Budget upgrade on Desktop PC

[Bavique3]

Hi guys,
I am an engineering student, looking to go to mechanical engineering at University.

I have seen some great articles on Tom's hardware, which helped me a lot when I was looking for some opinions and reviews on technical components and other stuff I wanted to purchase.

Currently, I am not too sure what to go for, which is why, I have created this post.

As I have said, I am looking to upgrade my desktop pc.
I am looking to be capable to do autoCAD and Solidworks work renderings, and projects on it, as well as some gaming on Battlefield 3 and the latest Tomb Raider if possible.

My Desktop PC features the following hardware:

User Benchmarks: Game 13%, Desk 36%, Work 16%

CPU: Intel Core i5 650 - 44.1%

GPU: Nvidia GeForce GT 530 - 4.2%

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB - 57.6%

RAM: Transcend JM1333KLU-2G 2x2GB - 31.7%

MBD: Acer Aspire M5811


A full CPU-Z report can be accessed here: https://goo.gl/BS4Roc



In my experience throughout the time I have had this computer, I felt it short of doing some photoshopping and some average gaming.
I feel as the computer has some lack of power, which I think is due to its weak PSU, from the feedback I have seen on some websites as being the culprit.

The GPU is not something that is able to take minimum 3d or light graphical processing work, as you can see it has a very awful score in the benchmarks.

The computer has also some graphical problems, as it does not produce a sharp picture even in a resolution of 85 Hz @ 1360x768.

The computer is about 6 or 7 years old, and it is a fairly decent computer for multimedia and basic stuff.

This is why, I am thinking on upgrading some of its components to at least be able to run some 3d software, without too much hassle, and also be able to play a little when I need.

I've been looking to upgrade my graphics board and power supply to do the job.

In terms of GPU, I have seen the GTX 660 and GTX 750, also I have seen some HD 7870 and HD 7970 or HD7770. This are on budget and not too bad in some reviews.

In terms of PSU, I am looking something capable to support the GPU, I have seen the Corsairs and Seasonic brands as being the good quality ones.

I have already bought a combo keyboard and mouse from Cooler Master which is for gaming. I wasn't even thinking on buying it, but for £26 it is not that bad, assuming it is a keyboard and mouse set. Initially I was just looking to replace my old junky keyboard, and my HP mouse to be able to do work quickly.
This combo does the job, and also lets me do some average gaming.


All in all, I am looking into just going on a budget upgrade for my desktop, not going too much past £170 on some used GPU, or brand new, and also a power supply.

I would like to hear the community's feedback to give me some guidance on buying the right components.

 

[imsqam]

Reading though your post I wasn't sure if you wanted to spend £170 total or just on the GPU. Here is a build which includes GPU, PSU and more RAM for approx. £210. But truth is that we cannot go much further on the GPU because of the CPU, it is getting outdated and won't keep up. At some point you might consider getting a used CPU. Here is a link for LGA 1156 CPU's by speed. And if you plan to render you will probably want an i7-8xx series CPU.
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/socketType.html#id2

In the build below I chose a GTX 1050 Ti even though it blew the budget by 40 Quid. If you can't find the money then you can get either a GTX 1050 or an RX 460.

Your mobo will only take 8GB of RAM so no use in getting more. Most games these days require 8GB min. These Corsair modules were popular in the day. This Be Quiet! PSU is fairly decent for a budget model.
https://nl.hardware.info/reviews/6852/13/be-quiet-pure-power-9-cm-400w--500w--700w-review-conclusien

PCPartPicker part list: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/kYWRhq
Price breakdown by merchant: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/kYWRhq/by_merchant/

Memory: Corsair XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 Memory (£32.98 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Video Card (£136.16 @ More Computers)
Power Supply: be quiet! Pure Power 9 400W 80+ Silver Certified ATX Power Supply (£40.00 @ Aria PC)
Total: £209.14
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-04-03 00:04 BST+0100

 

[tsnor]

Agree with above discussion on CPU, but I would not go for a used 1156 CPU, I'd go with a new MB, CPU and memory if target workload is autoCAD.

AMD is about to ship new CPUs in april (ryzen 3, 5), you might want to wait just a bit to buy. They should be excellent for autoCAD and Solidworks work renderings.

If buying today I would price a Pentium G4560, cheap Intel B150 MB and 8 or 16GB of DDR4. I don't know £ based PC pricing, for $US this is less than $200 in PC parts, and $200US is less than £170. I'd look for someone junking an old video card when they got a new one. I've traded good cards to friends for a sixpack. The pentium vs you i5 is about 30% to 40% faster. An i3-7100 for another $50 would be 60% faster than your CPU. (and the integrated GPU in the karby lake actually beats your video card http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-GeForce-GT-530-vs-Intel-HD-630-Desktop-Kaby-Lake/m8407vsm178724)

Alternative is picking up a used Sandy Bridge or later i5 based system. In $US at newegg you can get these for $200-$250. Again, add video later.

"..I feel as the computer has some lack of power, which I think is due to its weak PSU,.." Bad PSU will crash your system (e.g. blue screen). It will keep it from booting. But if the system is running a PSU does not effect the speed at which it runs. Likely what you are seeing is slow CPU and really really slow video. That said, a bad PSU is an ugly thing, and if you have the money to upgrade well worth it.

 

[Bavique3]

@Ancient
Those are great choices thanks!, and I was talking about getting a PSU and a GPU in the £170 range if you were confused. But as you said I would need to change CPU. Because of that then, I would change everything, as the MOBO is not gonna let me do much afterwards.

@Adept
Please could you elaborate if I wanted to build a system with AMD Ryzen and a good GPU?
I was seeing on eBay and god the prices are astronomical LOL.
Is it possible to use this case for all the components? Will they fit? It is an Acer Aspire M5811.

Thanks both for the huge help.