Looking to replace 10 year old parts for >$800

b3jh24

Honorable
Mar 12, 2013
4
0
10,510
Hello,

I have a 10 year old Dell desktop that I'm looking to give new life to. Basically, everything, or almost everything in the computer needs to be repaired. I never got around to upgrading it earlier in its life, because quite frankly, it never needed it. Anyways, it has been really slow the last ~3 years, and instead of buying/building an entirely new computer, I thought I might be able to Frankenstein this one. So, let me break down the situation.

Problem: I need to upgrade most of the parts, but lack the funds to buy all the parts at once, so I want to be able to upgrade the PC a couple of parts at a time, all while still maintaining working order. So I would like to slowly upgrade the PC, and hopefully get increased performance as I upgrade.

Question: In what order should I upgrade and what parts may not need to be replaced?

I understand that I will likely run into compatibility issues, but is there any way around that? I would imagine the first two things to upgrade would be the CPU, and motherboard.

Approximate Purchase Date: over an extended period of time

Budget Range: $800 or less + shipping and tax

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Using internet, and emails, gaming, watching movies

Are you buying a monitor: Most likely

Parts to Upgrade: Everything?

Do you need to buy OS: Yes

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg.com, Amazon

Location: City, State/Region, Country - North Jersey

Parts Preferences: by brand or type: Intel CPU if possible

Overclocking: Maybe

Your Monitor Resolution: At least 1280x1024

Additional Comments: Will be used for gaming. Most likely I will be playing strategy games like Civ V, Total War: Rome II, etc.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: I want to be able to play more games, and my PC is on its last legs.

I might be crazy, but can this be done or no? Obviously, if this can't be done, I will just buy the several parts at a time, and then just build it at a later date, but I would like to slowly upgrade my PC so that I can get increased performance.

Thank you.


Current System Specs:
Model: Dell Dimension 2350 2002
CPU: Intel Pentium 4
RAM: 512 MB DDR SDRAM
GPU: Intel Integrated AGP Graphics
PSU: DC Power supply 200W

I just got all this from the Owners Manual, so some things might be missing.
 
Solution
Dell uses proprietary cases so aftermarket parts usually don't fit, which isn't a big loss, many Dell cases weigh a ton anyways.

For $800 or less you can build a perfectly good system from the ground up and the performance will hugely outstrip your current system.

You can start with the basics, DVD Burner, PSU, Case, HDD. Then when you have more money get the expensive parts: GPU, CPU, Motherboard and RAM. The RAM isn't expensive but you don't want to buy that until you get the motherboard as the speed needs to be compatible.

How much do you have to spend now?

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
You can't really upgrade piece by piece.

New GPU = new motherboard = new CPU = new RAM = new PSU to power it all.
Change one, and you have to change the rest at the same time.

There are parts you could change (more RAM, maybe) but you'll get minimal results for a LOT of money.

It's had a 10 year run. Repurpose it or let it go.
 
Dell uses proprietary cases so aftermarket parts usually don't fit, which isn't a big loss, many Dell cases weigh a ton anyways.

For $800 or less you can build a perfectly good system from the ground up and the performance will hugely outstrip your current system.

You can start with the basics, DVD Burner, PSU, Case, HDD. Then when you have more money get the expensive parts: GPU, CPU, Motherboard and RAM. The RAM isn't expensive but you don't want to buy that until you get the motherboard as the speed needs to be compatible.

How much do you have to spend now?
 
Solution

Wolfshadw

Titan
Moderator
Unfortunately, I doubt there is anything you can easily upgrade in your current system. At 10 years old, I doubt you even have SATA connections for modern hard drives, SSDs, or even optical drives. You may not even have a PCI-Ex16 graphics card slot. Your only option is likely to start from scratch.

-Wolf sends
 

b3jh24

Honorable
Mar 12, 2013
4
0
10,510
Well, I figured I wouldn't be able to get away with it. Thanks for the help, I'll just have to go about buying a few parts at a time. Its not really that I don't have the money to buy it all at once, I could definitely go out and spend the money, but I would much rather spread it out over time. I'm kinda putting some cash away for a PS4 ;)

But I'm wondering, would updating the motherboard and PSU at least work, then allowing me to upgrade the rest later. So would a new motherboard at least work with the old parts?