Upgrades for an old AM2 system (HP Pavillion A6330F)

[Spohnicus]

Before I continue with this post, I want to say that yes, I know that buying an old dell optiplex on the cheap would be better than going with this, but for sentimental reasons, I want to specifically upgrade this PC to the best of my ability.

Now that that's out of the way, I found an old HP Pavillion at my work that was being sold for $30 a few years ago. Because I thought it would be interesting to own, I bought it for myself for $25 through my work discount.

The specific model in question is the HP Pavillion A6330F, which was being sold in late 2007. I've done a little bit of research in my free time, and I know that AM3 CPUs are reverse compatible with AM2+, but not AM2. The specific motherboard that this product has is the M2N68-LA (Narra2).

So the question I have for upgrades - I already have a spare SSD and Hard Drive, but I was wondering what the best possible CPU / GPU / RAM combo I could get for around $150-$175.

 

[COLGeek]

What CPU is in it now? Do you have a stock HP?

https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c01294325

If yours has the Athlon 64 X2 5600+, then you already have the top of the line CPU for that rig. DDR2 memory is going to be expensive, just so you know.

What OS are you intending to use?

 

[Spohnicus]

What CPU is in it now? Do you have a stock HP?

https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c01294325

It's an AMD Athlon II 64 5600+. It can barely browse reddit, and it crumbles on facebook or youtube.

 

[COLGeek]

See the revised questions above.

 

[Spohnicus]

See the revised questions above.

Ouch, that's really the best CPU for it? Are AM2+ CPUs able to work reverse compatible with the board? If not, that sucks I guess.

Anyway, I guess I will be using a light linux distro of some sort.

As for the RAM I'm ok with only 6-8 gigs since this isn't my main PC anyway.

 

[COLGeek]

I assume you have 3GB, per the stock HP. Is that correct?

 

[COLGeek]

Try 2 pairs of this memory (will get you to 8GB): https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA7S65X58706

A GPU like this GT730 should be more than enough for your needs: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125775

 

[COLGeek]

See the revised questions above.

Ouch, that's really the best CPU for it? Are AM2+ CPUs able to work reverse compatible with the board? If not, that sucks I guess.

Anyway, I guess I will be using a light linux distro of some sort.

As for the RAM I'm ok with only 6-8 gigs since this isn't my main PC anyway.

None of the compatible CPUs of that era are going to be much (if any) of a gain in performance, even if a stronger one was available. There were some AM2 Opterons that would run in most AM2 mobos, but those are very hard to find.

One like this: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819105212

You could take your chances with an offering like this from eBay:

https://www.ebay.com/p/amd-opteron-1354-2-2ghz-quad-core-os1354wbj4bgh-processor/74099778?iid=201647236430

 

[Spohnicus]

Try 2 pairs of this memory (will get you to 8GB): https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA7S65X58706

A GPU like this GT730 should be more than enough for your needs: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125775

Yes, I had the stock 3GB ram. Thanks for your part suggestions!

 

[COLGeek]

Good luck with your project! BTW, I ran a couple of those Opterons I linked above in SFF Shuttle XPCs several years ago. They ran okay (for the time). They ran in those AM2 based systems, even though not on the mobo's compatible CPU list.