Is this PC worth upgrading

[Nukemann]

My current specs:

3.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
1 GB ASUS GeForce GT 640
4GB PC2-5300 DDR2 RAM
160GB Hard Drive
365W Power Supply (OEM)
Windows 7 x64


I currently run Borderlands 2, all Unreal Engine and Source games at max settings on a 1440x900 monitor. What are some upgrade options so I can play future games? Would it be worth getting an Intel Core 2 Quad, since my board only has LGA 775? A major limitation of my computer is that dual-bracket video cards can't fit in it, so I got a GT 640, as it was the best single-bracket I could find and could be run on my power supply. I've been looking at the AMD Radeon HD 7750, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750(ti). Would there be a significant improvement in my system and gaming at my current resolution? I can't afford to build a completely new PC right now, so how further would my current PC be upgradeable to?

 

[DSF]

What future games are you talking about? There's no point in trying to upgrade now for games that aren't out yet.

For the most part you're at a dead end. Upgrading the video card would help some, but the CPU is eventually going to hold you back anyway, and upgrading to a Core 2 Quad that is at this point 5 year old tech is not going to help as much as you'd want.

Even your hard drive is teetering on the edge of uselessness with big-time games like BF4 ballooning to 30+ gigs. I don't mean that as hyperbole - clearly your computer would function with a 160GB hard drive, but in terms of a pleasing experience where you can also store music and pictures (if you do) and don't have to carefully choose which games are installed, it's too small.

How long would it take you to save up $500-800 if you really committed to it? Or maybe you have some stuff you can sell? I paid for my most recent gaming build by saving money I'd otherwise have spent on small stuff and selling off part of my Magic: the Gathering collection.

 

[DesiPower]

No, as DSF mentioned, it cannot be upgraded. But lets see what you will "need" to upgrade.
Lets assume you can reuse you case PSU OS OD and HDD, so you will definitely need a mobo and cpu and RAM to begin with
CPU = 220, atleast 185
mobo = 130, atleast 80
RAM = $70, atleast 40
SSD = $70, not needed right away

So if you can get together somewhere between $300 - $500, you can start your upgrade.

 

[Morbus]

Not worthy of any upgrade. The CPU is outdated, the motherboard doesn't support anything modern, you'd need newer RAM, not more of the one you already have, the graphics card is crap, the hard drive isn't worth the bay slot and the PSU is too weak.

The only thing worth keeping is the Windows license, if you can port it to another motherboard.

My suggestion is you retire the machine to server duty, or backup rig or whatever, sell it. It should still be worth about 100USD at least.

 

[NewYorksFinest]

That computer is a POS (piece of stardust). Buy or build a brand new PC. If you want to, read the "Low Range" Thingy thread for an all new AMD $400 build.

No cursing in the technical forums, you know this.

mfenn
General Hardware Moderator

 

[Conroe]

A quad, 750ti and a SSD would be a good upgrade. The video card and SSd can still be used when you do upgrade the rest of the system. The biggest problem is 775 quads are still kind of expensive. A 771 quad Xeon to 775 mod is cheaper and I found it to be fun (but I can overclock it.)

 

[VirtualLarry]

A quad, 750ti and a SSD would be a good upgrade. The video card and SSd can still be used when you do upgrade the rest of the system. The biggest problem is 775 quads are still kind of expensive. A 771 quad Xeon to 775 mod is cheaper and I found it to be fun (but I can overclock it.)

OP didn't mention which motherboard he has, or what chipset it uses. Some motherboards overclock better than others, and it would help to know this, to suggest whether or not to invest in a quad-core 775 CPU. He is on DDR2 though, so a memory upgrade would be problematic (expensive).

I'm running a pair of Q9300 CPUs, overclocked from 333FSB to 400FSB (3.0Ghz total), in a pair of P35-DS3R mobos. They max out at like 410-420 FSB though, so they're not exceptional overclockers. P45 or X48-based mobos are better overclockers. The best would be a P45 board that takes DDR3, but if he didn't already have that, he would be better off investing in a newer socket if he's going to upgrade both the board and RAM and the CPU.

 

[postmortemIA]

You're on the dead end, keep as a second PC. Buying C2Q is not worth it, they are still expensive like modern CPUs and performance is not there.

I don't see what you can reuse in modern PC: different RAM, different chipset, slow GPU...

 

[Nukemann]

OP didn't mention which motherboard he has, or what chipset it uses. Some motherboards overclock better than others, and it would help to know this, to suggest whether or not to invest in a quad-core 775 CPU. He is on DDR2 though, so a memory upgrade would be problematic (expensive).

I'm running a pair of Q9300 CPUs, overclocked from 333FSB to 400FSB (3.0Ghz total), in a pair of P35-DS3R mobos. They max out at like 410-420 FSB though, so they're not exceptional overclockers. P45 or X48-based mobos are better overclockers. The best would be a P45 board that takes DDR3, but if he didn't already have that, he would be better off investing in a newer socket if he's going to upgrade both the board and RAM and the CPU.

The motherboard is an HP Q35. Since it's OEM, I don't think it's overclockable in the BIOS. I was looking at late C2Qs, and they are $170 on eBay. I'm definitely going to buy a bigger hard drive to put in the PC, so I won't have to upgrade completely for a while.

When I do make a new build, I've been considering going AMD, but is my Windows 7 license transferable to a new build?

 

[VirtualLarry]

When I do make a new build, I've been considering going AMD, but is my Windows 7 license transferable to a new build?

Not if it came with your OEM (branded) PC.

 

[JackMDS]

It is very Good computer for most regular work.

Heavy gaming No.

However for the general work you can get yourself for ~$120 a 240GB SSD.

You can use the SSD for future upgrade, and mean time have a computer that act and feel more agile.

 

[TidusZ]

the only PC worth upgrading is gonna be 2011 onward (sandy bridge or newer) and the only thing worth upgrading is going to be video card.

That processor is from January 2008.

You'd need new motherboard/processor/ram/video card/hard drive, even new power supply unless you want it at 90% of max output while playing games with a 200 watt videocard.

As for SSD, if this pc is for browsing and working then a sub $100 SSD would let you open programs faster and would make the pc feel pretty fast for that. For gaming though, that PC is past its prime for sure.


edit: (changed better to newer since intel doesn't release faster processors since 2011)

 

[Blue_Max]

The only thing I would change with this existing system is replace that hard drive with something MUCH bigger and better.

I'm a big fan of the Seagate SSHD "hybrid" drives. You get a big 1-2TB hard drive with a small SSD built in for caching, making the small tasks you do most often run at SSD speed (without the SSD price!)

I've used them in systems just like yours, and in newer/faster rigs. I find them a great choice for performance on a tight budget. You can also re-use this drive in a new rig later on.

Of course, this won't improve GAMING performance - just day-to-day stuff like web browsing or work.

 

[Ketchup]

...What are some upgrade options so I can play future games? ...I can't afford to build a completely new PC right now....

Then don't worry about it yet. Worry about future games when the need arises, or when you have the cash to justify it.

For example, buying a video card that would be bottlenecked by your cpu would be a waste of money. If you waited until you can upgrade the entire thing, you would end up with a more powerful video card for the same amount of money, and be able to enjoy all the power it has to offer.