[SOLVED] Best parts to upgrade on my sons computer that crashes!

[cosomalo]

My sons computer is about 6 years old with some upgraded parts .
It randomly crashes so we thought of updating some of it . I was thinking mainly the motherboard , ram and putting it in a new case since those are the oldest parts . I’ll list the parts it has and any input is greatly appreciated.
CPU: AMD FX-8370 8-core
graphics card : AMD Radeon R9 380
Motherboard : MSI 760GM-P34(FX) (MS-7641)
1 tb ssd

 

[Lutfij]

Please include the make and model of the PSU and it's age, then the rams used in the build as well as the storage in it. IMHO, your son would benefit from migrating to the new Ryzen platform.

How much are you looking to spend and when would you like to perform the purchase?

 

[cosomalo]

Psu is a Corsair cx650m , it has 8 gb of ram but shows only 4 are useable I know the ram came with the computer like 5 years ago.
Looking to buy the items soon to have for Christmas and looking to spend maybe 3-400

 

[cosomalo]

Please include the make and model of the PSU and it's age, then the rams used in the build as well as the storage in it. IMHO, your son would benefit from migrating to the new Ryzen platform.

How much are you looking to spend and when would you like to perform the purchase?

What does he need to migrate to the ryzen platform

 

[DSzymborski]

What does he need to migrate to the ryzen platform

CPU, RAM, motherboard. Possibly forgo a new case if the old one is still usable. The PSU is fine.

The problems you're having right now are hard to pinpoint from what you said, but depending on the type of crashing it's doing, the current build might have a motherboard issue. Pairing an entry-level AM3+ motherboard with a 125W is extremely non-recommended; the 125W FX CPUs work those poor motherboards and their anemic voltage regulator modules to their deaths a lot of the time. Not that I'd recommend replacing that motherboard with another AM3+ one, it's much preferable to go a Ryzen build.

Also, make sure Windows is fully updated to Windows 10 and associated with a Microsoft account. You want to make sure that when you do a significant platform upgrade, you can still use your Windows license.

 

[cosomalo]

So do you think the cpu is outdated?

 

[DSzymborski]

So do you think the cpu is outdated?

Extremely. This was a platform on 2012 that, in terms of gaming at least, was extremely disappointing at the time and was barely an improvement from the 2008-2010 Phenom II series. Any significant improvement in performance is going to require a new CPU, which means a new motherboard and new RAM.

 

[cosomalo]

Thanks for all your help @DSzymborski do you think the graphics card is ok for now

 

[superninja12]

Thanks for all your help @DSzymborski do you think the graphics card is ok for now

the graphics card is fine.

 

[cosomalo]

Thanks any recommendations for what items to get , I’m gonna get a new case too