Should I upgrade a 7-year old PC or just build with all modern components?

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jnk3976

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Hello,

I currently have an HP a6220n that I bought new in January 2008 ($530). My upgrades to it have been an Antec Earthwatts EA500 PSU and an NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT, both which I upgraded to in June 2008 ($310). The current OS is Vista Home Premium (32-bit). I mainly use my PC for email, internet and personal finance. I'm not a gamer but I do own and have played older versions (4-5 years) of Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto.

The computer has been running slow and my primary hard drive partition is shrinking (I partitioned it into a C: for the operating system, D: for other programs and E: for data (music, videos, docs, etc.)). I was planning to reformat the hard drive, increase the size of the C: partition and do a fresh install of Windows Vista. Then I decided I would upgrade to Windows 7 (64-bit), so I ran Windows Upgrade Advisor (or whatever it is they call it) and I just meet the minimum of 2 GB of RAM. So I checked the motherboard (Asus IPIBL-LA (Berkeley)) specs to see what upgrades I could make. I can upgrade the processor to an Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 or Core 2 Duo E6850 or E6700 and the memory to 8 GB on a 64-bit PC. In addition to running slow, the video card stopped working after an upgrade, so I'm using the onboard video now. Otherwise, there are no other issues.

I'm not well versed in PC technology but I understand what most of the various components and their specifications are. I don't really have an opinion on what components are better than others of the same type due to my lack of knowledge. I've also never built my own PC but I've upgraded various components over the years, i.e., hard drives, memory, psu, video cards, completed several installs of operating systems and done some home networking.

If I upgrade, I would get the best/fastest processor I could. Researching Core 2 Quad Q6600, I've read that I should look for a SLACR designation and pricing for a still new unit is around $165 on Amazon and the E6850 is about $190. I've also considered trying to overclock, which I've never done before but realized that would require a new motherboard, which would probably be about $70 for a Gigabyte G41MT-S2PT (for the Q6600). Without even pricing memory, I'm up to $235 for a Q6600 and $260 for an E6850. My current MB accepts up to DDR2-800 memory but upgrading to a Gigabyte G41MT-S2PT would allow me to use DDR3-1066. Either way, I figure another $75-$100 for memory. At this point, I'm probably looking at about $350-$400 to upgrade the motherboard, CPU and RAM on a 7-year old PC. Looking at the cost to upgrade this PC, I imagine I could get much newer technology for close to the same cost.

Due to my lack of knowledge, I'm looking on opinions on whether I should upgrade my current PC or if my money is better spent on much more modern components. I'm not opposed to spending money but the less spent the better. I do believe in paying more, within reason, for quality stuff and I do tend to buy more than I need. I'm not sure if my psu would be adequate for the upgrades or a new build, or if my video card (assuming it still works) would be compatible with a new build.

Any opinions would be much appreciated. If the opinion is a new build, I'd also accept opinions on what components would best suit my needs, which are mainly email, internet and personal finance, and if any of my current components, e.g., video card, psu, hard drive, HP case, etc., are worth incorporating into a new build. I'd be looking to stay with a mid-tower, unless someone can convince me otherwise that a full-tower is superior. Doing a complete ne build, I'd be looking to keep cost between $500-$750. Thanks for any help and suggestions.
 
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James Mason

James Mason

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A new build for your budget is easy, and these are both mid towers. (on the small end of mid towers as well)

This would be able to play any game you want at very nice high settings. And the installing the OS and your internet/email/finance software on the SSD, while putting the games and documents and media files on the HDD will give you very "fast" performing computer:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($173.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($43.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($56.40 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($49.97 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($44.99 @ Best Buy)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($198.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cougar Spike MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($29.99 @ Mwave)
Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($32.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $734.14
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-05 17:50 EDT-0400

If you're really not that interested in any new games, then this will still run all your old games just fine and probably at their max settings anyways and will make all your regular apps run amazingly quick:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($173.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($43.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($56.40 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($49.97 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($44.99 @ Best Buy)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GT 740 2GB Video Card ($82.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cougar Spike MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($29.99 @ Mwave)
Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($32.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $618.14
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-05 17:49 EDT-0400

You seem comfortable enough with computers to upgrade them, building one yourself isn't really any different. And if you're still nervous just watch these videos and you'll be all caught up:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIF43-0mDk4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zAdwedmj1M


And your needs, it's also possible to get another prebuilt from HP or Dell since your main concerns aren't gaming.
http://store.hp.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ConfigureView?storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&langId=-1&catEntryId=777160&quantity=1

And if you're worried about using Windows 8, don't be, just download Classic Shell and you'll be fine: http://www.classicshell.net/
 
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synphul

synphul

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Agreed, for those cpu prices and since you mentioned getting a new motherboard it would be good money spent in the wrong direction to upgrade on your current system. For $190 you're looking at a brand new i5. Even though both are quad core, even the q9xxx quad cores for lga775 are performing around 50% or less of a new i5 quad core. Best case scenario if you were to try and stick with what you have and just improve on it, you're out $300-400 and even though it may perform a little better it's still a 7yr old system.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($44.99 @ Best Buy)
Video Card: HIS Radeon R9 270 2GB IceQ X² Video Card ($131.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 2300 ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (32/64-bit) ($99.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $701.75
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-05 23:55 EDT-0400

note: In the build I suggested as an option, yes it's a z97 motherboard and not required for a locked core cpu. If later on your needs changed and you wanted to go with a k series like the 4790k i7 you wouldn't be stuck swapping out motherboards or limited to stock speed. H97 is another way to go if no plans to ever overclock.
 
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coozie7

coozie7

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Which CPU is currently installed? A E6600 should be fine for your uses, and a low power card like the R7 250/250X or GT740 will play those games easily enough.

