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Can this PC be salvaged or is it time for a new build?

Stg-Flame

Stg-Flame

Diamond Member
I'm looking to upgrade (hopefully) my mom's PC with minimal cost. If all else fails, it will be a completely new build, but I'm hoping something can be done so she'll be able to play Pillar's of Eternity, Fallout 4, and Skyrim Remastered on Christmas.

I built her current PC about 10 years ago and I know where the weak points are, but I'm hoping we can squeeze a bit more life out of it before a rebuild is necessary.

Her current specs:

Vista 64 (probably the worst aspect of this build)
Wolfdale E8400 @ 3.0GHz
eVGA GTX 260 (another weak point)
4GB Mushkin RAM
Asus P5Q SE Plus 775 Motherboard
Can't find the PSU in my old invoices but it can't be that high
Standard 1080 LG monitor.

She normally plays Skyrim (vanilla), Kingdom's of Amalur, Fallout 3/NV, Grim Dawn, Titan Quest, and some Popcap games, but she's really been wanting to play Witcher 2/3, Fallout 4, Divinity: Original Sin, and Skyrim Remastered. I've already bought Pillars of Eternity for her since she loved D:OS when she played it at my house, but I'm pretty sure her PC will struggle even at low settings.

So, is there anything that can be salvaged from this build or would the better course just go for a new build? I've been thinking it's long overdue for a new build, but life outside the oil field isn't profitable, so my budget is rather low if it's going to be a Christmas gift and if she pays for it, it's going to be even lower.

I can go as high as $500 at the moment - maybe $750 if the parts are just too good to pass up. Her budget is around $350 and that's pushing it to the limit. Any help is greatly appreciated.

I should also note that I have some old hardware from my old PC lying around not doing much at the moment. I have two eVGA GTX 670s in my garage gathering dust and I know they worked great for Skyrim and even ran Witcher 3 on medium settings. Doubt they would fare well with Fallout 4, but she doesn't care about maxed settings.
 
Some of those games you listed (Fallout 4 and Witcher 3) have higher minimum specs listed than that PC has.

With older games you could just get a better video card and call it day, but the newer games will not run on, or would struggle with that system.

My vote would be save up a little bit more money to build one, or watch for a killer deal on a system on a site like Slickdeals.

Maybe you could clarify this, but did you mean you could put in up to $750 and she could contribute up to $350 for a total budget of $1100? If so, with all the deals on components right now, you could build a really nice gaming PC for $1k.
 
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No sorry. It's either I buy it as a Christmas gift for her where I would spend upwards (hopefully not) of $750, or she will fund the build and she can only go as high as $350. She's very stubborn and would never let me pitch in for better parts, so it's either a Christmas gift, or she will buy it for herself with her extra money.

I was hoping a quick fix could be some better RAM and a new GPU, but I don't know if the mobo would even be compatible with newer GPUs and without knowing her PSU wattage, it's hard to tell if higher-end hardware wouldn't just fry/bottleneck upon installation. Which is why I'm leaning towards a new build, but like I said, if I could spend just a few hundred and upgrade her current PC as opposed to spending $500+ on a new one, I'd much rather spend less than more.

Also, I'm aware I could build a top of the line PC with $1,000, but I was laid off last year from the oil field when everything crashed and with my current job, I don't make anything like I used to. I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel when I say $750 is as high as possible.
 
Scrounge for a refurb / used i5-2500(K) Dell / HP Tower, that could take that 670 video card?

Or look for another sale on a Lenovo Haswell i3 "barebones server tower", and build from there.
 
That motherboard has a PCIe 2.0 slot, so newer GPUs would be fine (depending on the PSU). However, that CPU is what will hold her back from playing newer games.

Ken g6 has a post at the top of the general hardware forum where he lists $500 and $1000 systems as a reference point.

https://forums.anandtech.com/thread...idrange-gaming-system-builders.2389797/page-9

$500 won't get you a whole lot as far as a gaming system, but if you could get your budget up to $750 or so, it shouldn't be too difficult to build a decent gaming PC.
 
I'd like to steer clear of refurbished/used gear if possible, but I'll definitely look into those and try to work them into my pricing if certain parts pose to be a bit pricey.

I should add that her current PC cost under $600 at the time, so I'm sure there are comparable components by today's standards for about the same.

Edit: I checked out some of those $500 links and I'll use them as a reference for any parts in the future, but I always prefer to get feedback rather than go off a single reference. I know Ken knows his hardware better than most, but there's always someone out there who knows of a better deal somewhere or has a different suggestion that could be better suited for what I'm looking for.
 
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Take the $350 your mother is willing to spend and add another $350, plus reuse the GTX 670 card. I would have to work this out, but you should be able to fit in a i5-6500 and an SSD.
 
