upgrading a slow 8 year old PC with least budget

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
G

gnewer

Reputable
Jul 18, 2014
5
0
4,510
I want to upgrade my 8 year old PC and i'm gonna do this with least possible money.

my system is very slow and my main goal is to make its speed normal in light daily usage like surfing web, playing music, video ( all in Windows 8.1 as i'm already using it ) ... and i WONT use it for heavy works like gaming video processing etc ..

This is my PC specs and i like to know which piece is better for me to upgrade and more important what kind of today's available pieces does my PC support. + my PC freezes once in like 5 minutes and i think my Maxtor Hard Disk is going to die. so i should change it . and i wish to know what kind of Hard Disk i am allowed to choose ?

Mainboard: Gigabyte 8I945P-G (Chipset: Intel i945P)

CPU: Intel Pentium 4 3.06 GHz (Socket 775LGA) (1 core)

Graphics: nVIDIA GeForce 6200 Turbocache (256)

Memory : Kingmax KLBD48F-A8KB4 DDR2 1GB (200 MHz)

Hard Disk 1 : Maxtor 6V160E0 ATA

Hard Disk 2 : Seagate ST3320613AS ATA
 
Solution
Ijack
I'd suggest a RAM upgrade to 2 or 4 GB. Otherwise, don't waste any more money on it. $300 would buy you a fairly decent cheap computer.
Sort by date Sort by votes
TechCIDLC

TechCIDLC

Honorable
Dec 2, 2013
1,902
0
12,960
In this computer, you are going to be able to do normal tasks, such as browsing, playing music, HD videos, etc. fast, and gaming at low settings at a mediocre speed.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD A6-6400K 3.9GHz Dual-Core Processor ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus A55M-A/USB3 Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard ($76.97 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill NS 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($42.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($37.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 300W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($43.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $316.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
rhapdog

rhapdog

Distinguished
Jan 14, 2014
164
0
18,760
I've got to agree with Ijack on this one. I just upgraded an 8 year old system for my father-in-law because he wanted to stream videos from the web. He's got an old Athlon 64 x2 running at 2GHz, with 1GB RAM and an old Radeon HD 2400. I upgraded him to 2GB RAM for $15, and got him a Radeon HD 5450 for $35, and he's happy. I told him any more than that and he should by a new one.

I just spent $299 at Walmart to get my wife a new laptop. She just needs it for Microsoft Office work, and some web surfing. I bought the Acer Aspire E 15 (ES1-511). It's got 4GB DDR3, 500GB HDD, and a dual core Celeron N2830 processor running at 2.16GHz with a 2.41GHz boost, with Windows 8.1 pre-installed. Also came with a wireless laser mouse, and a multi-DVD burner. Not bad for the price. It's got the HDMI port for hookup to the big screen, and if you've got a miracast enabled television, you can stream videos via WiFi directly to it.

It's not the fastest thing on the market by any means, but will run circles around any 8 year old computer fast enough to create a vortex for sure.

If you go with just upgrading ram or getting an inexpensive $300 new computer is the way to go, I'd recommend choosing Ijack's answer as best solution, since Ijack made that suggestion. I'm just relating experiences that backs up Ijack's claim.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
G

gnewer

Reputable
Jul 18, 2014
5
0
4,510




what kind i hard disk and memory i can use? i heard rpm speed for hard disk and frequency of ram should be supported by other pieces.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
ksham

ksham

Splendid
Mar 29, 2013
8,398
1
29,960
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($59.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($75.66 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($71.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $327.61

Does not have optical drive, but I included a SSD which will make a ton of difference.
 
Upvote 1 Downvote
IRONBATMAN

IRONBATMAN

Honorable
Aug 30, 2013
3,359
0
13,460
If you're looking for a PC that will do basic web surfing, a Chromebook, or a cheap laptop would do.

Or you could get a Tablet...with Desktop OS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834231359

But if you enjoy building a PC, then here's a build
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($114.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-DGS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $319.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
G

gnewer

Reputable
Jul 18, 2014
5
0
4,510




thank you for your suggestions. but if changing 1 or 2 pieces (like increasing ram memory and using faster hard disk) would solve the speed problem i prefer to do this. because this is not my main system and i need it only for surfing the web. (it was my fault that i said 300 $ if 50$ is enough i'm gonna be happier :D )
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
ksham

ksham

Splendid
Mar 29, 2013
8,398
1
29,960

I asked about the case earlier because most of the new components won't fit into an old small box. Those aren't conform to any standards and the motherboard and power supply are usually proprietary so they may not be compatible with new hardware. The reason all of us put up a new build is most likely because of that.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
ichigokunbaka

ichigokunbaka

Distinguished
Jul 18, 2010
157
0
18,710
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom