Upgrade or wait..

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
nisryus

nisryus

Senior member
Sep 11, 2007
898
248
116
So after selling (giving) my old main system to in-laws, I have been running on a Pentium G630 for the last year. With Discover card 5% back on order from Amazon.com, I am itching to upgrade the system..

It has a Biostar 1055 board which only has USB 2.0. A Geforce 750 ti, 16 GB of RAM and a WD 1 TB Blue.

The budget I have is $200 to $260. I can either:

1. Get a Sandy Bridge Core i5 (like 3470) for under $200, then used the extra money for a SSD drive as OS and game, and keep the WD Blue as secondary drive.
2. Get a MSI board that has USB 3.0 ($60) and a 4570S ($199ish) got a little over $260 and face the wife's cold stare..

Only games I am playing now is Archeage and Lego World (kid plays it), so there is no need to get a i7. Plus occasionally encoding some music and video files for in-laws and friends.

Just to be future proof for the next three years, would a SB be sufficient?
 
LTC8K6

LTC8K6

Lifer
Mar 10, 2004
28,520
1,575
126
I have an i3-2130 that I can't find a use for.

It should clean that G630's clock.
 
Murloc

Murloc

Diamond Member
Jun 24, 2008
5,382
65
91
if you get the processor from LTC8K6 and it's compatible with your motherboard, then I'd get an SSD as USB3 really doesn't change your experience if you're not moving large files on USB sticks often enough (you also have to have the usb3 drives), while an SSD completely revolutionizes your computing experience (no more waiting for background stuff to load), even if hamstrung in speed by an older motherboard.
If not, you can still get both a motherboard and cheap/older SSD on a budget, you don't need more than 128 GB anyway if you're playing just 2 games, I have plenty of heavy software and I don't even fill the SSD honestly.
 
Last edited:
nisryus

nisryus

Senior member
Sep 11, 2007
898
248
116
Yeah, many graphs on speed tests shown there aren't much improvement between SB and HW, except MB support for USB 3.0 and few other things. I can live with USB 2.0, and my day to day use is not that heavy loaded. Some co=workers are urging me to get Haswell just t be almost up-to-date on HW side, they all laughed at me when I told them I am still on a Pentium.. sigh*

Wife wants the 5% cash back so I will just get the SB, and a SSD! They will make up nicely for my last two Xmas and two Bday presents to myself.

Murloc is right, I doubt the SSD will be filled up since OS is only 80 GB and both games come to less than 30 GB.
 
dave_the_nerd

dave_the_nerd

Lifer
Feb 25, 2011
16,991
1,620
126
I second the CPU/SSD.

I'd feel okay buying a non-K CPU used since it's unlikely that it's been overclocked. In which case an i5-3470 is around $150 and an i5-2400 is around $100 on Amazon. Unless an i3 is even cheaper, I would get the i5-2400. (Sorry LTC8K6...)

A 256GB Crucial BX100 is averaging around $85, which would be my move.

Enjoy the upgrade - it'll be night and day. :D
 
VirtualLarry

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,570
10,205
126
Yeah, quad-core CPU and SSD should be a nice upgrade.

I have a Gateway slimline rig with a G630 in it. It does alright. I don't game on it, but I added a GT430 card just because. And I upgraded the 500GB HDD to a 2TB Hybrid SSHD. (There's only two SATA ports onboard, and I wanted to keep the optical drive.)
 
LTC8K6

LTC8K6

Lifer
Mar 10, 2004
28,520
1,575
126
But I don't want anything for the i3 except an address to send it to... :D
 
Charlie98

Charlie98

Diamond Member
Nov 6, 2011
6,298
64
91
LTC8K6 said:
I have an i3-2130 that I can't find a use for.

It should clean that G630's clock.
Click to expand...

I made that (almost) exact swap in my HTPC... a G630 to an i3-2100... it was a nice upgrade... and it saved me quite a bit of money over having to upgrade the entire mobo/CPU/new socket thing. And don't take any guff for running a Pentium.. Sandy Bridge and up Pentiums are not to be trifled with! :awe: I bought the G630 prepared to be disappointed with it's performance... I was so impressed I wound up building 2 more (G3220) Pentium systems.

