What to upgrade on my son's computer?

[allenzk1863]

Here is his current setup just looking to start upgrading it slowly to meet new game requirements.

CPU:
Name: AMD A10-7800
Code Name: Kaveri
Max TDP: 65.2 W
Package: Socket FM2+ (906)
Technology: 28 nm
Core Voltage: 1.320 V
Specification: AMD A10-7800 Radeon R7, 12 Compute Cores 4C +8G
Family: F
Model: 0
Stepping: 1
Ext. Family: 15
Ext. Model: 30
Revision: KV-A1
Instructions: MMX(+), SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4. 1, SSE4. 2, SSE4A, x84-64, AMD-V, AES, AVX, XOP, FMA3, FMA4
Clocks (Core #0):
Core Speed: 3819.52 MHz
Multiplier: x 38.0 ( 14 - 39 )
Bus Speed: 100.51 MHz
Rated FSB:
Cache:
L1 Data: 4x 16 KBytes 4-way
L1 Inst.: 2x 96 KBytes 3-way
Level 2: 2 x 2 MBytes 16-way
Selection: Socket #1
Cores: 4
Threads: 4
11/01, 11:12 AM
Caches:
L 1 D-Cache:
Size: 16 KBytes x 4
Descriptor: 4-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L 1 I-Cache:
Size: 96 KBytes x 2
Descriptor: 3-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L2 Cache:
Size: 2048 KBytes x 2
Descriptor: 16-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L3 Cache:
Size:
Descriptor:
Size:
Descriptor:
Speed:
11/01, 11:18 AM
Motherboard:
Manufacturer: LENOVO
Model: Bantry CRB SDK0J40709 WIN
Chipset: AMD K15 IMC
Rev.: 00
Southbridge: AMD A78 FCH
Rev.: 2.6
LPCIO: Nuvoton NCT6792
BIOS:
Brand: LENOVO
Version: IRKT56AUS
Date: 01/19/2016
Graphic Interface:
Version: PCI-EXPRESS
Link Width: x0
Max. Supported: x0
Side Band Addressing:
11/01, 11:26 AM
Memory:
General:
Type: DDR3
Channel #: Dual
Size: 12 GBytes
DC Mode:
NB Frequency: 1620.2 KHz
Timings:
DRAM Frequency: 810.1 KHz
FSB😀RAM: 1:8
CAS# Latency (CL): 11.0 clocks
RAS# to CAS# Delay (tRCD): 11 clocks
RAS# Precharge (tRP): 11 clocks
Cycle Time (tRAS): 28 clocks
Bank Cycle Time (tRC): 39 clocks
Command Rate (CR):
DRAM Idle Timer:
Total CAS# (tRDRAM):
Row To Column (tRCD):

SPD:
Memory Slot Selection:
Slot #1:
DDR3
Module Size: 8192 MBytes
Correction:
Max Bandwidth: PC3-12800 (800 MHz)
Registered:
Manufacturer: Samsung
Ranks: Dual
Part Number: M378B1G73EB0-CK0
SPD Ext.:
Serial Number: 95A1FDAC
Week/Year: 04/16
Timings Table: Frequency JEDEC #3: 609 MHz
Frequency JEDEC #4: 685 MHz
Frequency JEDEC #5: 761 MHz
Frequency JEDEC #6: 800 MHz
CAS# Latency JEDEC #3: 8.0
CAS# Latency JEDEC #4: 9.0
CAS# Latency JEDEC #5: 10.0
CAS# Latency JEDEC #6: 11.0
RAS# to CAS# JEDEC #3: 8
RAS# to CAS# JEDEC #4: 9
RAS# to CAS# JEDEC #5: 10
RAS# to CAS# JEDEC #6: 11
tRAS JEDEC #3: 22
tRAS JEDEC #4: 24
tRAS JEDEC #5: 27
tRAS JEDEC #6: 28
tRC JEDEC #3: 30
tRC JEDEC #4: 33
tRC JEDEC #5: 37
tRC JEDEC #6: 39
Command rate:
Voltage: 1. 50 V
11/01, 11:46 AM
SPD:
Memory Slot Selection:
Slot #2:
Module Size: 4096
Ranks: Single
Part Number: M378B5173EB0-CK0
Serial Number: 14D4392B
Week/Year: 02/16
Graphics:
Display Device Selection:
AMD Radeon(TM) R7 Graphics
Perf Level: Current
Name: AMD Radeon (TM) R7 Graphics
Board Manuf.: Lenovo
Code Name: Kaveri
Revision:
Technology:
Clocks:
Core: 351 MHz
Shader:
Memory: 800 MHz
Memory:
Size: 1024 MBytes
Type:
Bus width:
11/01, 11:52 AM
Graphics:
Display Device Selection:
Per level: Perf Level 1
Clocks:
Core: 720 MHz

