Curioused if I can upgrade my old PC

[duenn13]

Hi guys. I am curious if I can upgrade this old pc of mine. I would like to know if it's possible for me to upgrade my CPU without getting new motherboard or if I have to change both.
So I write down my specs:

• 
  GPU GeForce GT630
  CPU Intel Pentium G645 2.90 GHz
  4 GB RAM memory

So this is how my PC is right now. I was wondering if I could change the CPU to a better one,but nothing fancy, just a IntelCore i3 or i5 if it's possible. GPU is still okay in my opinion,can run many games with it.
I just dont know about the motherboard.
Motherboard informations the following:

• 
  Intel Corporation,Product DH61HO, Serial number GEHO232007SM
  Version AAG62445-103

Thank you.

 

[DSzymborski]

The specs for that motherboard have it compatible with Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge processors up to 65W. That means you can run all Pentiums, all i3s, and low-power i5s and i7s that have an S or a T in their name.

An upgrade probably won't help with gaming *that* much unless you upgrade the GPU as well; a GT 630 is a non-gaming GPU that is much slower than even very basic GPUs like the R7 240. It will help with your everyday tasks though.

 

[duenn13]

Thank you. So what do you say? Only get a new CPU and new GPU?

The specs for that motherboard have it compatible with Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge processors up to 65W. That means you can run all Pentiums, all i3s, and low-power i5s and i7s that have an S or a T in their name.

An upgrade probably won't help with gaming *that* much unless you upgrade the GPU as well; a GT 630 is a non-gaming GPU that is much slower than even very basic GPUs like the R7 240. It will help with your everyday tasks though.

 

[Wayfall]

Well the fastest chip is the i7-3770

GPU wise a GTX 1050 or the TI versions.

Also get another stick of 4GB so you then have 8GB.

 

[DSzymborski]

Thank you. So what do you say? Only get a new CPU and new GPU?

The specs for that motherboard have it compatible with Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge processors up to 65W. That means you can run all Pentiums, all i3s, and low-power i5s and i7s that have an S or a T in their name.

An upgrade probably won't help with gaming *that* much unless you upgrade the GPU as well; a GT 630 is a non-gaming GPU that is much slower than even very basic GPUs like the R7 240. It will help with your everyday tasks though.

Really depends on what you want to do with your PC. Some GPU upgrades will require a better PSU if you have a pre-built and 4 GB of RAM is quite a small amount these days.

 

[duenn13]

I was thinking about an i3 CPU and another 4GB of RAM. Tho I don't know what to do with the GPU or what GPU should I get. I don't want a high end gaming PC, just to upgrade a little bit mine because it's old. I do play somtimes but not much so surely I want to be able to run more games than with this actual build I have.

Thank you. So what do you say? Only get a new CPU and new GPU?

The specs for that motherboard have it compatible with Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge processors up to 65W. That means you can run all Pentiums, all i3s, and low-power i5s and i7s that have an S or a T in their name.

An upgrade probably won't help with gaming *that* much unless you upgrade the GPU as well; a GT 630 is a non-gaming GPU that is much slower than even very basic GPUs like the R7 240. It will help with your everyday tasks though.

Really depends on what you want to do with your PC. Some GPU upgrades will require a better PSU if you have a pre-built and 4 GB of RAM is quite a small amount these days.

 

[spdragoo]

Hi guys. I am curious if I can upgrade this old pc of mine. I would like to know if it's possible for me to upgrade my CPU without getting new motherboard or if I have to change both.
So I write down my specs:

• 
  GPU GeForce GT630
  CPU Intel Pentium G645 2.90 GHz
  4 GB RAM memory

So this is how my PC is right now. I was wondering if I could change the CPU to a better one,but nothing fancy, just a IntelCore i3 or i5 if it's possible. GPU is still okay in my opinion,can run many games with it.
I just dont know about the motherboard.
Motherboard informations the following:

• 
  Intel Corporation,Product DH61HO, Serial number GEHO232007SM
  Version AAG62445-103

Thank you.

