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Planning on upgrading an older machine, advice appreciated

P

Paktu

Senior member
I used to do a lot of PC gaming but I ended up selling my desktop machine to my friend last summer and haven't done much since then except the stuff I can run on my laptop. I think I'm going to buy it back in the next couple of weeks. I don't remember all the specs, but I know it has an Athlon 64 3200+, 1GB DDR1, Radeon X800 XTPE, Audigy 2 ZS, and a 500 watt Antec PSU. The box also comes with a Dell 2001FP 1600x1200 monitor.

I want to be able to run basically any game at 1600x1200. I know I'm going to need a new mobo, CPU, RAM, and video card, but I'd like to avoid replacing stuff like the power supply, sound card, hard drives, and monitor since I think they are adequate (but do tell me if I'm wrong about that).

My budget is in the neighborhood of $500, although I'm willing to spend a little more if there's a price/performance sweet spot. I'm somewhat comfortable with overclocking although I've had much more success doing it with the GPU than CPU.

What parts would you folks recommend I go for?
 
I have one of the top-of-the-line PSU's from that era (Antec NeoPower 480) and I would not even consider using it with a new system even if it had the right connectors. Like you, I also have a 3200+ (Venice). For an additional $200 you can get the proper case and PSU, if you can even get the other parts for $500, which I doubt. Maybe you should buy another system from someone here rather than blow the money on your old PC which is going straight into retirement.
 
The monitor is the only thing worth buying back unless it was some high-end case that you really like.

For around $750 you can get a fast socket 775 dual-core combo: intel E8400/8500, 4 GB RAM, intel p45 or p43 chipset mobo from Asus or Gigabyte, ATI 4890 video, WD 640 - 1 TB fast HD, decent PSU, cheap decent case like a Cooler Master, Windows 7.
 
I'm leaning towards getting a Phenom II X3 720 BE, 4GB, and a Radeon 4870. Not really seeing the point of getting a new case, hard drive, or sound card. What kind of PSU am I going to need for a machine like that?
 
It's hard to know if you should buy that stuff back since we don't know what you're paying for it. BUt if you do buy it back, I don't see any reason not to use the 500W Antec PSU, as long as it has the connectors that you need.

 
Originally posted by: ChaiBabbaChai
I have one of the top-of-the-line PSU's from that era (Antec NeoPower 480) and I would not even consider using it with a new system even if it had the right connectors.
Click to expand...

Why not?
 
Originally posted by: M0RPH
Originally posted by: ChaiBabbaChai
I have one of the top-of-the-line PSU's from that era (Antec NeoPower 480) and I would not even consider using it with a new system even if it had the right connectors.
Click to expand...

Why not?
Click to expand...

Age & power output. There is a reason PSUs have increased in output, and it's not so that they can sell you a bigger PSU than you need. You want to have the PSU operating at it's most efficient load range, which is usually far below its max rated output.
 
I'm leaning towards getting a Phenom II X3 720 BE, 4GB, and a Radeon 4870. Not really seeing the point of getting a new case, hard drive, or sound card. What kind of PSU am I going to need for a machine like that?
Click to expand...
IMO, this is an excellent processor for a budget machine. AMD really competes well in the sub $150 market. Another option is the Phenom X2 550 Calisto processor, a dual core clocked at 3.1GHz. For gaming, it out performs the X3 720 in many cases because it has basically the same cache but a faster clock and most games won't use the third core of the 720. It's $20 less than the 720, but obviously won't be as snappy in multitasking scenarios or encoding.

In RAM, you basically need to decide whether it's worth the money for DDR3 rather than DDR2. DDR3 mobos cost about $10 more than their DDR2 equivalents and the RAM itself is about $80 for 4GB or $50 for 2GB. (I'd go for the full 4GB.)

Take a look at the Gigabyte AM3 770 board, which looks to be among the best choices in sub-$100 motherboards.

You will need a 400-500W PSU for a system with the kinds of stuff your talking about. Don't believe the hype on PSUs: it's reliability not wattage that counts and for almost any system without dual card configuration, 500W is way more than you need. Corsair makes great reliable PSUs. Take a look a this article to get an idea of what you're going to need, http://www.anandtech.com/casec...us/showdoc.aspx?i=3413 One thing you could do is skip the power supply and see how things go. If you don't get the results you want, you'll have to invest in one, but if you get the desired results, don't buy one. BTW, the mobo I recommended has an 8-pin CPU power socket and your Antec PSU probably uses a 4-pin so you will need a $4 adapter: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16812201005

From NewEgg, here's a basic system:
Motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128392
Proc http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819103649
PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817139003
RAM http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820148262
That gets you to $349 not counting mail in rebates, leaving $150 for a video card; $150 should get you an ATI 4870. I recommend a 1GB version of the card because I think 512MB might get a little slim in the next year or two.
 
Dump the OCZ power supply......it's a barely adequate Sirtec/Sirfa build and wouldn't be called quality by anyone knowledgeable with power supplies. I'd more recommend an Antec Earthwatts 430W or 500W over that hunk'o'junk, or a Corsair 400W or BFG LS450 or the like.
 
Get a Antec Sonata case which included a 500W PSU. If you dont plan to upgrade your monitor anytime soon, you could step down to 4850. I would get a new HD if I were you. New build with aged HD is 'not cool DUDE : )
 
This looks like a good option for the PSU and the price isn't too bad:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817139005

I'm reluctant to go for a new HDD as I've had no problems with my existing ones and I don't store any critical data on this machine. However, would it be worth looking into getting a small, inexpensive SSD to install Windows on along with whatever games I am currently playing?
 
the thing is, while SSD's can be much faster than the best HDD, the least expensive SSD worth getting is 32GB for about $120. A WD Black 1TB is $20-$30 less than that and gives you over 900 more gigs after formatting. It's not just about losing files it's about setting up all those programs and settings again. If you get a new drive before your old one dies, you can just clone it over to the new drive and move on. SSD for OS and large programs, with a HDD for files is the way to go.
 
Core i5 - $200 (come back in 1 week)
Mobo - as low as $105 for uATX (come back in 1 week) - $150
Video - 5850? (Sept 24th?) - $200? or 4890 $180
Ram DDR3 = $100
HDD = Seatage 7200.12 / Hitachi 1TB = $80
Case = Antec 300 = $70
PSU = You can reuse your current one as long as it has 24 pin adapter
or Corsair 550 VX - $60

If you are not short on space, and don't mind the price/gb ratio, then SSD is obviously better than the mechanical drive. Intel Gen 2 and OCZ vertex support the TRIM command which will prevent the SSD from slowing down with time.
 
Tell me what the advantage is of a Core i5. I did a little Googling and benchmarks are scarce...is it really going to be that much better than the AMD X3 chip I was considering?

It's hard for me to justify getting a Radeon 4890 or 5850 as the performance boost seems pretty marginal especially since I won't be gaming above 1600x1200. That 550W PSU looks like a smart call though.
 
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