OP, for doing what you are doing, the CPU upgrade makes sense, the SSD would be icing on the cake. If you need USB3, get an expansion card on sale for ~$20.
 
nisryus

nisryus

Senior member
Sep 11, 2007
898
248
116
LTC8K6 said:
But I don't want anything for the i3 except an address to send it to... :D
Click to expand...

Agree with dave, that's very compelling! XD

But got to follow the wife's directive.. or face the consequence.... =.=

Just ordered the 3470 and the Silicion Power SSD
 
nisryus

nisryus

Senior member
Sep 11, 2007
898
248
116
It is the Silicon Power 120GB S60. On Amazon it gets mostly positive reviews.
 
lehtv

lehtv

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2010
11,897
74
91
generic Amazon review: "I installed the drive and it works! It's faster than my hard disk for sure. 10/10 would buy again"

It could have zero bad reviews and it could still be a bad buy.

Here's an actual review: http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/6868/silicon-power-s60-240gb-ssd-review/
TweakTown said:
[page 6] The mixed read / write random performance is nothing short of awful with the Silicon Power S60. The drive is still faster than a hard drive, but this isn't a hard drive review.

[page 9] When times get tough, corners are cut. When is a Silicon Power S60 not a S60? Well, you never really know. Silicon Power sent our sample to us, so it's not like we received a Chinese swap meet knock off; this is what the company is currently shipping after showing off parts made with other components. [referring to bait & switch]

[page 9] If you want a SandForce SF-2281 drive, there are plenty of other options available, and the same is true if you want a drive with a Phison S8 controller. There is no reason to roll the dice with the Silicon Power S60 to see what actually shows up.
Click to expand...

So yeah, please cancel the order and buy a proper SSD. I recommend Crucial BX100 as it usually is the cheapest per gig and still high quality.
 
Last edited:
bigboxes

bigboxes

Lifer
Apr 6, 2002
41,768
12,326
146
nisryus said:
Agree with dave, that's very compelling! XD

But got to follow the wife's directive.. or face the consequence.... =.=

Just ordered the 3470 and the Silicion Power SSD
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I follow. Your reason against a free cpu? Unless I'm missing something... free upgrade... no cost. :confused:
 
nisryus

nisryus

Senior member
Sep 11, 2007
898
248
116
Darn it. It has already shipped.. guess I will just return it. Thought that was a SSD was a deal.

Yeah, wife wants to get the 5% cash back with Discover, and she said that since we can buy it, might let someone else who really needs one, and short on cash, to get it. Can't argue with that..
 
nisryus

nisryus

Senior member
Sep 11, 2007
898
248
116
So after a power surge my newly upgraded computer died. Was going to get a surge protector this weekend but talk about tempting fate...

With limited budget, my budget is limited to $150.

On Amazon/Newegg, I am looking at Haswell G3450 ($72) with MSI MB ($50). Or I could go back and used my old Pentium G630 and a free MB from my neighbor (a Biostar LGA 1055).

Will be using my old GeForce 740 card as the 750 Ti died along with the rest of the system.

How much improvement would I see between the G3450 and the G630? Would it run MMO games like Archeage, GW2, and old game like Dawn of War 2.. etc?

Still have an old 450 PSU and 8 G of RAM to use. But sadly, might not have enough money now for SSD...
Since they are both dual cores, I don't expect much difference between them when it comes to encoding/decoding media files. But would the G3450 handles a lot faster?
 
Last edited:
Charlie98

Charlie98

Diamond Member
Nov 6, 2011
6,298
64
91
If money is an issue, and it sounds like it is... just keep your loot and use your G630 and the free mobo. You have enough parts to make a working computer... save your money for a real upgrade later on.
 
dave_the_nerd

dave_the_nerd

Lifer
Feb 25, 2011
16,991
1,620
126
Charlie98 said:
If money is an issue, and it sounds like it is... just keep your loot and use your G630 and the free mobo. You have enough parts to make a working computer... save your money for a real upgrade later on.
Click to expand...
Seconded.

Sorry to hear that nisyrus. :\ :'(
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom