Hello, need advice on what to upgrade first, second etc!

Okay, so a lot of confusing text aside. These are your real specs :

CPU : Intel Pentium D 2.8 Ghz

RAM : 4GB DDR2

Graphics Card : AMD Radeon 5450

HDD : 1TB HDD (Please mention whether it is older IDE based or SATA HDD. Open your rig, if there is a wide bus of wires from HDD then it it IDE. If only two thing cables are there then it is SATA Based.)

Motherboard : It is probably of an older Socket 775 for which no new CPU's are launched. Hence no way to upgrade.


As far as upgrades go, there is not really nothing possible to upgrade there. All the parts are way too old to upgrade.

Also you did not mentioned your upgrade budget. Even a $300 rig would outperform this older rig. Hence it is time for a full upgrade. You might be able to use your HDD (if it is SATA based) and case (which you did not mentioned) and PSU (which again you did not mentioned at all). Hence first tell your budget, then I will see.

As for this old PC that you are already having. Uninstall Windows and run Linux on it. Try "Lubuntu", it is a very nice lightweight OS based on Ubuntu and would run pretty good even with the sort of older hardware that you have. Also since it is Linux, hence it is free to download.

One common misconception with people is that Linux is very hard to use and all that bull$#!7. It is not correct, yes, there might be a little learning curve from people who are coming from Windows, but a week or two gone using Linux, then you would have no problem using Linux.

Infact give a child or anyone who has never used computer before either Lubuntu or Windows 8 then for him . It would be a lot easier for him to use Lubuntu. Also if anyone has ever used Windows 2000 or Windows XP before, then one would have no problem using Lubuntu as it looks similar, but a lot more beautiful than XP.

Hence give Lubunu a try, it is the best and free option to make older hardware run just as fast as new again. Thanks to it's extreme lightweight nature.

I have been using Ubuntu (Lubuntu's bigger brother) from a year now and have had no issues with it whatsoever. Also I used Lubuntu for about 6 months and it is extremely fast. Hence give Lubuntu a try. It would be worth it, even on older hardware.

It would be just a waste of cash. The PC when paired with Linux is good enough for web browsing, listening to music and word processing. Don't expect gaming from it. It is not worth spending on such an old hardware.

Software upgrades are the best way to make this rig up and running as fast as possible. Try Lubuntu, it is totally good for a free upgrade.

I hope this helps.