Upgrading an Old PC/ Compatibility Questions/ Overclocking Questions/ Build Questions

QuadRings

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Hey every one! So recently, my relatives said I could have their old Tower PC to build in, since they never use it. It is VERY old, and I dont have the money to completely overhaul it, but I want to try with what I have. First in this post will be current specs, then what I want to put in. I also have questions about overclocking and such. Any and all help is greatly appreciated!
And yes, I know this system wont be great even upgraded. PLEASE DON'T TELL ME I SHOULD REPLACE EVERYTHING! I cant afford it, so im working with what I can.

So, it is an Emachines T5224 MATX desktop from '05.
CPU: Pentium D 820
MotherBoard: Intel D945GCL MATX LGA775
Cooler: Looks stock but has a Cooler master fan?
300W psu by "BesTech"
2X 512-MB DDR2 RAM
10 year old HDD, 7200RPM, 250GB
Windows Vista SP2

Its very dusty. My brother says it looks like the front has a moustache. But ill clean her out.
(Ill try to edit in pics of the interior soon)

What I want, is to stick 8GB of DDR2 in, add an SSD, add a 750Ti, replace the case fans (I doubt theyre doing 1000RPM anymore...), a Standard PCI wireless card, USB 3.0 adapter, and maybe even overclock the CPU. That would come later, when I know the case clearance and what I can get for coolers. I may even upgrade to an E8400. What I want to do is video edit with Movie Maker or LightWorks, record a console with a capture card, and play games. These games include:
OMSI 2
ETS2
War Thunder
Civ 5
Battlefield 4
Battlefront
Gmod
TF2
and others.

So I need to know if those parts will work, and if its worth it. I need an upgrade to my current PC, and this thing stock is better (Despite mine being only 3 years old- AMD E300 for a core).

I want to know if my parts will fit
Will it work on Ubuntu or Vista better (What's better for games?)
Will a Hyper 212 Evo fit?
How far can a D 820 OC (I heard 4 GHz in 2007)

Thank you guys for any help! Ill try to post a build log somewhere if I get the PC (It aint set in stone yet)

Heres a list of parts I need. All Custom parts lead to Amazon US.

PCPartPicker part list
 

QuadRings

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Here's some pictures of the upper mobo. Theyre bad, so Ill try got some more tomorrow. Essentially shows the DIMMs and Cpu Block. Plus dust!
http://m.imgur.com/nmFtu92,w9rn4BQ,6lgB4Xf,4iNijth

So yeah, no idea what a CM fan is doing there, especially with that tube on it. Thats stock. The thing there is a PCI-EX1 Dial Up adapter, which will be removed for the 3.0 adapter. You can also see the x16 slot for the 750ti, and two PCI slots, one for my wifi card. Tou can also see the two 512MHz DDR2 sticks, and some of the shoddy cable management.not much else, besides an extremely dusty PSU, which is gray, a dust encrusted fan that never ran that fast, and an HDD and DVD drive, along with a Card Reader.


To add a question, how do you measure CPU cooler clearance?
 

QuadRings

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Right, so here is my INITIAL upgrade plan:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Memory: Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2-667 Memory ($29.23 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Wireless Network Adapter: Edimax EW-7811UAC 802.11a/b/g/n/ac USB 2.0 Wi-Fi Adapter ($24.00 @ Amazon)
Total: $143.22

I hope to slightly OC the GPU (If I can) and OC the CPU As much as possible.

Another question I have is how much a Pentium D 820 will OC on a 4 pin power.


After about a year, Ill upgrade again with this:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor ($68.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: MSI A88XM GAMING Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($32.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $171.97

Keeping it cheap, I went with AMD, since I could never afford an i5 and an i3 won't run any games hy the time these get put in.

Is this all good?
 
Read the motherboard specs here: http://downloadmirror.intel.com/15116/eng/D945GCL_TechProdSpec.pdf

That particular 'board will only support 4Gb of memory and will only accept 1.8 volt parts, and God alone knows where you will be able to source them!

Any SSD will be badly choked by the built in SATA 3GB/s interfaces, I suggest you stick with using a normal HDD and be aware some older motherboards won't support drives over 1.2Tb.

