Just bought a used PC..Help!

XiiD

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Oct 17, 2010
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Hi all

A relative just bought a tower for £80 from a stranger.

I'm looking to upgrade it for them hopefully the budget is pretty small and the parts being used will most likely be 2nd hand I've already started on the software side of things.

Win7 Ultimate 32bit
Intel i5-3470 3.2Ghz (stock cooler)
2x2GB DDR3 @666mhz
Asus P8 H61-MX R2. 0
1GB EVGA Geforce 210
500GB Western Digital

PSU reads - CiT Pemtium Model: 500U

Case is pretty poor and I can't really tell what it is or if it could house a modern CPU.

All recommendations well and thanks in advance
 
Solution
Here are the Tiers of power supplies.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-1804779/power-supply-unit-tier-list.html

You could go down to Tier 3 for this build, but Tier 2 would be better.

The spec sheet says that board runs memory up to DDR3-1333. Maybe someone will tell you if -1600 will run at proper speed on it.

Here's the latest GPU recommendations (Before the GTX970 and 980 came out)

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-3.html

I'd look at the GTX 750 ti, but others may suggest beter options given your CPU.
The parts aren't too terribly old - what are you using this for (programs you want to run)?

The CPU/mobo is 3rd generation Intel (last year) and is better than average out there (it isn't top of the line - but good).

If you are wanting to game with the computer, you would need to update the GPU - it isn't a gaming GPU but isn't bad for normal computing.

I wonder why Winodws 7 Ultimate 32-bit was installed....that limits your RAM to 3GB....(you can get up to 32GB with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit) - I would only recommend 8GB for moderate use.

The PSU is suspect - you might want to consider replacing it - it could lead to trouble in the future.
 
I second ronintexas.

Before I put any other money in there I'd want a reliable quality power supply. You may be only one on/off from a fire. At least I'd want to know exactly what power supply I had. You could then use a search engine to find more information.
 

XiiD

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Oct 17, 2010
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Thanks so far guys I'm maybe looking to put like a 460 or 560 or 660 in it for them so I will probably pick up a 500w PSU. Win7 Ultimate 32bit has been swaped to Win7 Ultimate 64bit.

Can anyone recommend a 500w PSU, 2x4GB DDR3, and a graphics card. As cheap as possible but still reliable, Thanks
 
Here are the Tiers of power supplies.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-1804779/power-supply-unit-tier-list.html

You could go down to Tier 3 for this build, but Tier 2 would be better.

The spec sheet says that board runs memory up to DDR3-1333. Maybe someone will tell you if -1600 will run at proper speed on it.

Here's the latest GPU recommendations (Before the GTX970 and 980 came out)

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-3.html

I'd look at the GTX 750 ti, but others may suggest beter options given your CPU.
 
Solution