Sign in with
Sign up | Sign in

Reply to this thread

Solved Forum question

Started by GabDube | | 25 answers
Advice on upgrading a 7 year-old system without a GPU, on a 150$ budget?
Hi! So I have a home-built system that I put together in mid-2007. It had some isues though. First, the motherboard is limited to DDR2 RAM and I only ever had 2Gb on it, which used to be enough for my needs. Of the two GPUs I ever plugged in, both died, a couple of years apart. The first (and original card) was a BFG Tech GeForce 8800GTS 512MB that started dying on a very hot day in 2009 while playing Combat Arms (what a bad game to fry a card on). It had a lifetime guarantee, so I got a free 9800 as replacement, which in turn suddenly broke (popped capacitors) in 2011 when I moved to a new appartment and launched League of Legends for the first time... Both cards usually had no issues running games like Dragon Age or Mass Effect 2 quite well and didn't even get hot. Although, when the second card broke, I had neither the money nor the spare time to make it worth replacing, and BFG tech apparently went out of business, so I ran on the mobo-integrated intel graphics to this day (it ran Homeworld, Halo PC, League of Legends and even Eve Online on the bare minimum settings).

Now that I have more time to play games, I'd like to know what I should upgrade first on a 150$ budget. A new GPU seems like the obvious choice, but seeing how the previous two ended up, maybe I should get a better PSU, case or fans before a GPU. I still don't know if the fried cards were caused by PSU irregularities, insufficient air flow or faulty manufacturing on BFG's factory-overclocked cards. Also, my CPU will likely cause major bottlenecking, so it might be better to just get a new mobo/CPU/RAM and keep on running integrated graphics until I can get a GPU...

Approximate Purchase Date : this month

Budget Range : 100-200$ CAD (after shipping/rebates)

System Usage, from Most to Least Important : opening a bunch of Word and pdf docs at the same time (university/work), gaming, watching movies, occasional photoshopping

Am I buying a monitor: No

Parts :
Mobo: Intel DG965RY
CPU : Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 @ 2.40GHz
RAM : 2x 1Go DDR2 PC2-5300 333 MHz (Kingston)
PSU: Thermaltake TR2-500 P/N:W0093RU
HDD: 2x 7200rpm SATA drives (250GB and 80GB)
Case fans: 1x 120mm fan in the back

Do I need to buy an OS: Preferrably no, but I'm still on 32 bit Vista SP2

Preferred Websites for Parts: newegg.com, bestbuy.com, futureshop.com

Location: Montréal, Québec, Canada

Parts Preferences: I prefer Intel and Nvidia, but AMD is fine if it's a better deal

Overclocking: No, don't want to risk more fried parts...

SLI or Crossfire: No, unless it's somehow better to get two low-end GPUs for the price of a better one

Monitor Resolution: 1600x900

Additional Comments: I want to be able to run Dragon Age and Mass Effect 2 again, also maybe The Witcher 2.
  • By posting on this site, I confirm I am over 13 years of age and agree to abide by the site’s rules.

July 2, 2014 3:54:38 PM

Ok, that pretty much clears it up. I won't upgrade all at once, but I'll start with the PSU, get a second 120mm fan, then GPU, then everything else.

Thanks!
July 2, 2014 2:29:33 PM

thermaltake.............. would never touch one. new most of them new are bad ( terrible thing to say ) ... just giving perspective. the ps is thee most important part of any build and people always seem to scrimp on them in a build.......... kinda like an after thought....... anyways........ a bad supply new and then add 7 years.........

speccy didn't wonk, you did.

save money. time for a real upgrade.




Best solution chosen by GabDube

July 2, 2014 2:13:24 PM

GabDube said:
bccorrupt said:
GabDube said:
Alright, so if my PSU is ok (which I have no idea how to check), I guess I should get more RAM and either a GTX 750 or an R7 260... As for the OS, Intel's website doesn't list Windows 7 or 8 as supported by the DG965RY, so I'm pretty much stuck with Vista unless I forget about gpus for the moment and just put the money on a recent mobo, CPU and some DDR3 RAM.

Also, should I consider an R7/7000 series card over an Nvidia one in hope that Mantle might reduce the cpu bottleneck in the future? Does that even work on a 32 bit OS/Dual core without Hyperthreading?

Oh, and would it be more cost-effective to just add a 2x 1GB set to make it 4x 1GB @ 333mhz? I still have 2 empty memory slots left and it would be cheaper than getting a set of 2x 2GB DDR2.


The TR2 power supplies are a little overrated on the power, but the components are good, so just don't push it too close to 500w. Your motherboard supports 533/677/800 mhz ram, so I'm assuming you meant yours was 533 ram. Normally I wouldn't suggest putting money into ddr2 ram, but 800 vs 533 might make a difference enough to be worth a couple dollars if you can find some cheap. There's someone on the "deals" section selling 4GB of 800 mhz ddr2 ram for $35, link below.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2195942/sale-16gb-...

$150 would buy the ram and either a GTX750 or r7 260x , both would work well with your power supply. The 260x is a little faster, but uses a little more power. Either is good, whichever you prefer.


OK, so I found the 7 year-old reciept for the RAM. It is apparently 667, not 533. Piriform Speccy must have wonked, cause it marked it as 333 MHz...

And I found some disconcerting reviews about the PSU from the mid-2000s. With power output loss over time due to capacitor aging, i'm concerned that my PSU won't be able to provide the 450W actual max wattage that tests show it can provide. That could also explain the fried GPU capacitors, and if that's the case, then spending money on a GPU would be a bad idea as long as this PSU would be powering it... I really don't know what to do.


I would recommend this.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Memory: Crucial 2GB (1 x 2GB) DDR2-667 Memory ($37.01 @ Amazon Canada)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R7 260X 1GB Core Edition Video Card ($114.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $196.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
July 2, 2014 2:00:12 PM

bccorrupt said:
GabDube said:
Alright, so if my PSU is ok (which I have no idea how to check), I guess I should get more RAM and either a GTX 750 or an R7 260... As for the OS, Intel's website doesn't list Windows 7 or 8 as supported by the DG965RY, so I'm pretty much stuck with Vista unless I forget about gpus for the moment and just put the money on a recent mobo, CPU and some DDR3 RAM.

Also, should I consider an R7/7000 series card over an Nvidia one in hope that Mantle might reduce the cpu bottleneck in the future? Does that even work on a 32 bit OS/Dual core without Hyperthreading?

Oh, and would it be more cost-effective to just add a 2x 1GB set to make it 4x 1GB @ 333mhz? I still have 2 empty memory slots left and it would be cheaper than getting a set of 2x 2GB DDR2.


The TR2 power supplies are a little overrated on the power, but the components are good, so just don't push it too close to 500w. Your motherboard supports 533/677/800 mhz ram, so I'm assuming you meant yours was 533 ram. Normally I wouldn't suggest putting money into ddr2 ram, but 800 vs 533 might make a difference enough to be worth a couple dollars if you can find some cheap. There's someone on the "deals" section selling 4GB of 800 mhz ddr2 ram for $35, link below.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2195942/sale-16gb-...

$150 would buy the ram and either a GTX750 or r7 260x , both would work well with your power supply. The 260x is a little faster, but uses a little more power. Either is good, whichever you prefer.


OK, so I found the 7 year-old reciept for the RAM. It is apparently 667, not 333. Piriform Speccy must have wonked, cause it marked it as 333 MHz...

And I found some disconcerting reviews about the PSU from the mid-2000s. With power output loss over time due to capacitor aging, i'm concerned that my PSU won't be able to provide the 450W actual max wattage that tests show it can provide. That could also explain the fried GPU capacitors, and if that's the case, then spending money on a GPU would be a bad idea as long as this PSU would be powering it... I really don't know what to do.
July 2, 2014 1:18:00 PM

GabDube said:
Alright, so if my PSU is ok (which I have no idea how to check), I guess I should get more RAM and either a GTX 750 or an R7 260... As for the OS, Intel's website doesn't list Windows 7 or 8 as supported by the DG965RY, so I'm pretty much stuck with Vista unless I forget about gpus for the moment and just put the money on a recent mobo, CPU and some DDR3 RAM.

Also, should I consider an R7/7000 series card over an Nvidia one in hope that Mantle might reduce the cpu bottleneck in the future? Does that even work on a 32 bit OS/Dual core without Hyperthreading?

Oh, and would it be more cost-effective to just add a 2x 1GB set to make it 4x 1GB @ 333mhz? I still have 2 empty memory slots left and it would be cheaper than getting a set of 2x 2GB DDR2.


The TR2 power supplies are a little overrated on the power, but the components are good, so just don't push it too close to 500w. Your motherboard supports 533/677/800 mhz ram, so I'm assuming you meant yours was 533 ram. Normally I wouldn't suggest putting money into ddr2 ram, but 800 and 4GB vs 533 might make a difference enough to be worth a couple dollars if you can find some cheap. There's someone on the "deals" section selling 4GB of 800 mhz ddr2 ram for $35, link below.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2195942/sale-16gb-...

