what parts to get, then we can help with that here.
If you're unwilling to build your own but want something substantially different from what the prebuilt, then go to a site that will let you pick the parts. For example, the one you linked is built by Cyber Power PC, so you could just go to their web site and configure one yourself:
https://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/New-Year-Special-II
That starts with a Ryzen 7 CPU and a Radeon RX 590 for the video card. If you drop it down to a Radeon RX 580 8 GB, add an SSD, and upgrade the memory to 16 GB, it comes to a little over $1200 with free shipping. That's a whole lot cheaper than paying $900 up front, plus $200 for a new video card, $100 for new memory, and $300 for a new processor.
I'm not saying that that's exactly what you should get. But I am saying that getting one built to order from one of the many sites that will let you choose your parts will be a better deal than buying a prebuilt and then replacing half of the parts yourself.
I didn't realize the RAM is not DC, It's just single. Also, that MOBO kinda sucks, and swapping out parts does seem like a bad idea.
Instead, I've decided to build my own PC. I want to stay around the $1000 range.
1) Motherboard: I prefer a Asus MOBO for around $175 max If possible.
2) Processor: I'd like a AMD Ryzen processor. Just not sure If I should go with just the 5 or 7. I plan on streaming on Twitch, so I will need some opinions here. Price range: under 200 for the 5, and I believe around 300 for the 7.
3) Graphics: I'm going to go with the AMD Radeon 580 8gig instead of the 4. I usually always went with EVGA or MSI with Nvidia. Once again, I'd like some help here.
Price should be under $200
4) RAM: 16 Gigs DDR4. I was always a Corsair fan. I'm not sure If I should get two 8's or a 16 gig stick.. I'm guessing this should cost around $100
5) PSU: I have an unused Antec TruePower Classic 750 W PSU. But, I know it's like 9 years old, but I bought it around 2013 for like $100. If you guys recommend I get an up to date one, then I will.
6) Hard Drive: I don't really need a 2 TB HD, 1 would be fine. I usually went with Seagate back in the day. $50
7) Operating system: Windows. But, which is better for gaming, 7 or 10?
8) Tower: I have a huge older silver tower. But, I should probably get a new one. I don't want to spend more than $100 if possible.
9) led fans: In my last rig, I had just 3 fans. I hear it may be best to have a couple on the back, top and one on the bottom for proper air flow. So, I'd appreciate some help with this.
I ran my pc playing games like WoW, EQ2, etc for hour upon hours with just 3 fans. Nothing ever melted or overheated. I used the same processor and MOBO for 10 years, so ya. I did uograde other parts though like the Graphics card twice, RAM, etc.
10) Monitor, KB, Mouse: I have a 24 Inch Samsung Monitor with Razer Naga Epic Mouse and Razer Anansi Keyboard. So, I'm good there.
This should all cost around $950 If I go with the 5 instead of the 7, and $750 ish if I stick with my tower and PSU.
If I'm missing anything, please let me know.
Rallithon Oakthornn
(Retired Heirophant of the 60th season)
It's an easy thing to do and will pay dividends on multiple fronts.
Edit: https://certification.comptia.org/faq/how-much-does-the-a-plus-certification-cost
$500 invested on having the cert, or you can find material for free online.
Having this cert (it was part of my BS curriculum) though, I would say just start looking at hardware specs and then research anything you're not sure you understand. It's not professional-level education but it works.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
If you're going to get 16 GB of memory, then make it two 8 GB modules, not one 16 GB. Modern, mainstream desktops have two memory channels, and you need a module in each or else one will be disabled. There's no sense in cutting your memory bandwidth in half that way.
You want Windows 10, not 7. Windows 7 is fine today, but it goes off support in about a year. After that, it will have no more security updates, and then you'll probably end up ridden with malware sooner rather than later. So unless you want to buy 7 today and then pay another $100 to move to 10 in a year, it's better to just buy 10 today.
I'd say go ahead and use the power supply you already have. Power supplies don't scale with Moore's Law, so opening up an unused power supply that, as best as I can tell, launched in 2014 wouldn't be like using a "new" GPU that launched in 2014. And it is a nice power supply, even by today's standards.
I'll use the 750 W PSU, get two 8 gig memory sticks, and stick with Windows 10.
Also, in regards to the HD, I wanted to do a SSD and HDD combo.
Once again, much appreciated!
Rallithon Oakthornn
(Retired Heirophant of the 60th season)
Just make sure that you don't get one of those stupid "hybrid" drives that pretends to be kind of like an SSD because of caching instead of a real SSD. A hard drive plus several GB of NAND cache is not at all similar to a real SSD. The acronym that they use for the "hybrid" drives is commonly SSHD, and that's not what you want.
Brenics ~ Just to point out I do believe Chris Roberts is going down as the man who cheated backers and took down crowdfunding for gaming.
Getting a SSD for practically only OS was good idea a couple of years ago because of SSD price, but today they are so cheap that it's worth purchasing big enough SSD for your games too and add an HDD only if you need really lot storage.
Brenics ~ Just to point out I do believe Chris Roberts is going down as the man who cheated backers and took down crowdfunding for gaming.