Old computer upgrade,budget of 200$

[MichaelTehGamer]

I am upgrading my bad OptiPlex 360(it was cheap btw) with a budget of 200$.

Currently-
Windows 10(64 bit)
3 gb of ram(out of 4 gb max,2 slots)
A radeon HD 4350(YES,i know its horrible)
A core 2 duo E7400(2.8ghz,not overclocked)
Also I only have 80 gb of memory.
If you think nothing here is good(at all) suggest a salvage build that is barebones(but upgradable)
NOTE-IT IS LOW PROFILE

 

[ToineF]

Well, I think you could switch the HDD with a SSD. you would be surprised on the miracles those little things do. It would give you a good idea of the potential.

if it doesn't change much, you can always re-use that SSD for another built.

 

[MichaelTehGamer]

I would,but it only has usb 2.0(so fairly slow) and 1 SATA port.
Not to mention a tad bit expensive

 

[Sapphire Thunder]

well, you would need more RAM ASAP. but that one uses DDR2 I think.
You would also need new HDD. GPU is very important as well.

All in all...there is nothing you can do to it with just 200$.

Your best bet is indeed something used.

Best would be any old Intel i5. That + 8Gb DDR3 RAM is pretty much all you can do with 200$.

 

[Exeonx]

With that kind of budget, depending on what your power supply is i'd recommend you getting a low-end GPU, a 950/960GTX which are usually around 160/220$ and you could get a new HDD if you need the extra memory quite cheaply, like you can get a 1 TB HDD for around 40$ on newegg

The reason for this suggestion is that you can't get a much better CPU as you can't really buy them anymore besides Ebay and the likes, and DDR2 Ram is now quite expensive, so your only upgrade options are GPU and Hard drive, personally in your situation if you have the power supply capabilities i'd go with the 950GTX and a 500GB/1TB Hard drive.

 

[MichaelTehGamer]

It is DDR3,so not terrible.
I also need a new psu(only 230) and graphics card too.
Realy that wouldn't help the most,unless you can find a used computer better then this for 100(I would still need the extra 100 for more upgrades,like ram and a basic video card)

 

[Sapphire Thunder]

With that kind of budget, depending on what your power supply is i'd recommend you getting a low-end GPU, a 950/960GTX which are usually around 160/220$ and you could get a new HDD if you need the extra memory quite cheaply, like you can get a 1 TB HDD for around 40$ on newegg

The reason for this suggestion is that you can't get a much better CPU as you can't really buy them anymore besides Ebay and the likes, and DDR2 Ram is now quite expensive, so your only upgrade options are GPU and Hard drive, personally in your situation if you have the power supply capabilities i'd go with the 950GTX and a 500GB/1TB Hard drive.

950 might be a bit too much. I would say GTX750TI at max.

 

[MichaelTehGamer]

Guys it it uses ddr3 and I just found something.
http://www.delidded.com/lga-771-to-775-adapter/
Do you think it would work?

 

[Sapphire Thunder]

I wouldn't trust that...
As said, pretty much best you can do is find some i5 or Core2Quad (if you can't find motherboard for/with i5). Then get 8Gb RAM + some good psu if you still have budget left.

Then just save up money for bigger HDD and better gpu.

 

[MichaelTehGamer]

THE MOTHERBOARD CAN ONLY HAVE 4 GB OF RAM.

 

[Sapphire Thunder]

THE MOTHERBOARD CAN ONLY HAVE 4 GB OF RAM.

It should be able to handle 8Gb (2x4Gb). Though it's hard to say since we do not know the model.
Most LGA775 motherboards can handle up to 8Gb. That is, if the BIOS allows it. But for most of them, there is some newer BIOS version that adds the support.

 

[MichaelTehGamer]

THE MOTHERBOARD CAN ONLY HAVE 4 GB OF RAM.

It should be able to handle 8Gb (2x4Gb). Though it's hard to say since we do not know the model.
Most LGA775 motherboards can handle up to 8Gb. That is, if the BIOS allows it. But for most of them, there is some newer BIOS version that adds the support.

Just checked,and the manual says no.
It is lga 775 btw

 

[bambiboom]

I am upgrading my bad OptiPlex 360(it was cheap btw) with a budget of 200$.

