Minimum number of replacement parts for viable Gaming PC?

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ccondardo

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May 12, 2013
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I'd like to fix up my old gaming computer (originally build in 2009, replaced some parts in 2013) and play some games with friends. I care more about being able to play with them than having the best possible machine and I'm trying to do it on a budget. I'd love to spend < $300 if possible.

I currently have the following in my sad old machine which has some kind of CPU/RAM/GPU incompatibility, which causes it to not boot every time. This is the real reason I need to move on from it. I'd love to use any of this stuff if it's still at all usable.

GPU: GeForce GTX 650 Ti 2GB GDDR5: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125457
MOBO: Asrock: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157274
CPU: Phenom II 965 Black Edition 3.4 ghz (OC to 3.6): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727
RAM: 4GB DDR2 800: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227377
PSU: Corsair CX600: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139028
OS: Windows 7 Pro 64 bit
STORAGE: 500GB (im not sure exactly what it is, but that capacity is fine), but it's outdated. I'm sure it's slower.

So the question is, what can I reuse and what should I add to make this old system usable again? The challenge is, how little money can I spend to do it?
 
Solution
dimagolf9
Your GPU will handle new games, but CPU is too old. I'd say you should uprade CPU.

So here it is:
Motherboard: MSI B150 PC Mate ~85$
CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz ~125$
RAM: G.SKILL NT Series 8GB ~30$
Total ~240$

The problem with old storage disk is that they become slower and heat up much faster, and that is not really good. Although I have ~5yo WD 500MB disk . It was heating up to 55C half a year ago, but I simply bought another case which came with 3 coolers (Corsair SPEC-03) and now it constantly running at 35C near my new WD 1TB.
So changing storage is not really necessary. but recommended.
PSU is totally OK to keep
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geofelt

geofelt

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Oct 9, 2006
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To find out what is reusable, you need to identify what part/s can not be used because they are defective.

The easiest to check is ram.
A delay on startup is often from the motherboard trying to find a workable ram setting.
Run memtest 86+. You should get NO errors from a full pass.

Your motherboard has integrated graphics. If you use integrated graphics and find the same issue, you can conclude that your graphics card is ok.

Corsair CX is not considered reliable, but your symptoms would be different if the psu was at issue.
Your motherboard or cpu could be the issue, but that is not easy to test without a compatible cpu and motherboard available.

Possibly your hard drive is the issue. The drive vendor will have specific diagnostics to check it's operation.

If no joy, consider a rebuild.
Intel I3-6100 would be a nice boost in cpu power.

Consider replacing the HDD with a ssd. 240gb.


 
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Eximo

Eximo

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May 27, 2010
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Aside from getting more ram, and possibly a new GPU, not much. It would depend on what exactly you are trying to play, that machine should run just about everything on minimal settings. Might struggle to get playable frame rates in some of the CPU intensive games, and some of the extreme graphics intensive titles might be beyond the card.
 
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dimagolf9

dimagolf9

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May 28, 2016
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Your GPU will handle new games, but CPU is too old. I'd say you should uprade CPU.

So here it is:
Motherboard: MSI B150 PC Mate ~85$
CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz ~125$
RAM: G.SKILL NT Series 8GB ~30$
Total ~240$

The problem with old storage disk is that they become slower and heat up much faster, and that is not really good. Although I have ~5yo WD 500MB disk . It was heating up to 55C half a year ago, but I simply bought another case which came with 3 coolers (Corsair SPEC-03) and now it constantly running at 35C near my new WD 1TB.
So changing storage is not really necessary. but recommended.
PSU is totally OK to keep
 
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Solution
C

ccondardo

Honorable
May 12, 2013
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10,530


I'm fairly confident it's an incompatibility between the GPU and the mobo. It only started when I upgraded the GPU.

But I'm going to run thru the tests you described to see if I can learn anything. If I have a bad GPU that's certainly going to throw a wrench in my plan.

I've got plenty of HDDs around I can try another.
 
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C

ccondardo

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May 12, 2013
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I didn't mean to select the answer, tho it's a good one. Sorry for not selecting the originally one dimagolf9 posted.I do think n0ns3ns3 addition is helpful however.
 
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