• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Looking to upgrade with reutilizing parts

xaeniac

xaeniac

Golden Member
Been out the game for a while. Want to get a budget upgrade as all I do is web and office tools. My video is starting to black out and think it may be the card. My main question is can I reutilize this power supply below? Seems I need to get CPU, RAM, motherboard, and dvd rom drive due to everything moving to SATA. Can someone answer this PS question and part out a cheap system for me that is not junk. Appreciate all who post.

Current Power supply below:
FSP Group AX500-A 500W ATX12V Power Supply
Item #: N82E16817104934

Current processor below:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ Windsor 2.4GHz Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor ADO4600CUBOX is my current

Will I see a reasonable speed improvement?
 
Last edited:
Yeah, you can reuse that PSU. It's much more powerful than you need, given that your new system will use integrated graphics (web and office tools don't need dedicated, you'd be just wasting watts).

Could you be more specific about your budget?
 
About $300-500. I suppose if I can save money on electricity it may be best to change the Power supply and the supply can pay for itself in the long run. Will I see a performance increase? Case and hard drives will be reutilized.
 
Last edited:
Yes there will definitely be a performance increase, dependent heavily on what taxes your current computer the most...

My opinion, a SSD is the single biggest performance increase available today. There's nothing sweeter than pushing the power button, and having the desktop before you can get your slippers on 🙂

Don't worry about your PSU being 'overkill', the computer only uses what it needs and no more, theoretically you could have a 1500w PSU and use almost no more electricity... The reason it comes up is usually due to efficiency at low power levels... PSU's are most efficient at 50% of their rated capacity (250w for yours). There's no way your system could reach 250w, however, so essentially it is running at less than maximum efficiency.

But we're splitting hairs here, so it's not a concern 🙂

Are your harddrives SATA or IDE?
 
all hard drives SATA..... I recently got a SSD which is a patriot torqx2 64 GB ssd. Keep in mind this is only a SATA2 drive. My applications open much faster now with the SSD.
 
Since you already own SSD, HDD's, case and PSU, and the tasks you describe are not CPU or GPU intensive, you won't even need to spend $300 to get a PC that is easily capable enough for years to come

Intel BOXDH67GDB3 $90
PNY 2x4GB DDR3 1333 $38 or Mushkin $39
Intel i3-2100 $125 (-$15 promo, ends today)
Lite-On DVD burner $18

= $271

An i5 class CPU would be overkill even though within your budget. If you want, you can upgrade your case to something nicer with the leftover money. Is your current case still in good condition, and is it quiet?
 
Last edited:
One concern I have is the microAtx motherboard. Anything to worry regarding this form factor?

Yeah my case is quiet. I have an Antec similar to a Sonanta case w 120mm fans. Pretty quiet and will be quieter when I do not have a video card fan.
 
Last edited:
xaeniac said:
One concern I have is the microAtx motherboard. Anything to worry regarding this form factor?

Yeah my case is quiet. I have an Antec similar to a Sonanta case w 120mm fans. Pretty quiet and will be quieter when I do not have a video card fan.
Click to expand...

How many expansion cards do you foresee yourself using? Most people its just the Video card. In that case all you really need is mATX.
 
Sounds good. Be sure to update this thread with the results of the build or any questions that you have.
 
Would've gotten the Intel board. Better connectivity, Intel's own network controller, no rebate hassle.
 
Just wanted to update the thread. Got the system built and software finally loaded. Build ultimately went well and can definite notice a speed increase. This is my first Intel chip since the PIII. Kind of feel guilty in a way, but hopefully AMD will step their game up. Thanks for all your help.
 
Damn, wish I could have gotten here sooner and recommend an i3-2125! It's essentially the same chip, but with twice the graphics performance.
 
NTMBK said:
Damn, wish I could have gotten here sooner and recommend an i3-2125! It's essentially the same chip, but with twice the graphics performance.
Click to expand...

It costs $150 or $40 more than the i3-2100 was after promo. Maybe not worth it considering the op doesn't do anything gpu-intensive. If he needs more GPU power in the future, that $40 can be put towards a discrete GPU
 
xaeniac said:
Just wanted to update the thread. Got the system built and software finally loaded. Build ultimately went well and can definite notice a speed increase. This is my first Intel chip since the PIII. Kind of feel guilty in a way, but hopefully AMD will step their game up. Thanks for all your help.
Click to expand...

Glad you like it!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top