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Question Reutilizing an Old PC for Family Member: Your Opinion

S

sub-80

Senior member
Good Day;

My Dad finally decided to let go of his decade old Toshiba Laptop (Satellite L755-16H)
Specs:
  • CPU: i5-2410M
  • OS: Win7 Home
  • Ram: 6Gb
  • HDD: 640Gb (5,400rpm)
  • GPU: Nvidia GT 525M

He uses it to:
  • Email
  • Watch Youtube Videos
  • Buy items online
  • Light Flash Games
  • Downloading Music into iPhone

The Old PC proposed is:
  • CPU: I7-875K
  • MB: Asus P7H57D-EVO
  • RAM: 8Gb 1333MHz
  • Storage: 1Tb SSHD
  • GPU: GTX 770
  • PSU: Corsair CX750W

What is your opinion? Okay, some changes or New PC?
 
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With the age of those components considered, I'd do a complete new PC.

sub-80 said:
He uses it to:
  • Email
  • Watch Youtube Videos
  • Buy items online
  • Light Flash Games
Click to expand...

It sounds like he'd be completely happy with a basic Athlon 2xxGE-class system. Don't mistake the new Zen/AM4 Athlons, despite being low-end, they pack quite the punch for being budget APUs. Both DDR4 and SSDs are pocket change right now. Combine with a A320/B450 board*, a decent PSU, and you have a very competent system for basic usage. It'll even do youtube 4K VP9 decoding no problem.

*Or perhaps the Asrock A300 STX system for a really compact system.
 
Insert_Nickname said:
It sounds like he'd be completely happy with a basic Athlon 2xxGE-class system. Don't mistake the new Zen/AM4 Athlons, despite being low-end, they pack quite the punch for being budget APUs. Both DDR4 and SSDs are pocket change right now. Combine with a A320/B450 board*, a decent PSU, and you have a very competent system for basic usage. It'll even do youtube 4K VP9 decoding no problem.

*Or perhaps the Asrock A300 STX system for a really compact system.
Click to expand...
I've got a few of those, combining both used and new components, "in stock". PM me if you want to make an offer, I can ship to CONUS. (If you're in UK or AU, sorry.) Not expensive. (Can pull CPU / mobo / RAM / heatsink, and ship those too, if you would prefer to use your own case/PSU.)

Honestly, if you're going to build your own, though, consider: 1) If he was "adjusted" to a laptop, consider a Ryzen laptop. (Look up the Ryzen 3200U laptops on walmart.com). 2) If going the desktop route, and not "serious gaming", consider an AM4-socket DeskMini unit, and a Ryzen R5 3400G, and 2x8GB DDR4-3000 RAM (Edit: make sure it's SO-DIMM DDR4 RAM for the DeskMini), and a decent 512GB or 1TB NVMe SSD. (Intel 660p 1TB comes to mind as inexpensive but usable.)
 
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Is the "proposed OLD PC", his old desktop, or what you are proposing moving him TO?

If so, that's pretty ancient, although it's probably usable for his tasks, I would recommend new kit, as you don't know how long that's going to last, especially a mobo that old.

I'd put that PC on Craigslist as an oldie-but-goodie gaming rig, and then use the proceeds for a Ryzen 3200U laptop.
 
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($79.87 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($69.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: GeIL EVO SPEAR 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sabrent Rocket 512 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($59.98 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Focus G ATX Mid Tower Case ($55.88 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair CX (2017) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($53.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $379.49
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-10-06 22:39 EDT-0400
 
The old PC is absolutely fine for your dad unless he complains.

Except that the old PC probably will use a little bit more electricity than a new one.
 
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mxnerd said:
The old PC is absolutely fine for your dad unless he complains.

Except that the old PC probably will use a little bit more electricity than a new one.
Click to expand...
Well, two things "wrong" with it (not really wrong, just sub-optimal):
1) Overkill 4C/8T i7 CPU, and discrete GPU. Perfect for a gamer starting out, but overkill for someone that just plays "light flash games", and browses the web and buys things. (Excess hardware thrown at the problem, leading to excess power draw.)
2) An i7-875K, is old enough, that the mobo may not have much lifespan left in it. That was back in the day of Foxconn / Lotes sockets, and burned sockets. Plus, may still be around the time of the "bad caps". If the board has all-solid caps, then I would say, feel free to continue to use it.

But honestly, I would try to sell it to an entry-level / high-school gamer type (maybe after transplanting into a case with some RGB fans and a tempered-glass side, always sure to excite), and buy something: 1) more modern, 2) more svelte, and 3) more capable, for daily-driver / video-watching usage.
 
I agree the old PC is overkill and is old enough and probably consumes too much electricity.

Falyed's PCPartPicker is actually good except the ATX case choice. The motherboard is a micro ATX board and I will go with a micro ATX case.
(probably a nice looking Cooler Master MasterBox Q300L, $40 at newegg )
 
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Flayed said:
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($79.87 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($69.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: GeIL EVO SPEAR 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sabrent Rocket 512 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($59.98 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Focus G ATX Mid Tower Case ($55.88 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair CX (2017) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($53.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $379.49
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-10-06 22:39 EDT-0400
Click to expand...

Seems great but I'll most likely go with a case with no tempered glass.
 
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