Looking to upgrade old computer....worth it?

[Bauer18]

I have bought a new computer recently and decided to keep my old computer. It runs most games fine such as World of Warcraft on Medium settings. Just looking at the quality of life of the computer, would upgrading it help it last for a few more years for most games? The computer is about 4-5 years old.

Specifications:

Motherboard: PQ5-E
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo CPU E8500
Ram: 8 GB of ram.
Video Cards: ATI Radeon HD 4800 series...I believe I have 2 with cross fire.

If there is anyone more information needed, just let me know. Thanks.

I am not the most computer savvy person so any information is helpful. Looking to upgrade off the current motherboard that I have.

 

[Christiaan Lourens]

I use to do this myself, I would highly advise avoiding this method since the money you could be spending on perhaps a second GPU, an extremely good mouse ect. Is wasted to salvage old tech.

There is nothing wrong with using an older pc for browsing, downloading, as a server or even watching movies/playing music.

Yet for all the above mentioned purposes it does not require an upgrade, as long as it is in working condition.

Do not salvage outdated tech, when possible stick to trends/ new tech. Since technology increases so rapidly it's hard to keep up with just 1 system already.

 

[simon12]

If you can get a supported core 2 quad on ebay cheap its worth it otherwise its high end for its age just use it as is.

 

[Tibbs01]

I consider Simons suggestion ideal, but if your motherboard supports overclocking, you could pick up an e8600 for next to nothing, pick up an inexpensive cooler, and overclock it as they were one of the more overclocking friendly cpu's of that generation and could handle some pretty extreme OC's.

 

[Bauer18]

Thanks for the advice, I have no problem spending a little money on it to keep it going for a year or two. It's mainly for my Girlfriends younger brother to play games on. Keeping it as it is is probably what I'm going to do unless I found the processor or a better video card. Thanks again.

 

[Tibbs01]

If you are running in sli, I think you will find it more likely that the cpu will be your limiting factor and not the gpu's in most games that you will try to run on that machine. I believe that is an Asus motherboard that does support overclocking so I would start with doing a little overclocking as it is a free upgrade to your system as long as you are careful and just progress in small oc's while monitoring heat/stability. There are a plethora of guides to get you started.