I very much doubt an OEM Intel motherboard will allow any overclocking, yours might, but then again, it may not, all you can do is fire the system up and check the BIOS options, if it does allow overclocking you MUST upgrade the powersupply, those old 'D' chips
use a lot of power!

That motherboard isn't compatible with the later E8XXX chips: http://processormatch.intel.com/Processors/CompatibleProcessors?componentName=d945gcl

A GTX750Ti is going to be heavily bottlenecked by the CPU, something between a GT730 and a GDDR5 equipped GT740 would be more appropriate: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/gaming-graphics-card-review,review-32899-7.html
 

MaxieMooCow

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Look around on craigslist/ gumtree (australia). lots of people are selling their old computers for cheap. I sell lots of my old gear for cheap. Honestly your computer isn't worth spending the $143 when you will be really disappointed. That $140 could buy you a refurbished OEM brand computer (Dells with i3's, HP) which only require a 750ti a little bit later down the track and will run games fine. A place near me sells old government pc's with older quad core i5's with windows7, HDD, 8gb ram for $200. With your budget you shouldn't be buying new stuff, second hand stuff is fine as long as you know it works beforehand. I bought a 560ti for $15 a few days ago which runs BF4 on high with my G3258, and all up it costed ~$200. Look around for second hand parts.
 

QuadRings

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I did look on ebay for cheaper RAM, and agree with you guys there.

But I can't buy a whole PC, as my parents dont really want me to have this tower in the first place, nor do I really need it. Im pretty sure their thinking is that if I get this Ill shut up about building a $1000 PC.

Looking at it though, the tower is well equipped for its year. SATA3 Controllers, I think PCIE 2.0 (Probably Not), fair specs however dated. In stuck with this s***box, so Ill carry her through. I like the looks as well, to be honest.

And note not all will be bought at once. The RAM and Wi-Fi adapter I need immediately, but the 750Ti will come after tweaking for a little while, and the AMD upgrade wont come for a while. Im sort of strapped on cash, which is why im playing with this idea.
 

QuadRings

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Question- Does anyone know if I replace my PSU, can I run a GTX 960 2GB on here? I dont think my CPU will bottleneck it that much, but Im not sure

If a 960 will work, do I need a new PSU, or will 350W do for now?
 

MaxieMooCow

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Pentium D 820 and GTX 960.. it will have a large bottleneck. The Pentium D 820 is a 2005 dual core chip, it will not perform like a new i3 dual core or the new pentiums. I also seriously doubt you can overclock on the prebuilt mobo.
 

QuadRings

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My plan was to simply stick it in there to get any benefits (even slim) while I can, then upgrade to a new mobo when I have more cash, since I dont have alot. Speaking of upgrades, you guys figure this will work?:
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-970mpro3#viewImages

I figured I could get this, grab some MOSFET coolers since they're cheap, and put an FX Processor in. While not the best, still cheaper than an i5, since this mobo is the same cost as an H97. Id also like to invest in just a Noctua Industrial Fan bolted to the HDD cage (No front fan). Does anyone who owns one of these know if thatll work?
 

QuadRings

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Yes, but with an 8320, my multitasking would be better. I could program things such as a game recorder or OBS to be the only things running on one or two cores. The game would get the necessary 2 or 4 cores to itself (and possibly something like Skype), while the remaining cores could run and handle everything else, much like a console. FPS would be slightly lower as any game with AMDs cores would do, but overall performance would be theoretically better. Plus, the cheapest i5 and motherboard (a 4400) costs $240 new, and I don't want to buy used. An 8320 with a cooler and 990FX is $250! More capabilities for the same value, IMO. Plus, the mobo I chose is cheaper, which means the 8320 is even less
 

QuadRings

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Actually, after googling around, I wonder if I can mod the case to fit an ATX mobo. Move the PSU somwhere else, HDDs put into the extra ODD bay, remove the HDD cage, Add fans and standoffs. I think it might work
 

QuadRings

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Could I ask a mod to close this? Its gotten a little off, no one (not even me) really is responding, and Id like to make a new post once I get the PC next week or so, where I could add pictures and such.