Upgrading very old computer

[Larry109]

Exact Computer: http://h20564.www2.hp.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?docId=c01859812

I don't have very much money and I'm tired of playing games on a laptop. (I don't play anything intensive) I just play Counter-Strike Global Offensive mostly and I would like a decent (budget) pc to play it.

I'm thinking about getting a AMD Phenom II x4 965 and a gts 450. I know I need to upgrade the power supply as it only has 250 watts (Not sure to what though with the previous mentioned hardware) and I would need to buy another stick of ram (2 gb or 4 gb) as I already have a 2 gb stick (Not sure what ram to get either).

Any criticisms or advice? I have an idea of I want, but I'm just not sure if it's all compatible or what power supply to get.

Thank you for your time.

 

[amtseung]

My thoughts go to spending on a quality power supply (refer to the PSU Tier list here on Tom's for more info), and a modern GPU. Even something like a GTX1050/TI or RX460/470, when paired with a 965, is a fairly competitive gaming PC, even by today's standards. It's no 5ghz 7600k, but it ain't no slouch either. If you can find something like a GT730 (1gb ddr5, to be exact) for like $30, an HD7950 for under $100 (R7 280, R9 370 equivalent), or a 750ti for a reasonable price, that would definitely go a long way, and would be far better than a gts450.

There's pretty much no point to getting an old GPU, unless you require an AGP connection. PCIe is, and will probably forever be backwards compatible.

Edit: a 965 at stock clocks still has better gaming performance than any FX CPU at stock clocks, so hey, that's still an upgrade. Even if it isn't a nice 965 or 965 Black edition, like a 955, 955BE, or 945, that's still pretty good.

 

[jazzy663]

- Be sure the graphics card you purchase is short enough to fit in the case; OEM cases are often tight on space. Take measurements and do your research. amtseung's suggestions of a 1050/Ti or RX 460/470 are good. They will be a nice match for a Phenom II. Thankfully, many lower-power graphics cards (such as the 750/Ti, 950, 1050/Ti) are made with this in mind, as many manufacturers make short versions of said cards.

- Unfortunately the motherboard does not support over 4GB of memory. That is going to be a limiting factor when playing modern games. Regardless, you will want to max it out. You can buy another 2GB module from Crucial for $30:
http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/compatible-upgrade-for/HP---Compaq/presario-cq5205y But before you do that, and this is important. Running 32-bit Windows in this day and age is really starting to become a limiting factor. Your computer is old enough where it may have shipped with 32-bit Windows. You will want to be sure it is running 64-bit Windows before upgrading the memory, as 32-bit systems cannot address over 3GB of memory.

- A Phenom II X4 965 is a good upgrade - quite good, in fact. However, you might be able to find an X4 955 or 945 for considerably cheaper without sacrificing too much performance. It is worth it to shop around. Please read up on changing CPUs. It is relatively straight-forward to do, but it involves changing thermal paste which can be tricky, as well as removing/reattaching the CPU cooler which can also be tricky. On that note, make sure you buy some thermal paste for the new chip: Arctic Silver 5 is basically everyone's go-to product for that.

- Power supply. This is very important. Make sure you buy a good quality power supply. I cannot stress this enough. If you buy a model of GTX 1050 or 1050 Ti that does not require external power, you should be able to get away with buying a lower-power PSU as well, which should save you some money. The best brands to buy for PSU are SeaSonic, Super Flower, XFX. EVGA makes some halfway-decent units as well. Stay away from Corsair CX! The price point for those units will be tempting. Resist it. You can see the PSU tier list here, try to buy from a brand/line listed in Tier 1 or Tier 2: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

If you're going to buy some components, please run them by us first before ordering them. Not to insult your intelligence or anything - I'd just hate to have you buy something only to find out it won't work.

If everything works out, you should have a fairly competent gaming machine after it's all said and done. I only wish your motherboard could support more memory. That would make this upgrade perfect. You could upgrade the motherboard too, I suppose, but at that point you're basically just building a new machine, minus the case. And you'd have to buy a new copy of Windows.

Best of luck to you.

 

[Calvin7]

very old computer
M2N68-LA (Narra5)

•TDP: 95W
•Motherboard supports the following processor upgrades:
NOTE: Only socket AM2+ processors are supported with this motherboard.

Thermal Design Power (TDP) is the average maximum power a processor can dissipate while running commercially available software. TDP is primarily used as a guideline for manufacturers of thermal solutions (heatsinks/fans, etc) which tells them how much heat their solution should dissipate.

CPUs with TDP of 125 watts are not supported.

Here is a list with AM2+ CPUs:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_AMD_Phenom_microprocessors

Socket AM2+ is a mid-migration from Socket AM2 to Socket AM3 and both AM2+ and AM2 socket CPUs and motherboards have the potential to operate together. Actual interoperability depends upon other factors, especially the availability of compatible BIOS software.

 

[jazzy663]

very old computer
M2N68-LA (Narra5)

•TDP: 95W
•Motherboard supports the following processor upgrades:
NOTE: Only socket AM2+ processors are supported with this motherboard.

Thermal Design Power (TDP) is the average maximum power a processor can dissipate while running commercially available software. TDP is primarily used as a guideline for manufacturers of thermal solutions (heatsinks/fans, etc) which tells them how much heat their solution should dissipate.

CPUs with TDP of 125 watts are not supported.

Here is a list with AM2+ CPUs:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_AMD_Phenom_microprocessors

Socket AM2+ is a mid-migration from Socket AM2 to Socket AM3 and both AM2+ and AM2 socket CPUs and motherboards have the potential to operate together. Actual interoperability depends upon other factors, especially the availability of compatible BIOS software.

A very valid and important point. We will need to reevaluate.

 

[jazzy663]

After doing some digging, I came across this thread on HP's forums:

http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Desktop-Hardware-and-Upgrade-Questions/M2N68-LA-Narra5-CPU-upgrade/td-p/3135125

If the answer is to be trusted, it would appear that the motherboard in question already has proper BIOS support for AM3 CPUs. However, we must still stay within the 95W TDP limit. Unfortunately because of this, the Phenom II X4 965 is out of the question, as it has a 125W TDP.

That is, unless you were planning on changing motherboards all along, in which case I can't in good faith recommend buying such an old chip, as I don't see any point in buying old hardware unless you're getting a really, really good deal.

I can see two options here.

(1) Purchase a CPU that stays within the confines of the motherboard's requirements: AM2+/AM3, 95W or lower TDP. There do exist Phenom II's that stay within this requirement. One such chip is the Phenom II X4 925. Comparison between the two shows a considerable, but not too heavy drop in performance. At the very least, it will play CSGO smoothly. Unfortunately, due to the comparatively low clock speed of the aforementioned chip, you can expect a fair amount of CPU bottlenecking on a 1050 Ti.

OR

(2) Purchase an entirely new motherboard with a processor to match. At this point, you are basically building a new machine, as you are already buying a power supply and a video card. I can't recommend putting a new motherboard in an OEM case, as the case's front-panel leads will likely not work with an aftermarket motherboard. I speak from experience, saying this. So, going this route, you will most likely need to buy a new case as well.

Please let me know your thoughts.

EDIT: As far as the power supply and video card, I have a few ideas. My secondary gaming rig has a 750 Ti that is powered by a very decent EVGA unit. We'll go into that later, though, perhaps tomorrow - it is late.