Upgrading a 2-3 year old prebuilt PC?

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Str8Pimpinn

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Aug 23, 2014
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Hey,

*note* I am by no means a genius or even good at or have a good knowledge of computers and building them etc, so please forgive my ignorance if I say something silly or don't quite understand something but I do feel confident enough in my knowledge of computers to do this.

My name's George and A few months ago I got a new good, prebuilt laptop (Lenovo) over a new custom tower as the laptop would serve me better than the tower due to my studying and traveling, but as it's a laptop (which isn't geared towards gaming) it doesn't really fill my gaming needs and all.

So I have this old Packard Bell desktop (around 2-3 years old) which I decided to give a shot at upgrading it :) . I can't seem to find the specs and I'm on holiday currently so I don't have a clear view of it but I can definitely update this thread tomorrow when I'm back home but what I do know is this -

It has an i5 processor, my guess it would be at around 3-3.2GHz (clocked at - I think that's he term)
4GB RAM
Tiny case
1TB hard drive (I believe it's split into 2x500gb)

So, what I have planned is to upgrade the motherboard, graphics card, bigger case, possibly/probably new PSU and 8GB ram.

I have a fair bit of money on me now but one or two upgrades must wait 2-3weeks or so. Reason why I want to get this done now, is because I'll be home due to the holidays for 1-2weeks still and the post office sucks balls here, so preferably have it come to me and not have to pick it up.

After my research, this is what I've come up with to upgrade to so far -

Motherboard - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130693&cm_re=Msi_g45-_-13-130-693-_-Product

Graphics card - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202050&cm_re=Sapphire_r9_270x-_-14-202-050-_-Product

RAM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231550&cm_re=Ares_8gb-_-20-231-550-_-Product

As for power supply I was hoping someone could guide me on how much I need (500,600 etc)
And case I was really hoping someone could choose/find me a suitable case for around 50-ish euros as it isn't too important to me, as long as it fits and has some room for possible future upgrades (size of graphics card, as an example). Flashy, sexy light(s) would be nice but not a real issue :)

As I said before, one item will be ordered a little later so out of he 3, which 2 should I upgrade first? Graphics and motherboard is what I was thinking. I mainly play LoL where I'd get around 30fps on 'low' so the graphics card *should* fix that.....right?

So if you guys could please guide me on this and maybe correct me if the parts I chose don't work well together or are better ones for the the same price, it'd be much appreciated. The prices of the components I listed is what I can currently afford so please look in that price range, but if you think it's better you can show me a 10$ cheaper motherboard and 10$ more expensive graphics card! as an example.

Also, what tools will I need for this, other can screwdrivers? Thermal paste, etc?

All help is very much appreciated :)

Thanks a ton for reading and helping!
 
Solution
zeyuanfu
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Motherboard: MSI Z97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB FTW ACX Video Card ($175.99 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.78 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($88.78 @ Amazon)
Total: $399.54
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-23 18:36 EDT-0400
I would recommend using the extra 20$/euros you planned for the case for a GTX 760, which is stronger but better than the 750 Ti and also supports SLI...
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If you mix ram of different speeds, the faster one will be underclocked to match the slowest one. That's all. There might be some other minor problems, but only time will tell. I'd get the 4GB stick and use it with your current ram and see if it works well. If it does, well great, and if not you'll just need to get another 4GB stick of the same ram.,
 
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Yeah that's probably best. Aslong as the speed, timings and voltage (size too ofc) are the same, it should hypothetically work. Besides, I can take the risk of either saving 40euro or losing 10euro
 
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Okay so i'm back home now after tons of delays and all that travelling "goodness". I uncovered the old pc and am about to boot it up to get info on it, But before i did that I checked the ram inside and I'll try to explain this as best as possible -

I recognized the ram cards attached to the motherboard but there were 3 thin cards with a sticker on it which I made out that it said it was 2gb and by samsung. These cards were plugged into 2 sets of a black "bar thing" and a blue one. I BELIEVE the 2 blue bars were taken and one black one stayed vacant. I don't know what this is but I'm guessing i need a new full set of ram. Going to boot it up now to get the rest of the specs.
 
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Right so it says that my CPU - Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU 650 @ 3.20GHz (It says it 4x under "Device Manager - Processors" so I presume quad core?)

Graphics card - Nvidia GeForce GT 420

RAM - 6gb apparently, I goof'd sorry. Was so sure it was 4 for some reason

PSU - the cable doesn't go through a power brick so I presume that means it's an internal PSU and for that I don't know the wattage.

I BELIEVE this Packard bell PC is called - iextreme M5800

The case's length seems to be 35-35.5cm-ish and 37 cmor so across.

So please help me in what I need to do to bring this thing back to life. Prefer if you tell me what I need to upgrade ASAP to get this thing rolling and then other not too crucial upgrades or in a chronological order of what to upgrade first or something.
Thanks!

 
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Unfortunately the CPU you have isn't compatible with any of the motherboards being sold today since it is outdated and is of the Clarksdale line.

It really depends how much you want to put into this pc. If you want to play games around high settings the easy thing to do would be to get a low powered graphics card and a new PSU. Keep everything else.

For a cheap upgrade:

GPU: GTX 750 ti

PSU: Decent quality 430W PSU.

I've looked around and your motherboard can support a graphics card upgrade. The 750ti comes in smaller sizes so there's a good chance it will fit in your case.
 
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Hmm, yeah that's what I was worried about.

I could go for an SSD and the GTX 750 TI and PSU for now but then I could also afterwards get a pretty cheap CPU such as AMD Richland A10 6800K (4x 4100 MHz) Quad Core and then a motherboard for that. I mean the current CPU is balls and the motherboard is highly lacking and stop any future upgrades (as you can see lol). Could you recommend a motherboard for the Richland? Around 100-150 euro if possible, or whatever you think is best. Thanks again for all your help do far. :)
 
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Actually GSkill have the poorest quality of memory out there, hence why they are so cheap, they are basically pieces of absolute shit with a heatsink to hide it all.
 
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y not upgrade all the internals fullstop? 4GB ram, AMD or xeon CPU, h87 mobo, and you could just about chuck any gfx card you like in there. The mobo will meet your sound requirements, these days you have to fork out a fair bit for a card and sound system to notice any difference in quality. there is an external amp/dac there but thats up to you to look into. try the following as a quicklist.

mobo - MSI H81M-P33 LGA 1150
ram - G.Skill 4GB (2 x 2GB) PC3-12800 1600MHz DDR3
GFX - GTX 750 or 750 TI
CPU - Intel Core i3 3.5 GHz Processor (integrated GFX until you get a gfx card)
SSD - 256 GB so room for OS plus games. use your existing HDD for storage.
PSU - Thermaltake W0410 500W

Thats a 10 min search on google, no doubt others will correct me but hey, its may advice. Also dude I built a pc about 6 years ago, and I'm new to everything myself again, this game moves fast. but basically pick a component and any terms you dont understand find out what they are. Its what I did, and after about a month, I knew everything I needed to know. my build is around 3600, or 2000 roughly minus the gfx cards and monitor. I got lucky with a 4000$ tax back so I can afford it. check it out if you like...
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2268197/blueprint-1st-gaming-rig-advice.html
 
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Get the cheapest H81 chipset motherboard you can find, and for the CPU get a Pentium G3258. Or if you plan to upgrade to Broadwell in the future when it comes out, get the cheapest H97 motherboard or Z97 motherboard if you plan to overclock.

If you went with a richland motherboard+CPU you will have no upgrade path, where as with the Pentium build you can upgrade later on to an i5 or i7 and overclocked you can get performance close to an i3.

Also since you're getting a new motherboard you will need an OS. To make up for this cost you might need to take off the SSD.
 
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I can afford the build that systembot_47 suggested (if i re-use 2 of my 3 2gb ram sticks and 128gb SSD) as then I don't need a new case either. What do you think about that build?
 
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Going off of what people have recommended, this is where I'm at so far (all advice, changes, etc are much appreciated) -

CPU - Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz
or
AMD FX-6300 or spend 20eur extra for AMd FX-8320

Intel was recommended to me but the AMD CPU's seem to offer so much more for the money

GPU - GeForce GTX 750 TI

SSD - 128GB Samsung 850 Pro

PSU - Corsair CX430

Motherboard - MSI H81M-P33, mATX, Sockel 1150

Alternatively, I can skip the SSD for now and buy 8GB (2x4) RAM instead, rather than the 4GB of RAM I'd be getting if I recycled it's current RAM. Which do you guys think is the better choice? The RAM would also save me around 30eur.

Also something to note, but I don't know it this is important - I took out everything that needs replacing from my case, and I noticed that it has only 2 fans all together - the PSU's fan and the CPU's fan. Is this an issue? Do I need to get more case fans or something?
 
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Yeah up to about 150$ AMD competes with intel so you can save some $$ there. I used the 750 as a guide, but if you can pick up a better card well why not? Use the ram again I cant imagine it would make too much difference. Um you could clone your HDD onto your new SSD instead of buying a completely new OS, but up to you. As for the fans well it doesn't make too much difference since your machine isn't an oven. You could get another fan and mount it on the drive bay with a rubberband to fan the GFX card, but its your choice. Have a look around for some dust filters though, might be able o modify them to fit your case? just regular dusting depending on the environment is all ya need to do :). Also the extra fan would help with airflow too. OOH just make sure your case can fit a matx mobo too. any idea what the brand/model is?
 
