[SOLVED] Is this a good deal? and a good motherboard?

[anderson0077]

Im looking to upgrade my computer but my motherboard is restricted to certain components i think. (foxconn 2ABF) anyways someone has this listed and was wondering if it was a good deal and a good motherboard. anyone that would be willing to guide me in the right direction on building or buying new for my needs would be awesome. LOL

new in box B350 Tomahawk Gaming Motherboard, has all original cabling, never had any parts mounted to it, in original plastics. OBO. 175.00

 

[R_1]

Welcome to the forums
not for that money. for 169 you can get a current motherboard not one that is two generations old already.
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/q4...plus-atx-am4-motherboard-mpg-x570-gaming-plus as an example, there are good boards to be had for far less, but I was keeping with your 175 price point.
you would need new RAM and a CPU to go with that motherboard

depending on your case you might be able to re-use it and PSU you would need a PSU for sure, do not risk new shiny parts with an old PSU.
Motherboard, CPU, RAM, PSU as the minimum parts you would need to upgrade.
faster storage is a suggestion, you can keep the hard drives and maybe the case, check motherboard dimensions before buying anything.
measure twice, cut once

what is your total upgrade budget? what are your complete current specs, pre-built model number, etc.? what do you need the computer to do?

 

[anderson0077]

Welcome to the forums
not for that money. for 169 you can get a current motherboard not one that is two generations old already.
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/q4...plus-atx-am4-motherboard-mpg-x570-gaming-plus as an example, there are good boards to be had for far less, but I was keeping with your 175 price point.
you would need new RAM and a CPU to go with that motherboard

depending on your case you might be able to re-use it and PSU you would need a PSU for sure, do not risk new shiny parts with an old PSU.
Motherboard, CPU, RAM, PSU as the minimum parts you would need to upgrade.
faster storage is a suggestion, you can keep the hard drives and maybe the case, check motherboard dimensions before buying anything.
measure twice, cut once

what is your total upgrade budget? what are your complete current specs, pre-built model number, etc.? what do you need the computer to do?

My budget isnt what i wish it was haha. I don't want to spend more than 650.00 I do graphic design and have to run a few big programs at once and save some big files and have a BUNCH of files and fonts (30K fonts if not more) I do some gaming but not enough to have the tricked out gaming desktop thats 5k lol. If anything i just need it to stop freezing and be faster because i am a very impatient person and i have to restart a couple times a day when i have to use the programs all day. My ps did ok at the start of things because i was only using one program and not as big of projects. If anything i want something that fits my budget now that will work and i have the ability to upgrade once it needs it. It doesn't have to be the best of the best now . My current specs are.

HP Pro3500 Series
Windows 10 pro
Intel Core i-5 3470 CPU @ 3.20GHz
8GB RAM
Motherboard is a Foxconn 2ABF 3.20
and a 120gb SSD
no graphics card

 

[Karadjgne]

It's not your motherboard, nor the cpu at fault. It's the age of the components themselves vs the software being run. If you were still using software written for those components 6 years ago, they'd be doing peachy- fine, if a little slow. A pc's useful lifespan is not determined by the components, but by the software.

A cpu for instance will last an easy 20yrs+, I still have a Pentium II 350MHz in working order, that's 20 years old, running Windows 98SE with 1GB of ram. It will not run any OS newer.

So your software is what's killing you, it's demanding more than what that old i5 can handle and bogging it down until it gives you the proverbial middle finger and quits.

Something like this shouldn't break the bank, nor require a gpu. Gaming rigs are more inclined to big gpus, but the core components are the same for production or gaming, so you could bump up the APU to a standard CPU with the inclusion of a small gpu which will get you more cpu power overall.
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3400G 3.7 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($149.00 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI B450M PRO-M2 MAX Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($74.99 @ B&H)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($74.98 @ Amazon)
Total: $298.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-05-07 15:09 EDT-0400

A Lot more cpu power.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor ($159.99 @ B&H)
Motherboard: MSI B450M PRO-M2 MAX Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($74.99 @ B&H)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($74.98 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GT 1030 2 GB Video Card ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $394.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-05-07 15:15 EDT-0400

 

[anderson0077]

It's not your motherboard, nor the cpu at fault. It's the age of the components themselves vs the software being run. If you were still using software written for those components 6 years ago, they'd be doing peachy- fine, if a little slow. A pc's useful lifespan is not determined by the components, but by the software.

A cpu for instance will last an easy 20yrs+, I still have a Pentium II 350MHz in working order, that's 20 years old, running Windows 98SE with 1GB of ram. It will not run any OS newer.

So your software is what's killing you, it's demanding more than what that old i5 can handle and bogging it down until it gives you the proverbial middle finger and quits.

Something like this shouldn't break the bank, nor require a gpu. Gaming rigs are more inclined to big gpus, but the core components are the same for production or gaming, so you could bump up the APU to a standard CPU with the inclusion of a small gpu which will get you more cpu power overall.
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3400G 3.7 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($149.00 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI B450M PRO-M2 MAX Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($74.99 @ B&H)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($74.98 @ Amazon)
Total: $298.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-05-07 15:09 EDT-0400

A Lot more cpu power.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor ($159.99 @ B&H)
Motherboard: MSI B450M PRO-M2 MAX Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($74.99 @ B&H)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($74.98 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GT 1030 2 GB Video Card ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $394.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-05-07 15:15 EDT-0400

Awesome! Thanks so much!! Now my next question is... will the power supply i have now work ok and do i need extra fans or anything else? What about windows? I currently have windows pro on this PC but not sure how that part of it all works.

 

[Karadjgne]

Haha. And off to the races we go... 🤣

Psu. It's a 300w, which is plenty good enough.
Fans. Maybe. Can't really say as I've not been (or don't remember) the insides of that chassis, so you'd honestly be a better judge. But a fan in the side panel with an exhaust fan in back and the psu acting as an exhaust will be sufficient.

In your pc, the motherboard is upside down. The cpu nearest the bottom of the case and venting right above it. There's also an exhaust fan right there too. The psu is on top, just above the gpu (which doesn't get that hot, it's a low power unit) so the psu will grab the gpu exhaust.

I'm not exactly sure what sizes the vent and exhaust are, they could be 120mm or 92mm, but replacing the exhaust at some point with a really good fan (that's quiet) wouldn't hurt. I'd start with a nice quiet fan for the side, like a Noctua NF-S series that has high cfm, you won't need the high static pressure F series. There's even a slim 15mm version, the NF-A12x15 that's only half as thick but almost as good, if cpu clearance is an issue. If you've got less space than that, you won't even need a fan there, just get a good exhaust.

Windows: that's the hard part. Up til now, you've had an HP, and your bios is HP and the Windows registration has been HP. You paid HP for windows they got at bulk rates, and it's tied to your motherboard. Change that and you no longer have an HP, regardless of what the case is. So your old HP windows liscence will no longer be valid.
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/get-windows-10-free-or-cheap,5717.html
That's the info. What path you take is up to you. You can go with Home, Pro, or simply not register it, but serious advice to go with the 64bit (x64) not the 32bit (x86) version. Windows is free, can get a copy directly from Microsoft, no questions asked. What you'll pay for is the Key. Where you get that is on you.