 

[velocityg4]

The Lenovo H50 is much too old to seriously consider upgrades. Every part of it needs to be replaced. You could install a GeForce GTX 1030 2GB or 1050 2GB and improve gaming some. You will likely need to replace the powersupply as well.

You would be much better off building a replacement. What is your budget?

 

[allenzk1863]

The Lenovo H50 is much too old to seriously consider upgrades. Every part of it needs to be replaced. You could install a GeForce GTX 1030 2GB or 1050 2GB and improve gaming some. You will likely need to replace the powersupply as well.

You would be much better off building a replacement. What is your budget?

If I was to build a new one I would
Be building it over the next 6 months or so. So to answer your question I would like to stay under 1500 total.

 

[10tacle]

Yeah about the only thing that is salvageable there is the 12GB of DDR3 memory. I'm curious why you chose one 8GB stick and one 4GB stick. That's a rather odd combination. Memory works best in dual channel at the same amount (hence the double data rate meaning for DDR). That 4GB stick is only running in single channel mode. With that said, the newest chipsets from both AMD and Intel use DDR4 memory, so that RAM is outdated to carry over to a new build. As velocityg4 said, everything needs to be replaced from the ground up and only your budget will determine what can be obtained.

 

[allenzk1863]

Yeah about the only thing that is salvageable there is the 12GB of DDR3 memory. I'm curious why you chose one 8GB stick and one 4GB stick. That's a rather odd combination. Memory works best in dual channel at the same amount (hence the double data rate meaning for DDR). That 4GB stick is only running in single channel mode. With that said, the newest chipsets from both AMD and Intel use DDR4 memory, so that RAM is outdated to carry over to a new build. As velocityg4 said, everything needs to be replaced from the ground up and only your budget will determine what can be obtained.

I bought this setup the way it was. I have just now started looking into whats in it. I have been trying to learn about it so I can use this as a father/son project of rebuilding or building a new one

 

[DSzymborski]

Yeah about the only thing that is salvageable there is the 12GB of DDR3 memory. I'm curious why you chose one 8GB stick and one 4GB stick. That's a rather odd combination. Memory works best in dual channel at the same amount (hence the double data rate meaning for DDR). That 4GB stick is only running in single channel mode. With that said, the newest chipsets from both AMD and Intel use DDR4 memory, so that RAM is outdated to carry over to a new build. As velocityg4 said, everything needs to be replaced from the ground up and only your budget will determine what can be obtained.

I bought this setup the way it was. I have just now started looking into whats in it. I have been trying to learn about it so I can use this as a father/son project of rebuilding or building a new one

I agree with the others that I'd wait until I could do a full build. With pretty much everything needing to be replaced in an upgrade -- old platform rebuilds are usually difficult to meaningfully upgrade -- it's very hard to it piecemeal. A PC isn't like rebuilding a '72 Mustang. The car would still run just as well if you finished restoring it next year as this year. But PC technology moves swiftly and you generally want the rig to be balanced.

 

[10tacle]

Have you ever built a PC from scratch before? The CPU, motherboard, memory, video card, power supply, hard drive(s) and/or SSD, optical drive (optional), and case are the core components. You can't really do it and have it functional over six months. Since you have a Lenovo pre-built PC, it would be difficult to upgrade over time and deal with spacing issues since most of the time the OEM PC makers have proprietary sized cases and often custom sized motherboards for example.

