Question Help upgrading HP ENVY Desktop - 750-055xt

[rumplestilts]

Bought the subject machine in 2015. It has a Haswell Core i7 4790 3.6GHz CPU, MSI Kaili2 motherboard, 8GB RAM & GTX 960 GPU. In most respects, I'm fairly pleased with the machine. I swapped in an SSD immediately.

I was wondering if it was possible and advisable to swap in a new CPU - one that would really make a difference. Perhaps a new motherboard with an 8th Gen Core i7? (I do not know whether a new mobo is even an option for this machine.)

I do not play games on my HP; it's used for Adobe Lightroom so I don't think a better GPU would have much of an impact.

Or should I just leave it alone and buy a new machine with an 8th Gen Core i7?

Advice appreciated. Thanks.

 

[delaro]

You have the max CPU available for that PC "4790 or 4790 K". Changing to a aftermarket motherboard can be tricky with those since that line has proprietary front panel connectors but it can be done since all you need is the power button "2 wires".

 

[rumplestilts]

Delaro,

Thanks for your reply. I did a quick search and, not knowing which mobo would work in my HP, I just picked one (an MSI ATX) simply to come up with a cost. Looks like $200. The Core i7-8700K CPU seems to run about $360. Would probably need new RAM modules; let's say $150. So, assuming my Nvidia GTX 960 card would slot into that mobo, I'd have about $700-750 in hardware costs for the necessary upgrade. Looks like about double that price for a new machine. Do you think my cost estimates are reasonable? If so, the next step would be to actually determine the specific mobo that would fit and be mostly plug-compatible. Wonder if HP does the kind of proprietary sh-t that Apple does and I'll find that the power supply isn't compatible. 🙄

Edit: Found a Dell with Core i7-8700 and GTX 1050i for $900. Probably better to just buy new and re-purpose the older machine.