As already pointed out, the GT 630 is not a gaming GPU, or at least far from a modern one. The only thing it has going for it is that it's miles ahead of the integrated graphics on compatible CPUs, especially the one on your Pentium (https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gpu-hierarchy,4388.html).

Now, I admit I'm a little confused by the specs on the board (https://ark.intel.com/products/66983/Intel-Desktop-Board-DH61HO), as I don't understand how you can have a PCie x16 slot if the "max" number of PCIe lanes is limited to 3. However, you could easily improve your graphics capabilities by moving up to at least a GT 1030/GTX 750TI, if not something like a GTX 1050/1050TI/1060 or an RX 570/580.

I wouldn't consider getting a GPU, however, without also replacing the CPU. Based on the list of supported CPUs (https://www.intel.com/content/dam/support/us/en/documents/boardsandkits/desktop-boards/DH61HO.pdf), I would recommend either the i5-3470S or the i7-3770S. Both have similar or slightly higher stocks speeds than your Pentium, they'll increase the cores/threads (your Pentium is a 2C/2T CPU, the i5 is a 4C/4T, & the i7 is a 4C/8T), & it'll move you from a 6th-tier CPU to at least a 2nd-tier or even a 1st-tier CPU (https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cpu-hierarchy,4312.html).

The only potential limiting factor is going to be the RAM. The board can physically handle up to 16GB on 2 slots, & luckily it handles DDR3 (up to DDR3-1333), which wouldn't be so bad. The question is going to be your OS. Your motherboard supports 64-bit Windows (although they caution that driver support is limited because it's past End-Of-Life, https://www.intel.com/content/dam/support/us/en/documents/boardsandkits/desktop-boards/desktop-board-supported-os-list.pdf)...but if you have 32-bit Windows currently installed, you're already at its 4GB limit. Putting in more RAM would require switching over to 64-bit Windows.

In any case, you've got the potential to turn this into a decent mid-range/low mid-range gaming build with more than enough power to handle 1080p gaming & won't be too far behind current tech in terms of performance.

 

[R0GG]

__Depending on your budget and the intended use of your PC:
__In order to upgrade your CPU it is strongly recommended to update your motherboard Bios to the latest version >> https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/27752/?product=66983
__You could upgrade CPU: below both have integrated graphics
- Preferred choice budget/performance wise Intel Core i5 3570S 3.1GHz Quad-Core = 60$>>https://www.ebay.com/p/Intel-Core-i5-3570S-3-1GHz-Quad-Core-CM8063701093901-Processor/127319399, It's specifications here >> https://versus.com/en/intel-core-i5-3570s
- Or Core i7-3770S ( good deal on ebay for 110$ >> https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Processor-Core-i7-3770S-3-1GHz-8MB-Cache-5-GT-s-LGA1155-SR0PN-/192524573208?_trksid=p2349526.m4383.l4275.c4
there are plenty other choices of CPU upgrades for intermediate prices.

__It is very advisable to upgrade your PC memory to at least 8GB, compatible is 4GB from Kingston KVR1333D3N9/4G DDR3 1333 if you buy 2 of these >> https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820139046
https://www.ebay.com/p/Kingston-4-GB-DIMM-1333-MHz-PC3-10600-DDR3-SDRAM-Memory-KVR1333D3N9-4G/170059126
__ It is very advisable also to upgrade your SYSTEM BOOT DRIVE to an SSD = 240GB ideal capacity like a Samsung 840 evo you could grab a good used one on ebay for about 70$ >> https://www.ebay.com/itm/Samsung-840-EVO-250GB-2-5-Inch-SATA-III-Internal-SSD/173260915623?epid=219489756&hash=item285727c3a7:g:V9wAAOSwgGFajPBu(good investment since it's transferable to a different system platform if switching platform later on)

Here is a website that might help you with your upgrade compatibility configuration (you don't have to buy the parts from it)
http://www.pc-specs.com/mobo/Intel/Intel_DH61HO/2240

__You might also consider upgrading your Graphics to at least gtx 970, or 980 or better 1050 depending on your budget.

N.B. Use caution and thorough testing upon reception when buying used hardware.