The parts prices for those old parts don't make an upgrade a financially viable option and you don't need an i5 rig either, besides, it's possible the current MB will not support a Q6600 without a BIOS update, especially since you're looking at the later revision SLACR Q6600.

If you're going to keep using the system as you have said, I'd go for an AMD 'A' series CPU/APU with 4 Gb of DDR3 1600 RAM and a 1Tb HDD, maybe with a little graphics card if you find the built in graphics isn't quite enough.
If you don't like AMD, a i3 will be more than enough, again, if its built in graphics aren't enough for you a low power card will lift the system. Toms regularly uses that chip for its value system builds.

An alternative storage strategy would be to just format the existing HDD and use a 128Gb SSD for primary boot/programs, leaving the mechanical storage for bulk media or less used programs.

Cheapest option would be to drop a 1Tb HDD into the current system, do a fresh install of Win7 64 bit, add 2Gb of extra RAM as I suspect it's mainly the HDD that's causing the performance loss anyway.
 
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Archgaull

Archgaull

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This is in your budget, and has everything you can ask for. The 750ti is a great budget card if you aren't a FPS snob (I run Far Cry 4, Dying Light, COD Advanced Warfare etc on ultra and get around 30 FPS steady, no stuttering) plus it has the benefit of having a SSD for your OS and one or two of your games that have longer load times, while still having the 1TB media drive.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($191.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($60.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($69.98 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($44.99 @ Best Buy)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($144.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Best Buy)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($13.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $685.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-06 08:50 EDT-0400
 
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MyKeyblader

MyKeyblader

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Both of those are way out of his budget. However, I recommen an EVGA 500w or similar PSU. ive seen them sell for about 40 dollars or so and it runs great and quiet. Also the GTX 750 TI is great because of low power but excellent performance. a third generation i3 or i5 shouldn't be too expensive. Get a new motherboard, it'll be worth it to upgrade to a newer socket and DDR3. Hope I helped!
 
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Archgaull

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They aren't out of his budget, the first number he quoted ($350-$400) were for just the CPU, mobo, and RAM if he were to simply upgrade the current PC. Later on in the post he mentions a complete build budget of $500-$750

 
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coozie7

coozie7

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Yet another possible build:
http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/partlist/
Not much of a gaming system but then you say you don't use it for that purpose.

I've reused the existing HDD (repurpose it as bulk storage) and optical drive (unless you watch a lot of movies, it's hardly been used) and left out a graphics card, add <>$100 for a GTX750, which is a decent enough low/mid settings graphics card or you can go lower, but be aware as you drop down the food chain the price/performance drops off very rapidly, you could save just $20 but lose more than half the performance.
 
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J

jnk3976

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Thanks for the suggestion but I'm thinking of trying to build my own.
 
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J

jnk3976

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The link to pcpartpicker didn't list the build.
 
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J

jnk3976

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Thanks for the response, I didn't know pcpartpicker existed. I see you listed a PSU, hard drive and video card. Could I repurpose my current hardware in this build, namely PSU (Earthwatts EA500), hard drive (unknown manufacturer, 400GB) and video card (GeForce 8800GT). I know they are dated but they work. If I save a few dollars, I can maybe I can get a better processor mother board combo? Also, why would you recommend Windows 8 over Windows 7?
 
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J

jnk3976

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Apr 5, 2015
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Thanks for the response, I didn't know pcpartpicker existed. I see you listed a PSU, hard drive and video card. Could I repurpose my current hardware in this build, namely PSU (Earthwatts EA500), hard drive (unknown manufacturer, 400GB) and video card (GeForce 8800GT). I know they are dated but they work. If I save a few dollars, I can maybe I can get a better processor mother board combo? I would consider attempting to overclockat some point. Also, why would you recommend Windows 8.1 over Windows 7?
 
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J

jnk3976

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Currently it is an E4500. I think I was turned onto the Q6600 and a new motherboard just to preserve my current system and try to overclock it to feel accomplished something. Bragging rights maybe? But in the end, I think smart money is on more modern components as this is my only PC. I gues I could keep this old system as a test bed for experimenting. Thanks for the suggestions.
 
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J

jnk3976

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Apr 5, 2015
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Thanks for the response, I didn't know pcpartpicker existed. I see you listed a PSU, hard drive and video card. Could I repurpose my current hardware in this build, namely PSU (Earthwatts EA500), hard drive (unknown manufacturer, 400GB), video card (GeForce 8800GT) and optical drive? I know they are dated but they work. If I save a few dollars, I can maybe I can get a better processor mother board combo?
 
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J

jnk3976

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They are within my budget ($500-$750). Thanks for the suggestions though.
 
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James Mason

James Mason

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Most of your stuff is old it's between dangerous pointless to repurpose it.
If your PSU is 7 years old its dangerous simply because of age. If its like 2 years old or so it should be fine. You could keep the HDD, but it's likely an older sata2, and at a slow rpm like 5200 which will contribute to your computer feeling slow. You could keep it around if you still want the data on it, but its only viable use now is as a storage drive for documents or pictures. The GPU you could keep as well if it still played the games you like fine, but you could get. A much better one that for not entirely too much money. The only risk with using your GPU is there might not be drivers for it on the neweer OSes.

Windows 8 is just better than windows 7. And it will maker upgrading to 10 when it comes out smoother as well since MS is going to give 10 away for free the first year its out.
8 seems hard to adjust to at first, and that's entirely on metro. But metro is taken care by installing classic shell like I said in my post and then you just have a more modern looking windows 7.

(Typed all this out on a tablet with a stylus)
 
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