Witcher 2 wants new hardware, definitely. I know that particular place early in the game, after Geralt breaks out of the prison to end the Prologue, where my 7850 can't even handle medium. The rest of the game is nowhere near as demanding and can be played at medium on a 7850. Now, the latest mid-range cards massively outclass a Radeon 7850. Something like a GTX 1060 is 3-3.5 times faster than a 7850, and a 7850 is about twice as fast as a GTX 260.

Only the PSU can be salvaged, but you probably want to upgrade for the sake of better connector arrangement and to avoid the PSU dying when you least expect it, although it is more for the connectors.. SATA connectors, 8-pin PCIe, and the 4+4 pin CPU connectors are the norm these days. After all, it also might be operating as a walking wounded. I mean, the case could be all clogged up from dust and the caps might have been subjected to a harsh life.

Okay, I just read that she's basically tight on funds. Give her the 670. You'll need to meet the minimum for Skyrim: Remastered, which is:
  • Windows 7/8.1/10 (64-bit Version)
  • Intel i5-750/AMD Phenom II X4-945.
  • 8GB of ram.
  • 12 GB free HDD space
  • NVIDIA GTX 470 1GB /AMD HD 7870 2GB
Looks like you'll need an OS upgrade too, although you could try to install it anyway. I think the refurb/craigslist route is the only way if using her funds.
 
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Why don't you buy the base PC yourself for up to $500, but not include a graphics card. Tell her that she can then purchase the graphics card herself based on recommendations from you/the forum.

That way, you can get her a Christmas present - something she can open up on Christmas day. Integrated GPUs being what they are, it will function fine. She can even use her GTX 260 in it - the new CPU and RAM will make it a lot faster.

Then, she can pay for her own GPU, and it won't cost anywhere near $350. At least, it doesn't have to.

I'd go for a Skylake Core i5 build with 16GB of DDR4. Then suggest to her that she buys a Geforce 1050Ti if she wants to stay with Nvidia, or a Radeon RX470 if she wants to switch to AMD.

Also: your Mom has good taste in games!
 
I would tend to agree with the building block approach... I would build her a basic gamer PC with $500 and just run integrated graphics, or one or both GTX670's until (her birthday, maybe?) you can get a suitable modern card.

Don't knock used stuff; I don't recommend building the entire thing that way, but you can find fair deals on used components like RAM or a GPU, even a PC case. I'm not much of an eBay shopper (not for electronics) but I have bought and sold a fair amount of stuffs here at AT.
 
Is Craigslist /used an option?

I just upgraded my sons machine from a a10-5800k (decent enough processor) to:

$140 included
ASUS Motherboard
i5-2500k
16GB of DDR3 RAM

I had to add a heatsink/fan ( $25 ). That was it- plugged in his disk and video card and his machine was transformed.
 
I don't live in a highly populated area, so Craigslist isn't an option. I'll check out used parts and if all else fails I'll be using my old GTX 670s (they are both overclocked and still in great shape). I do like the building block idea and I might give that a go. I appreciate all the suggestions here.
 
I think I found your deal, all new parts ~$570 after rebates:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.3185070

i5-6500, 4GB RX470, SP550 240GB SSD, 1x8GB DDR4 2400 CAS 16, GA-B150M-DS3H MOBO, ARC-750W PSU, ATX Case.

The SSD/MOBO/PSU/RAM are lower end units, but still decent enough to not be a concern (not like a $15 diablotek PSU or something)
Being 1x8GB, you can easily add a second cheap 8GB stick later if you needed more RAM...or just replace it with a nice high speed matched 16GB kit.
 
monkeydelmagico said:
I think elite has the right idea if you don't want used parts. What he did not factor in was the cost of the OS
Another cheaper option is this newegg i3 combo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.3135711
You would have to use one of your left over 670's but with OS you are still looking at around $400.-
Click to expand...

Vista 64bit aint so bad that it can't be used again. In fact, I always thought it was a good OS. I always called Win7 Vista SP2 since it was so similar, and Vista did get a SP2. Once all the stupid third party programmers figured out how to properly write code the OS was fine...only at the very beginning was there any issues.

I think the i5 combo is just a much better value, with the GPU and SSD in there...easily worth the extra money.
 
Stg-Flame said:
Looks great. Plus, I can remove that Radeon card and throw in my old 670s.
Click to expand...

Why remove the GPU? That RX470 is way faster than those 670s even in SLI. That's part of the appeal to the bundle, you get the most modern mid range gaming CPU and GPU in an affordable package.
 
And thinking about it, if the OS is an issue she could buy that herself. It'd be cheaper than making her buy the video card for an upgrade.
 
Lie. Tell mom you have a line on some good hardware for $300. Kick in ~$500 yourself, build it, and show her the amazing machine you got for $300. Buy her a game for jul.
 
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