That CPU is so weak by today's standards that a new video card for starters would be held back (known as a CPU bottleneck). I would recommend saving up to buy all new components at once. Often you can find component bundle discounts to save money. If you have a Microcenter in your area, keep an eye out for a CPU and motherboard bundle discount sale. Also Cyber Monday post-Thanksgiving is an excellent time to buy computer hardware if you can work up the money (or spare the credit card and pay it down over months). This is assuming you live in the US of course.

Kudos to you as a father having such a cool father-son project to work on. I helped a friend and his 13 year old son build one from scratch years ago after advising them on the components to buy. Now the son is upgrading and building his own rigs with his own money!

 

[Wolfshadw]

I agree with the other posters in that there's really not a good upgrade path for your current system. However, one of the worse things you can do is piecemeal a system build. What you want to do is save up your total budget and then purchase all your components together. This way, if there's anything faulty, you can return it to where you got it from quickly. Otherwise, you would have to go through the warranty process which is much longer.

For $1500, you can build a very nice system and in the mean time, you and your son can spend time together looking over the various components and get an idea as to which processor and graphics card is going to fit within that budget.

-Wolf sends

 

[allenzk1863]

Have you ever built a PC from scratch before? The CPU, motherboard, memory, video card, power supply, hard drive(s) and/or SSD, optical drive (optional), and case are the core components. You can't really do it and have it functional over six months. Since you have a Lenovo pre-built PC, it would be difficult to upgrade over time and deal with spacing issues since most of the time the OEM PC makers have proprietary sized cases and often custom sized motherboards for example.

That CPU is so weak by today's standards that a new video card for starters would be held back (known as a CPU bottleneck). I would recommend saving up to buy all new components at once. Often you can find component bundle discounts to save money. If you have a Microcenter in your area, keep an eye out for a CPU and motherboard bundle discount sale. Also Cyber Monday post-Thanksgiving is an excellent time to buy computer hardware if you can work up the money (or spare the credit card and pay it down over months). This is assuming you live in the US of course.

Kudos to you as a father having such a cool father-son project to work on. I helped a friend and his 13 year old son build one from scratch years ago after advising them on the components to buy. Now the son is upgrading and building his own rigs with his own money!

If it would not be too much of a bother what would you recommend on those components? He plays a lot of steam games but has recently started playing games like overwatch shadow of mordor GTA etc.....

 

[velocityg4]

If I was to build a new one I would
Be building it over the next 6 months or so. So to answer your question I would like to stay under 1500 total.

If the budget is $1,500 USD and you won't be able to buy everything for 6 months. I would wait and save that money. Then in 6 months buy all the components in one fell swoop.

Buying it piecemeal makes no sense. As you would have a useless pile of components sitting around until you had everything. In 6 months new parts will have been released, as well.

 

[10tacle]

If it would not be too much of a bother what would you recommend on those components? He plays a lot of steam games but has recently started playing games like overwatch shadow of mordor GTA etc.....

Well you will get a LOT of different opinions here on choices of a build. The options in your budget are almost limitless. There's a website called PCPartpicker where you can choose all the components and it will list the best prices for said components and where to buy. Now if your son's monitor is only 60Hz 1080p then you don't need a high end build near your budget cap. It would be overkill. On the other hand, if he wanted to upgrade to say a 2560x1440p monitor, then your budget would be a better match. I won't make specific recommendations, but I will offer what I'd build in your budget with a future monitor upgrade to 1440p in mind:

CPU - Intel i5 8600K
CPU Cooler - Cryorig H7
Motherboard - Z370 from ASUS, MSI, or Gigabyte
Memory - 2x8GB of DDR4 from G.SKILL or Corsair (DDR4 3000 or up)
Video card - GTX 1070
Power supply - EVGA G3 650W
Hard drive for Steam games - 2TB Western Digital Black 7200RPM
SSD for the operating system - 256GB Samsung EVO
Optical drive - any DVD OEM from LG, Samsung, or Sony (usually between $15-$25...Blu Ray players are $50+)

I'm not going to mention case because that's highly personal and your boy would likely want an input on that. I'd recommend start window shopping at NewEgg to get an idea of all the different designs and price ranges. But I would recommend making sure to get one with a good airflow (at least two front intake fans and a top exhaust fan in addition to the usual rear exhaust fan). Also keep in mind you'll need to spend $100 or so for an OEM copy of Windows 10.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007583%20600545969%208000&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&Order=BESTMATCH&PageSize=36&cm_sp=Tab_Components_4_-VisNav-_-ATXMidTower_3

 

[allenzk1863]

If it would not be too much of a bother what would you recommend on those components? He plays a lot of steam games but has recently started playing games like overwatch shadow of mordor GTA etc.....