Currently-
Windows 10(64 bit)
3 gb of ram(out of 4 gb max,2 slots)
A radeon HD 4350(YES,i know its horrible)
A core 2 duo E7400(2.8ghz,not overclocked)
Also I only have 80 gb of memory.
If you think nothing here is good(at all) suggest a salvage build that is barebones(but upgradable)
NOTE-IT IS LOW PROFILE

MichaelTehGarner,

Often it's possible to upgrade older systems for a reasonable cost and effort to a reasonable result. I was given a Dell Precision 390 from one generation earlier than your Optiplex 360:

Precision 390 (2006) (Original): Core2 Duo 6300 dual-core @ 1.86GHz, 2GB DDR2 667 > Quadro FX550 > 2X WD 320GB . Windows XP Pro 32-bit
[ Passmark system rating =397, CPU = 587 / 2D= 248 / 3D=75 / Mem=585 / Disk = 552 ]

and I bought a CPU, some RAM, Win7 Pro off eBay, and used a Firepro left over from upgrading a new HP z420- about $130 total:

Dell Precision 390 (2006) (Revised): Xeon X3230 quad-core @ 2.67GHz > 8 GB DDR2 ECC 667 > Firepro V4900 (1GB)> 2X WD 320GB >Linksys WMP600N WiFi > Dell 24" > 1920 X 1200 > Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
[ Passmark system rating = 1458, CPU = 3699 / 2D= 431 / 3D=1350 / Mem= 885 / Disk=552]

And, normally, I would suggest using the same technique on the Optiplex 360. These old systems can have a good potential. However, taking the value of the system, the limits of that system for improvement (CPU type, form factor, and power supply), plus the upgrade cost, I think you would have much better results with less efforts and a system with a longer future by considering something like this:

DELL OPTIPLEX 790 INTEL CORE I5-2500 3.3GHz 2GB RAM 500 GB HDD WINDOWS 7 PRO > sold for $128.50 (9.13.15.)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DELL-OPTIPLEX-790-INTEL-CORE-I5-2500-3-3GHz-2GB-RAM-500-GB-HDD-WINDOWS-7-PRO-/371435584195?hash=item567b493ac3&nma=true&si=hXk3UkU%252BCSUuYLGDCWcAxz2GuZI%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

This was the results of a three-minute search, so it may be possible to improve on. And with the residual from the $200 budget and the value of the old system, add RAM to 8GB, look for a used GTX 650ti or 750ti, and along the line, an SSD. the good feature is that you could probably use the system more or less as is and shop patiently.

To compare, on Passmark the highest rated Optiplex 360 (54 tested):

Rating = 1537 / CPU=3409 (Core2 Quad 8300) / 2D = 396 (Radeon HD 4670) / 3D = 665 / Mem =886 (4GB) Disk = 1243 (Intel SSDSA2M0808G2GN)

The highest CPU score was 4168 from a Xeon X5440 (4-core @ 2.83GHz)
The highest 3D score was 963 from a GT 9800

By contrast the best Optiplex 790 with an i5 (13 tested):

Rating = 3377 / CPU=6201 / 2D = 690 (Radeon HD 7750) / 3D = 1842 / Mem =2248(16GB) Disk = 3989 (Intel 520 120GB)

The highest CPU score was 6645 from a i5-2500 (4-core @ 3.2- O/C? to 3.6GHz)
The highest 3D score was 5271 from a Radeon R9 280X

The highest rated Optiplex 790 (193 tested)

Rating = 4016 / CPU=8430 (i7-2600) / 2D =782 (GTX 750ti) / 3D = 3676 / Mem =2131(8GB) Disk = 3543 (Sandisk SDSSDHI480G)

When the graphics, memory, and disk scores can be that high it means the - chipset / controllers and basic architecture has a very good potential and can respond to good components. The Optiplex seems to get along well with Intel SSD's.

There no question in my mind that for a similar cost and probably less effort, you would have much better experiential results by selling the Optiplex 360 and buying and upgrading an Optiplex 790.

Cheers,

BamibBoom

HP z420 (2015) > Xeon E5-1660 v2 six-core @ 3.7 / 4.0GHz > 32GB DDR3 ECC 1866 RAM > Quadro K4200 (4GB) > Intel 730 480GB (9SSDSC2BP480G4R5) > Western Digital Black WD1003FZEX 1TB> M-Audio 192 sound card > 600W PSU> Logitech z2300 > Linksys AE3000 USB WiFi > 2X Dell Ultrasharp U2715H (2560 X 1440) > Windows 7 Professional 64 >
[ Passmark Rating = 5064 > CPU= 13989 / 2D= 819 / 3D= 4596 / Mem= 2772 / Disk= 4555] [Cinebench R15 > CPU = 1014 OpenGL= 126.59 FPS] 7.8.15

 

[Kisianik]

On the original motherboard yo can go up to Q6600, MSI 750TI low profile and total 4 GB RAM due to the Intel G31 chipset and it will be very tight for you proprietary power supply, however should work.

If desire more for less, go with bambiboom suggestion.

Edit. Forgot to mention, I think there is no ACHI mode, need heavy tweaking to get one installed.