$150 would buy the ram and either a GTX750 or r7 260x , both would work well with your power supply. The 260x is a little faster, but uses a little more power. Either is good, whichever you prefer or whichever you can find a better price on.
July 2, 2014 1:07:58 PM

first..missed the Canada thing..sorry.

mixing ram could pose problems, especially if they're not matched properly. better just to scrap what you have. you can try to buy the same stuff.

tbh a complete platform upgrade would be best. your choice on what way to go but an apu will at least let you play some games even if you could only play at 720p on medium to high setting.........

good luck with this.
July 2, 2014 12:20:10 PM

GabDube said:
Alright, so if my PSU is ok (which I have no idea how to check), I guess I should get more RAM and either a GTX 750 or an R7 260... As for the OS, Intel's website doesn't list Windows 7 or 8 as supported by the DG965RY, so I'm pretty much stuck with Vista unless I forget about gpus for the moment and just put the money on a recent mobo, CPU and some DDR3 RAM.


Windows 7 and 8 have mostly the same effects, that is an older mobo, so it may not have been updated in information for the series.
July 2, 2014 12:16:10 PM

Alright, so if my PSU is ok (which I have no idea how to check), I guess I should get more RAM and either a GTX 750 or an R7 260... As for the OS, Intel's website doesn't list Windows 7 or 8 as supported by the DG965RY, so I'm pretty much stuck with Vista unless I forget about gpus for the moment and just put the money on a recent mobo, CPU and some DDR3 RAM.

Also, should I consider an R7/7000 series card over an Nvidia one in hope that Mantle might reduce the cpu bottleneck in the future? Does that even work on a 32 bit OS/Dual core without Hyperthreading?

Oh, and would it be more cost-effective to just add a 2x 1GB set to make it 4x 1GB @ 333mhz? I still have 2 empty memory slots left and it would be cheaper than getting a set of 2x 2GB DDR2.
July 2, 2014 10:56:14 AM

Andrew Buck said:
Iron124 said:
swifty_morgan said:
Iron124 said:
Others are gonna recommend graphics cards and maybe some more ram (2GB is almost unusable) but dumping $200 into an aging system is not cost effective and is only going to get you MAYBE another year at best. Save up another $150 and build yourself this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD A4-5300 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($43.99 @ NCIX)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A55M-VG3+ Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($38.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Memory: Kingston HyperX 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($42.75 @ Vuugo)
Storage: Seagate Momentus 5400.6 250GB 2.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($44.99 @ Canada Computers)
Case: Apex SK-393-C ATX Mid Tower Case ($26.25 @ DirectCanada)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Memory Express)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.79 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $356.72
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

AMD's integrated graphics are infinitely better than anything Intel makes, especially on their Intel Core 2 Duo line. If this is too much, take Windows out of the equation, and run Ubuntu (more and more games are running on Linux now, 500+ on Steam, or give Steam OS a try )

You can always get Windows later. You're going to lose money ordering from only newegg, bestbuy, and futureshop. This build allows for upgrades and a much better outlook for the future.


anything you buy in Canada and anything you buy at ncix is going to cost more. that's a fact.

then you dis an apu build and you openly admit Intel's graphics are worse.


What in the hell are you talking about...? Please make sense.


Not sure what he is saying. This guy lives in Canada if you didn't see the budget range.


I know, that's why I built it on PcPartsPicker Canada...
July 2, 2014 10:53:30 AM

Iron124 said:
swifty_morgan said:
Iron124 said:
Others are gonna recommend graphics cards and maybe some more ram (2GB is almost unusable) but dumping $200 into an aging system is not cost effective and is only going to get you MAYBE another year at best. Save up another $150 and build yourself this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD A4-5300 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($43.99 @ NCIX)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A55M-VG3+ Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($38.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Memory: Kingston HyperX 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($42.75 @ Vuugo)
Storage: Seagate Momentus 5400.6 250GB 2.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($44.99 @ Canada Computers)
Case: Apex SK-393-C ATX Mid Tower Case ($26.25 @ DirectCanada)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Memory Express)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.79 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $356.72
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

AMD's integrated graphics are infinitely better than anything Intel makes, especially on their Intel Core 2 Duo line. If this is too much, take Windows out of the equation, and run Ubuntu (more and more games are running on Linux now, 500+ on Steam, or give Steam OS a try )

You can always get Windows later. You're going to lose money ordering from only newegg, bestbuy, and futureshop. This build allows for upgrades and a much better outlook for the future.


anything you buy in Canada and anything you buy at ncix is going to cost more. that's a fact.

then you dis an apu build and you openly admit Intel's graphics are worse.


What in the hell are you talking about...? Please make sense.


Not sure what he is saying. This guy lives in Canada if you didn't see the budget range.

See all answers