Revamp spare PC or build from scratch

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elvisruns

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I've been working on a smaller laptop for most of the last 3 years, and while it will still suffice for daily duties (mostly web-based work, with some occasional Gimp/Inkskape and SketchUp Make work), I'm taking on some side projects over the next few months that will entail me going into some full scale architecture projects that I've decided to take on in SketchUp Pro. I have a spare PC that has been serving as a home theater PC for about the last 3-4 years that has the following:
AMD FX 4100 3.6GHz, 12.0MB Cache 4-core processor Black Edition
Gigabyte 78LMT-S2P AM3+ Compatible MoBo
Seagate Barracuda 2TB SATA Internal HD
8GB DDR3-1333 Dual Channel Desktop Memory
Asus HD 5450 Silent Graphics Card

I'm oh so tempted to build something from scratch, but could easily put the above computer back into service as a PC for this work and possibly swap some stuff out and add a nice large desktop monitor. Important things for me will be speed (thinking I could just add an SSD to the above) and graphics. Any thoughts on what I have is salvageable or should I try building something from scratch? If I go from scratch I would hope to be under $600 (yes, I was eyeing the "Best PC Builds 4th Quarter Update: Best VR Ready Build for $600 or less" as a bit of a guide, but probably won't be gaming on this machine). Thoughts?
 
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Aeacus
For your work, going with new build is better than upgrading the old build.

With a new build, you can have faster PC with latest technology (e.g. faster DDR4 RAM instead of DDR3).

Since you already checked out the submissions in the "Best VR Ready Build for $600 or less" topic, i suggest you take one of those builds in there. Modify it some and you're ready to go.

Here's something you might like.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI H110M Pro-VD Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($53.44 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($41.99 @...
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Aeacus

Aeacus

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For your work, going with new build is better than upgrading the old build.

With a new build, you can have faster PC with latest technology (e.g. faster DDR4 RAM instead of DDR3).

Since you already checked out the submissions in the "Best VR Ready Build for $600 or less" topic, i suggest you take one of those builds in there. Modify it some and you're ready to go.

Here's something you might like.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI H110M Pro-VD Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($53.44 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($41.99 @ B&H)
Storage: SK hynix SL308 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($64.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 3GB 3GB SC GAMING Video Card ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Zalman ZM-T1 PLUS MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($24.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $590.38
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-10-16 01:23 EDT-0400
 
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elvisruns

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Thanks for the info. I tried spending some time with that PartPicker, and there was just way too much to choose from. I guess I'll just have to pad some of my fees to account for new hardware!:)

 
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elvisruns

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Had a follow up thought. Being that we're only about a month out from Black Friday, would it be worth waiting to pull the trigger on components like these until then, or are manufacturers on the verge of introducing anything new that I might want to delay purchasing for a short period (by end of 2016 at the absolute latest).

 
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Aeacus

Aeacus

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You could wait for the Black Friday to get some good deals.

As far as waiting for a better part, there's no point in doing that. New and better parts are released frequently and if you want to get the best part, you can wait forever and still don't have the needed part.
Just get the currently available parts and go on.
 
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elvisruns

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I've gotten some feedback from some of the developers of some of SketchUp's plug-in tools and they suggested just starting with an upgrade of the graphics card from the above system (Asus HD 5450), and possibly a new power supply. My question is, is there anything specific I need to pay attention to as regards the existing Gigabyte 78LMT-S2P AM3+ motherboard when considering the graphics card upgrade? Does it end up being a wash if I end up spending $200+ on the new video card?
 
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Aeacus

Aeacus

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Oh my, the Radeon HD 5450, i have it sitting in the drawer. :D Got it when i bought my old prebuilt AMD office build back in the 2011.
For upgrade, i suggest Radeon HD 7770 Ghz edition. That's what i did with my AM3 socket MoBo (ECS A750GM-M (V7.0)).
Here's a comparison: http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/AMD-Radeon-HD-5450-vs-AMD-HD-7770/m7719vsm7710
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A0HZOEA

Older MoBo does well with older GPU. In my case, i ended up bottlenecking my AMD Athlon II X2 250 CPU thanks to this GPU. :D

For PSU, i suggest Seasonic S12II-520. (That's what i also did when i upgraded from the Codegen ATX450W that came with the prebuilt PC.)
specs: https://seasonic.com/product/s12ii-520/
pcpp: http://pcpartpicker.com/product/fZyFf7/seasonic-power-supply-s12ii520bronze

Currently, i'm running Intel i5-6600K build with Z-series MoBo and old Seasonic is still going strong. :)
 
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elvisruns

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Aeacus - Good info. I'm going to see how the 5450 runs as I get started (I was finally able to upgrade the drivers last night) and if it looks like it's slogging along I'll upgrade to the 7770. I have to believe I'd get better performance out of the 5450 to start with than what's in my 12" laptop that I've used for work in SketchUp occasionally over the last 3 years. Haven't done any high level rendering with it, but just basic modelling.

 
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