Reusable parts from old PC for new PC build?

[Some Soda]

Im thinking about building a new PC, but want to lower the cost as much as possible. To do that i want to reuse parts from my old PC but since im new to this i wonder what parts are actually worth reusing and if possible? Im mostly intrested in my CPU since its an i7 but im not sure if its useful for a modern gaming PC. My budget for my new PC is $700-$800 to be able to play most games at 1080p 60fps high settings. Also the RAM seems useful to recycle? Im not sure, any help would be appreciated ☺

My old pc: HP Pavilion HPE h8-1145sc

 

[caamsa]

Your system is still pretty decent. What are your complaints? Maybe you can upgrade your video card or add a SSD to speed things up.

 

[Some Soda]

I want to play games at higher settings than i currently can with higher fps, loading times arent really a problem. My system cant handle 60fps on any of the newer games at anything above medium settings, and that is with a lot of other settings such as shadows disabled. Even in Overwatch do i need to turn off a lot of stuff for a steady 50fps.

 

[caamsa]

What video card do you have?

 

[Some Soda]

I havent changed anything at all with my current pc (wich is the one in the post). So its an Gtx 550 Ti

 

[caamsa]

If you want to build a brand new Intel system then you won't be able to reuse your CPU or ram. All of the new systems use DDR4 and your CPU does not support DDR4.

 

[Some Soda]

So basically if i want to build a new pc i cant use any of the older parts. Im guessing i cant just buy a new graphics card and install that either?

 

[caamsa]

Does your system have the i7 2600? If so you could add a better video card and get better FPS. A 550 Ti is pretty week by today's standards. You could add a GTX 1050 Ti and get a nice boost.

 

[caamsa]

You can add a new video card. I have done that many times over the years. My current system has a gtx1060 and my cpu is a fx8320 which I am sure bottle necks it slightly. So my next build is going to probably be a RYZEN system since adding a new video card to my current system is not going to get me any more FPS. But my previous graphics card was a 7850 which was holding my cpu back a bit and when I added the gtx 1060 I got a nice boost. Good luck.

 

[Some Soda]

Will the newer cards even be compatible with my motherboard and/or rest of my pc?

 

[caamsa]

They will be compatible. You have One PCI Express x16 2.0 version and that will work with the newer cards.

 

[clarkjd]

IMHO any upgrade other than a video card or SSD that doesn't include a new CPU, motherboard, ram and PSU is relatively pointless. You could possibly re-use your drives, and maybe your case, but I would recommend replacing the PSU during any upgrade.

 

[caamsa]

There is still life left in his system. He has a 550 Ti which is an old card. A new video card is the cheapest way to go and will give him improved FPS. I do think that this should be his last upgrade for this system. Plus he has a prebuilt system so when he is ready to get or build a new system he can sell his old one.

 

[clarkjd]

There is still life left in his system. He has a 550 Ti which is an old card. A new video card is the cheapest way to go and will give him improved FPS. I do think that this should be his last upgrade for this system. Plus he has a prebuilt system so when he is ready to get or build a new system he can sell his old one.

I agree that there is some life left in his system, the question is whether or not to upgrade anything other than a video card or SSD. Even that upgrade should include a PSU as the stock PSU is not very robust and is sized to run what came with the system, with very little headroom for any upgrades.
As far as selling his prebuitl down the road, that is possible, but not likely to bring much of a return. It is an old prebuilt, without any warranty. You could get a new prebuilt, with higher performance, and a warranty, for around $500.

 

[Some Soda]

So if i just swap out the graphics card i should be set to play at high settings? That and swap out the PSU ofc. But then again, will my PC support newer PSU's?

 

[clarkjd]

So if i just swap out the graphics card i should be set to play at high settings? That and swap out the PSU ofc. But then again, will my PC support newer PSU's?

Unless your pre-built uses some kind of proprietary PSU, then you should be good to go.

 

[Some Soda]

Well i guess i just have to clean my pc (a shit ton of dust in there), swap psu and gpu then im done.
Thanks for the help everyone.

 

[caamsa]

I don't think you will need to replace the psu if you get a gtx 1050 or 1050 ti because they use very little power.

 

[clarkjd]

I don't think you will need to replace the psu if you get a gtx 1050 or 1050 ti because they use very little power.

True, they don't use that much power. It is just that the stock PSU in a pre-built is notorious for being "just strong enough" to power the system as shipped from the factory. Nearly ANY upgrade could put it over the edge. The stock PSU may work with the new Video card, just don't be surprised if you start getting crashes and/or spontaneous re-boots afterwards.