[SOLVED] What is the best way to spend $150-$200 on this PC ?

[McMurphy0101]

Hello, good people.
There is one girl and she doesn't have much money.
Need to spend 150-200$ (200 MAX) on this computer.
I guess, it will be another CPU and RAM?
Videocard is pretty decent?
Please, help her. Name few CPUs and RAM that will run on her motherboard and will give optimal effectiveness.
She doesn't want to play newest games. She wants to play Mass Effect Trilogy (not remastered one).
So i guess, 8 gb RAM overall will be enough (+4gb ram for what she already has).

P.S. She is 21 and she is a fan of Morrowind =) So help her! =)

 

[tennis2]

Is it 2x2GB RAM in there, or 1-4GB? The mobo only has 2 RAM slots. 8GB should be a minimum.

I would agree that a CPU upgrade would certainly help. Not sure what's left in the budget after the RAM upgrade. An i5-3450 would be minimum I'd go with. Also need to be careful what the cost is since this is quite outdated hardware still, but people in the used market are always asking more than stuff is worth.
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/support/H61M-P20-G3#support-cpu (couldn't find the "S20" but I assume they're similar)

 

[tennis2]

Is it 2x2GB RAM in there, or 1-4GB? The mobo only has 2 RAM slots. 8GB should be a minimum.

I would agree that a CPU upgrade would certainly help. Not sure what's left in the budget after the RAM upgrade. An i5-3450 would be minimum I'd go with. Also need to be careful what the cost is since this is quite outdated hardware still, but people in the used market are always asking more than stuff is worth.
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/support/H61M-P20-G3#support-cpu (couldn't find the "S20" but I assume they're similar)

 

[punkncat]

Please double check your mobo model number?
I find a P20-(G3), but the S20 will not resolve the manufacturer spec page.

This is what I found:
MSI Global - The Leading Brand in High-end Gaming & Professional Creation

Will work with 2nd and 3rd gen Intel CPU.
I would look into something like a 3770. Should be able to find one pretty cheap. A 2700 would possibly do well also, but double check your BIOS versions before removing the Celeron.

I would spec the absolute least expensive SSD you can find of a brand you recognize. Use it for OS, and then use (what I presume to be) the HDD for storage. Sorry if I misunderstand some of your spec due to language barrier.

As @tennis2 mentioned, try to do something like 8GB (at least) of DDR3 running in dual channel.

Without knowing the market where you are, you 'might' be able to locate a cheap refurbished office machine from Dell or HP with the CPU desired and possibly even an SSD inside for less expensive that the individual parts. If so you could swap down the Celeron and either give to sell to someone....

 

[tennis2]

I'm still running an i7-3770 on my main gaming machine. Although I'm in the market for an upgrade, it still plays everything I need at good FPS. Certainly plenty to power a GT1030.

 

[InvalidError]

8GB of RAM is pretty much the minimum for sanity these days with 16GB much preferred for gaming comfort. An i5 or better would be a decent upgrade too.

In North America, you can buy complete OEM systems for ~$200 and as punk pointed out, this is likely the cheapest way to get all of your parts. Shops often charge a premium for holding on to obsolete parts in case someone desperate enough comes along willing to pay their asking price - got to make a profit out of warehousing dead-end inventory for 5+ years.

 

[McMurphy0101]

InvalidError, tennis2 and punkncat:
Thank you for your quick answers!
Didn't expect that to be that quick.
I asked her to check her motherboard details and send them to me.
I will write here again soon.

 

[logainofhades]

I could only find that board, on random sites, like this.

https://www.comx-computers.co.za/MS-H61M-S20-specifications-79214.htm

 

[Wyatt Liu]

Well, looks like her PC meets the minimun requirement of the games she wants to play;
But considering the apps running in the background and the initial ram consumption of Win7 or Win10, should at least upgrade the ram to 8 GB;

And to utilize the potential of this motherboard(this platform), and to avoid upgrading multiple times, here are my suggestions:

1. Upgrade the cpu to Intel Xeon 1220 V2 at least, which cost about $40 in China, could lead to a great performance increase. And remeber to make sure the CPU fan can take the heat of the new CPU;
2. Get rid of the 4gb ram stick, upgrade to 16gb(8gb*2), DDR3 is stop producing, now only produced in small factorys in Asia, it is a good time to upgrade unless you wish to change the whole computer. Also about $40 one piece.

So for the long shot, $120 make this computer doube times faster and last quite longer.

 

[logainofhades]

Xeon 1230v2. Basically an i7 3770. $40
https://www.ebay.com/itm/265196365049?hash=item3dbeef64f9:g:rWsAAOSwDeFgx7KV&LH_BIN=1

Ram and cooler
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU Cooler: Vetroo V5 52 CFM CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR3-1600 CL9 Memory ($68.98 @ Amazon)
Total: $98.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-06-20 21:20 EDT-0400

 

[Bob.B]

Hello, good people.
There is one girl and she doesn't have much money.
Need to spend 150-200$ (200 MAX) on this computer.
I guess, it will be another CPU and RAM?
Videocard is pretty decent?
Please, help her. Name few CPUs and RAM that will run on her motherboard and will give optimal effectiveness.
She doesn't want to play newest games. She wants to play Mass Effect Trilogy (not remastered one).
So i guess, 8 gb RAM overall will be enough (+4gb ram for what she already has).

P.S. She is 21 and she is a fan of Morrowind =) So help her! =)

Perhaps the easiest and safest update is to bump the ram.
If you change the cpu it might require a bios update and that seems to be a secret.

https://www.crucial.com/compatible-upgrade-for/msi-(micro-star)/h61m-s20-(g3)#memory
Scan down to 2x4 or better yet 2x8.

 

[tennis2]

Xeon 1230v2. Basically an i7 3770. $40
https://www.ebay.com/itm/265196365049?hash=item3dbeef64f9:g:rWsAAOSwDeFgx7KV&LH_BIN=1

Ram and cooler
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU Cooler: Vetroo V5 52 CFM CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR3-1600 CL9 Memory ($68.98 @ Amazon)
Total: $98.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-06-20 21:20 EDT-0400

Nice!

 

[sonofjesse]

Saver up and buy a new computer or build.