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Looks good. I would skip the SSD. 6GB of ram is all you need, so just reuse the sticks.

I would get the FX 6300 if you don't plan on upgrading the CPU in the future. If you do plan to get a new cpu, then Intel has a better upgrade path.

You should be fine with a fanless system. I would keep the side panel off if you notice temps getting too high.
 
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That's the thing though, the motherboard I listed only has 2 RAM slots while the current board has 4, with 3 being occupied with 2gb sticks. So the new board would only get 4GBs of RAM.

The current motherboard is called iextreme M5800

Maybe I can just keep this, if it seems solid enough other than it being old? I can't seem to find much info on it but I'd guess it's just old and outdated like the rest of the PC...
 
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I think all it can really fit is an mATX mobo. Found a couple pic's of it online as I'm lazy -


http://s2.static69.com/ordinateur/images/produits/screenshots/PB-PT-U5CE2-370.jpg


http://i.ytimg.com/vi/t-DIexz0PSI/0.jpg

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Js_kDouoCdg/maxresdefault.jpg

Hopefully you can judge the size of the mobo from the pictures.

 
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I'm hoping this Geforce GTX 750 TI is the right size (Chose one with one fan as that should mean it's shorter....right?)

http://www.hardwareversand.de/en/2048+MB/153546/EVGA+GeForce+GTX+750+Ti%2C+2GB+DDR5%2C+PCI-Express.article

If you don't think it's the correct one or think that ASUS or MSI one would be better than this EVGA one, then feel free to link back (same site, please, as that's where I'll be ordering from).

This is also GTX 750 TI by Gigabyte but it has 2 fans and is actually cheaper. Also has 2 HDMI slots.
http://www.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsps?adp=0&aid=153421&agid=2270&apop=1

I've also got 2 of my own pictures of the motherboard for you guys to see if it's worth keeping (advantage would be that I keep 6GB RAM and no need for a new motherboard). And also to see if you think the GPU will fit....And to make sure it's a mATX mobo -

This is without GPU

http://imgur.com/6XKlFT6

This is with the GPU

http://imgur.com/gD5A9Yh
 
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The best way to see if the card fits would be to take the length of the 750ti and use a ruler to see if it would fit with your motherboard. Brand really doesn't matter, just go for the cheapest model.

Unfortunately you can't reuse your motherboard, since the newer i3 will be incompatible with it.

For the ram... you could either keep the 4GB of ram which would occupy both slots of the motherboard, and upgrade the ram later to 8 or 16GB, or you could look for a motherboard with 4 ram slots.

 
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Thanks, I'll post back in the morning when I have components chosen to see if we can finally sort this all out :)
Thanks, though 😀

 
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Sorry this took so long, I've had a really tough day and only now have I had time to research components and select parts. This is what I've come up with. To me, it seems pretty darn solid but I don't know too much so let me know what you guys think 😀

Mobo - http://www.hardwareversand.de/en/DDR3/66166/Gigabyte+GA-78LMT-USB3%2C+AMD+760G%2C+mATX.article

GPU - http://www.hardwareversand.de/en/2048+MB/153421/Gigabyte+GeForce+GTX+750+Ti+OC+Windforce+2x%2C+2GB+GDDR5%2C+2x+DVI%2C+2x+HDMI.article

CPU - http://www.hardwareversand.de/en/Sockel+AM3/68994/AMD+FX-8320+Prozessor%2C+Boxed%2C+Sockel+AM3%2B.article?basket.changed=1

I decided to save my money for a 256GB samsung SDD, which I'll buy a little later.

With that extra money left over, I can go ahead and get the FX8320 CPU, but I can also get the FX8350 if you think it's worth the 30 or so euro extra on this site.

With this mobo, I can also reuse all my current RAM cards, so I can have 6GB's of RAM which saves me money and should definately suffice.

Pleae check the compatibility and help me out with this please :) and lemme know what you think and if I should do a few little changes or something 😀

EDIT: Forgot to add PSU to this -

http://www.hardwareversand.de/en/400+-+500+Watts/74424/Corsair+CX+Series+Modular+CX430M%2C+430W.article
 
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Thanks 😀

If I were to switch it out for the FX6300 I'd have quite a bit of spare money left as I'm already in my budget. Hmm... What if I chose the FX6300 instead and then upgraded to 8GBs of RAM? Not because 6 isn't enough, but the sticks in this PC are DDR3-10600. I don't know how much difference it makes compared to the standard 1600 ones, though. What do you think?
 
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