[SOLVED] Advice on upgrades.

Aug 5, 2021
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Hi folks, looking for some advice on a pc that was passed down to me, I know it’s quite outdated.
It’s an old hp with:

i7 3770 processor
Pegatron Motherboard 2ad5
16gb Ram
Nvidia GTX 750 ti
windows 10 pro

I am not sure about psu but I was looking for help upgrading the motherboard first and hopefully swapping out the pegatron 2ad5 with no problems.
Any help would be greatly appreciated as I’ve not had a pc in years so I am slowly gathering information again.
Thanks in advance
 
Solution
I want to use my ssd for gaming but I am open to improving this pc any way I can. Do people typically install windows on their ssd? I’ve only ever used mines for gaming to improve render and load times.

Do you have windows on your ssd?
I do install windows to SSD for faster boot and more responsive OS, other benefit is that when your hdd is busy doing somthing (say transfer file or loading a game), you could open browser, discord, etc etc that is installed in a ssd with fast, since its not interfering the hdd.

Thats why a SSD + HDD combo is pretty better, HDD to store stuffs and heavy games, SSD to load files/apps/games that you want it to load faster. I Only got 240gbs of ssd so i only put only valorant for game. Also...
How much budget you are willing to spend? A change on motherboard should not increase any performance with that processor, execpt you are going to buy a used P67, Z68, Z75 or Z77 motherboard to BCLK OC the processor and overclock the memory. But it should be okay to change motherboard since some OEM motherboard wont work with a good gpu compability (my friend have a 1060 6 gigs and 3 gigs and both of them wouldn't post using ECS H61 motherboard, changed to p67 sabertooth and it works fluently).
 
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Aug 5, 2021
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How much budget you are willing to spend? A change on motherboard should not increase any performance with that processor, execpt you are going to buy a used P67, Z68, Z75 or Z77 motherboard to BCLK OC the processor and overclock the memory. But it should be okay to change motherboard since some OEM motherboard wont work with a good gpu compability (my friend have a 1060 6 gigs and 3 gigs and both of them wouldn't post using ECS H61 motherboard, changed to p67 sabertooth and it works fluently).
I don’t have much budget at the moment but I’m definitely looking to improve this pc in the near future starting with motherboard and then psu.
GTX 750 ti 2gb gpu should do me just fine for the time being, I won’t be playing really demanding games on high settings anyway.

I have done my research regarding windows 10 and I have a retail license linked to my account.

any recommendations on some future proof motherboards that will be compatible with my cpu & gpu?
 
Hi folks, looking for some advice on a pc that was passed down to me, I know it’s quite outdated.
It’s an old hp with:

i7 3770 processor
Pegatron Motherboard 2ad5
16gb Ram
Nvidia GTX 750 ti
windows 10 pro

I am not sure about psu but I was looking for help upgrading the motherboard first and hopefully swapping out the pegatron 2ad5 with no problems.
Any help would be greatly appreciated as I’ve not had a pc in years so I am slowly gathering information again.
Thanks in advance
What's wrong with what you have?
What does not work to your liking?
 
any recommendations on some future proof motherboards that will be compatible with my cpu & gpu?
i can't say much about future proof, i have the same processor like you execpt it's a Xeon (E3 1240 v2), and using Gigabyte B75M Motherboard. Sata SSD on Sata 3 port is pretty much pleasing as for now, for cpu, it's ok for now, not really much a performance drop cause it's being 9 years old (nice one intel). for GPU you might just want to grab a B75/B75m motherboard from asrock or gigabyte, they're pretty great and affordable, and there is PCIe 3 Lane for the x16 slot, so one way to lift the bottleneck. for CPU, it's already the max you could go. Xeon E5 2667 V2 might be a good deal IF you could find a x79 motherboard.

I am currently planning to grab a 2060 and want to bottleneck the system as fast as possible, so that i have enough reason to upgrade to ddr5 sooner.

My concept of future proof is, if i dont feel the need to increase and the performance is already pleasing for now, with the little budget i spent for good parts i have now, i won't upgrade until it really laggs behind. also why DDR5? well because Intel Alder Lake and Ryzen Zen 4 is coming, thats why im upgrading once i got a used 2060 on hands :D
 
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Jmi20

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whatever upgrade you go with, do not skimp on the psu. buying a cheap no name psu will almost always backfire, eventually.

and don't forget to upgrade to an ssd. would make even 13+ yr old pc's feel new.
 
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whatever upgrade you go with, do not skimp on the psu. buying a cheap no name psu will almost always backfire, eventually.

and don't forget to upgrade to an ssd. would make even 13+ yr old pc's feel new.
I’m definitely gonna do some research and buy a good psu. Not sure which brand I am using just now As I’ve only had the pc 2 days but I think it’s 450w.

Do you know if a ssd through sata would work with my motherboard? I have a samsung ssd been using for console last few years.
 
Do you know if sata ssd will work with my motherboard? Pegatron 2a5d.
it'll sure work, but it's best to replace the motherboard into the ones i mentioned above, also get a good psu if yours now not good.


