Upgrade this old system

[Kenneth_59]

I have a few year old system I am getting ready to replace with a newly built one. This system has severed me very well over the years. Now, I have been inquired about selling my old system to someone I work with who is just getting in to PC gaming.

Currently here are the parts:
CPU AMD Athlon II X4 645 Quad-Core CPU
Coolmaster CPU cooler
Memory 4 GB [2 GB X2] DDR3-1333 Memory Module
Video Card NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB EVGA Superclocked
Motherboard ASUS M4A77T/USB3 AMD 770 Chipset
Power Supply 750 Watt Corsair CMPSU-750TX
Primary Hard Drive 640 GB HARD DRIVE 64M Cache, 7200 RPM, 6.0Gb/s

I was going to upgrade the RAM to 8GB and replace the 640GB HD(putting this in new build) w/ a new one and install Win10. As fa as the GPU; with this older MB what options would I have? Most, if not all new GPUs use PCIe 3.0 slots which the MB does not have.

 

[panathas]

Most new PCIe 3.0 GPUs should be compatible with this board. Almost all the compatibility issues that newer GPUs have with old boards, are BIOS related. What makes the situation even worse is that old boards have stopped getting new BIOS updates. The only thing you can do is update the BIOS to its latest version and then try installing a new GPU but first make sure that you can return it back if it doesn't work.

 

[Kenneth_59]

I was afraid it would not just be a plug and play solution. Updating BIOS is a bit out of my realm of expertise.

 

[Kenneth_59]

Well it was apparently not out of my realm to update. Couple of YouTube vids, the latest BIOS from Asus' webiste, a flash drive and DONE!

 

[panathas]

Now you are ready. Get a new GPU and hope that it doesn't have compatibility issues with the motherboard. Good luck.

 

[Kenneth_59]

I found this site http://www.pc-specs.com/mobo/Asus/Asus_M4A77T/61/Compatible_GPUs which listed compatible components for the MB. What would be the recommended GPU to use based on this info? If I were to go from Nvidia to AMD is there anything I need to keep in mind when making the switch? Or is there a card that is not listed that could still work?

 

[panathas]

I found this site http://www.pc-specs.com/mobo/Asus/Asus_M4A77T/61/Compatible_GPUs which listed compatible components for the MB. What would be the recommended GPU to use based on this info? If I were to go from Nvidia to AMD is there anything I need to keep in mind when making the switch? Or is there a card that is not listed that could still work?

That list is old and it is rarely getting updated because this board is old. That said it seems you are lucky. There is a new AMD GPU that is cheap and makes a good fit with the rest of this system. That GPU is the RX460. The list has 2 specific models but all the RX 460 GPUs should be compatible. Get the cheaper RX460 that you can find. I don't think it's worth getting a better and more expensive GPU because it will get bottle-necked by the CPU.

After getting the new card, you should first remove the old NVIDIA GPU drivers with DDU (google it), then remove the old GPU from the motherboard, install the new GPU and finally install the AMD drivers. Good luck.

 

[Kenneth_59]

Ok sounds like a plan.

RAM questions:

For 8GB is 4 sticks over 4 DIMMs better than 2 sticks over 2 DIMMs? I ask bc I figure I have 2 x 2GB sticks already and figure be a bit cheaper to buy 2 more 2GB sticks.

OR

Should I just max out to 16GB; whether 2 x 8GB or 4 x 4GB?

 

[panathas]

You should always use exactly the same RAM modules and 2 RAM sticks are always better than 4, especially in that motherboard. If you add 2 more RAM sticks to your system, they may not work with the RAM sticks you already have or you may have later other RAM related, compatibility or stability issues. The max RAM that your board supports is 16GB but I don't know if it'll be able to recognise properly 2 x 8GB memory modules. If you want to have 16GBs of RAM, I think it's better to get 4 x 4GB RAM.

On the other hand, why do you want 16GBs of RAM on that system? If it is for gaming only, I think you should go with 8GB, 16GBs is overkill. If you find a game that wants more than 8GBs of RAM, it will likely not work well with that system or may not work at all because of the weak CPU. A game that wants 16GBs or RAM has higher CPU and GPU (RX460) requirements than what this system has. That said, if you want to do more serious work with that system then more RAM is justified.

 

[Kenneth_59]

PC is just for gaming so I see what your saying about the 16GB being overkill. Think Ill pick up 2 x 4GB sticks of RAM and look around for a good deal for the RX460.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Kenneth_59]

Is there a newer CPU I could add to prevent a bottle neck and use a newer GPU like a 1050Ti?

 

[panathas]

It won't make such a big difference but if you want to upgrade the CPU you should go for a used Phenom II X4 970 or Phenom II X4 975. Generally speaking you can expect up to 20-30% in CPU performance with one of the above CPUs but I don't know if it is enough to prevent a GPU bottleneck because in CPU bound games you need a lot more CPU power than that especially in today's modern games. That said those CPUs will handle the 1050ti way better than the Athlon II X4 645. My only hesitation is whether that motherboard will work with that GPU without compatibility issues. Generally it should work but you can't be absolutely certain about it.