Well you will get a LOT of different opinions here on choices of a build. The options in your budget are almost limitless. There's a website called PCPartpicker where you can choose all the components and it will list the best prices for said components and where to buy. Now if your son's monitor is only 60Hz 1080p then you don't need a high end build near your budget cap. It would be overkill. On the other hand, if he wanted to upgrade to say a 2560x1440p monitor, then your budget would be a better match. I won't make specific recommendations, but I will offer what I'd build in your budget with a future monitor upgrade to 1440p in mind:

CPU - Intel i5 8600K
CPU Cooler - Cryorig H7
Motherboard - Z370 from ASUS, MSI, or Gigabyte
Memory - 2x8GB of DDR4 from G.SKILL or Corsair (DDR4 3000 or up)
Video card - GTX 1070
Power supply - EVGA G3 650W
Hard drive for Steam games - 2TB Western Digital Black 7200RPM
SSD for the operating system - 256GB Samsung EVO
Optical drive - any DVD OEM from LG, Samsung, or Sony (usually between $15-$25...Blu Ray players are $50+)

I'm not going to mention case because that's highly personal and your boy would likely want an input on that. I'd recommend start window shopping at NewEgg to get an idea of all the different designs and price ranges. But I would recommend making sure to get one with a good airflow (at least two front intake fans and a top exhaust fan in addition to the usual rear exhaust fan). Also keep in mind you'll need to spend $100 or so for an OEM copy of Windows 10.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007583%20600545969%208000&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&Order=BESTMATCH&PageSize=36&cm_sp=Tab_Components_4_-VisNav-_-ATXMidTower_3

currently he has the HP Pavilion 27xi IPS LED Backlit Monitor

 

[10tacle]

currently he has the HP Pavilion 27xi IPS LED Backlit Monitor

So it is a 60Hz 1080p monitor. A GTX 1060 6GB video card (not the 3GB version) would be an excellent match and you would save a couple of hundred over the GTX 1070. That GPU should last for several years, and the core PC build itself for 5+ years only needing a GPU upgrade and likely memory to 32GB (every four years or so, general memory recommendations double). Example: in 2009, 4GB was the norm, in 2013 8GB was the norm, and in 2017 16GB is the norm.

This is just based on history. I still run a 6+ year old i5 2500K build for a backup PC gaming rig that now has a single GTX 970 in it. It runs games at 1080p at 60FPS perfectly. Keep in mind the goal is to match frames per second to your monitor's refresh rate (Hz) for the smoothest gameplay using the Vsync option to "marry" the two together.

An alternative video card to the GTX 1060 6GB is AMD's RX 580 like this MSI version for $240 and it's actually a little faster in most games: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814137119&cm_re=rx_580-_-14-137-119-_-Product

 

[allenzk1863]

currently he has the HP Pavilion 27xi IPS LED Backlit Monitor

So it is a 60Hz 1080p monitor. A GTX 1060 6GB video card (not the 3GB version) would be an excellent match and you would save a couple of hundred over the GTX 1070. That GPU should last for several years, and the core PC build itself for 5+ years only needing a GPU upgrade and likely memory to 32GB (every four years or so, general memory recommendations double). Example: in 2009, 4GB was the norm, in 2013 8GB was the norm, and in 2017 16GB is the norm.

This is just based on history. I still run a 6+ year old i5 2500K build for a backup PC gaming rig that now has a single GTX 970 in it. It runs games at 1080p at 60FPS perfectly. Keep in mind the goal is to match frames per second to your monitor's refresh rate (Hz) for the smoothest gameplay using the Vsync option to "marry" the two together.

An alternative video card to the GTX 1060 6GB is AMD's RX 580 like this MSI version for $240 and it's actually a little faster in most games: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814137119&cm_re=rx_580-_-14-137-119-_-Product

thank you so much for all of your help