Not sure which brand I am using just now As I’ve only had the pc 2 days but I think it’s 450w.
Bequiet U9 500w or Corsair CV650 is pretty ok for not so power hungry gpu. Cougar GX-F650 is also fine.
 
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i can't say much about future proof, i have the same processor like you execpt it's a Xeon (E3 1240 v2), and using Gigabyte B75M Motherboard. Sata SSD on Sata 3 port is pretty much pleasing as for now, for cpu, it's ok for now, not really much a performance drop cause it's being 9 years old (nice one intel). for GPU you might just want to grab a B75/B75m motherboard from asrock or gigabyte, they're pretty great and affordable, and there is PCIe 3 Lane for the x16 slot, so one way to lift the bottleneck. for CPU, it's already the max you could go. Xeon E5 2667 V2 might be a good deal IF you could find a x79 motherboard.
Thanks dude! I will definitely have a look for a B75/B75m hopefully amazon has some because I don’t trust eBay lol.

im happy with the cpu just need mobo, psu then possibly graphic or more ram. The joys of having a old pc there is plenty of upgrades to do!
 
Thanks dude! I will definitely have a look for a B75/B75m hopefully amazon has some because I don’t trust eBay lol.

im happy with the cpu just need mobo, psu then possibly graphic or more ram. The joys of having a old pc there is plenty of upgrades to do!
Just make sure it's between Asus, Asrock, MSi, and Gigabyte. i hardly recommend gigabyte since the dual bios is pretty useful, also somehow this motherboard is strong enough to run my ram at CL9 custom timings!

here is my pc and ram timings: View: https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/nvs5wb/rate_my_pootato_pc/
 
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Jmi20

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ssd should work. Ur motherboards not that old, I’ve installed an ssd on as old as turion cpu’s

motherboard will not hold back anything. Its the cpu that could be a potential bottleneck if you upgrade the gpu.

a 1050 ti or even a 1650 would be a welcome upgrade to your setup
 
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it'll sure work, but it's best to replace the motherboard into the ones i mentioned above, also get a good psu if yours now not good.



Bequiet U9 500w or Corsair CV650 is pretty ok for not so power hungry gpu. Cougar GX-F650 is also fine.

will I need a sata cable or is it usb? Only asking because I’ve been using my ssd by usb on Xbox lol and do you know if I will be able to swap the ssd between pc and Xbox for gaming? Sorry not really clued up about all this.
Will have a look at these psu’s thanks so much!
 
Aug 5, 2021
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ssd should work. Ur motherboards not that old, I’ve installed an ssd on as old as turion cpu’s

motherboard will not hold back anything. Its the cpu that could be a potential bottleneck if you upgrade the gpu.

a 1050 ti or even a 1650 would be a welcome upgrade to your setup

The ssd ive been using for Xbox is usb, I take it I would need a sata cable for plugging it into my pc?

I’m sure I read something to do with the bios in the motherboard would hold me back from getting a 1050 ti etc. These cards require bios version 8 and mines is stuck at 7.15 legacy.
I was looking at these GPUs and came across these problems.
 

Jmi20

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Yeah, you should already have sata cables in your pc…

ive run a gpu as modern as an rtx 2060 on my g31 test bench which is dated circa 2007. Nvidia gpus are more likely to work on legacy bios than amd.
 
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Yeah, you should already have sata cables in your pc…

ive run a gpu as modern as an rtx 2060 on my g31 test bench which is dated circa 2007. Nvidia gpus are more likely to work on legacy bios than amd.

I’ll have a look later see if I have any, would the ssd work through usb on the pc if it was just for gaming? That way it would be easier to swap between my pc and Xbox depending on what I’m using.

I’ll definitely keep that in mind about the gpu as I would love to upgrade but kinda scared incase I buy one and it doesn’t work on this mobo lol
 
I’ll have a look later see if I have any, would the ssd work through usb on the pc if it was just for gaming? That way it would be easier to swap between my pc and Xbox depending on what I’m using.

I’ll definitely keep that in mind about the gpu as I would love to upgrade but kinda scared incase I buy one and it doesn’t work on this mobo lol
Could you give us a CPUZ screenshot on the motherboard section?
 

Jmi20

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You would have to format the ssd to install windows. You might be able to partition the drive for use as a storage medium too. But you can’t (shouldn’t) boot windows through a usb connection. Too slow…
 
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You would have to format the ssd to install windows. You might be able to partition the drive for use as a storage medium too. But you can’t (shouldn’t) boot windows through a usb connection. Too slow…

I don’t understand what you mean booting windows through the ssd?

I thought I could use the ssd externally for both pc and Xbox to store my games on it? Or am I better using it solely for pc? It’s only a 500gb ssd but if I can improve my pc with it i may as well use it.
 
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From what i understand, you wish to install windows on your ssd and boot through a usb connection. That is not an ideal way as a usb connection would be too slow.
I want to use my ssd for gaming but I am open to improving this pc any way I can. Do people typically install windows on their ssd? I’ve only ever used mines for gaming to improve render and load times.

Do you have windows on your ssd?