Help with upgrading old computer?

[fourtwenty]

Hey folks, it's been many years since I last posted on here. I used to be really into computers/hardware but ever since the wife and kids came along I've lost interest/time in the computing world. It's finally time for a "major" upgrade to my PC.

Current Specs:
Asus P5KC
Intel E6500 2.93Ghz
Geforce GTX 460
2GB DDR-2 800
Crucial SSD (m4-ct128m4ssd2) (new 2 months ago)
Enermax EG365P-VE

I'm expecting to replace the motherboard, CPU & ram and hoping I can reuse the rest. I don't want/need cutting edge performance. This PC has been fine for me for years and it's pretty ancient as far as technology goes.

Budget is important. I'd like to keep the Motherboard at or below $150 and the CPU under $100.

I'll be going from XP to Windows 8 as far as OS goes.

I'm a fan of Asus motherboards so I'd like to stay with that brand. If there was a motherboard that I could reuse the CPU and ram but was Windows 8 compatible that would be ideal but I don't see anything like that.

mITX would be cool too but not absolutely necessary.

Any suggestions as to what I should look at and/or what sort of features I should make sure I get would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Ken g6]

If there was a motherboard that I could reuse the CPU and ram but was Windows 8 compatible that would be ideal but I don't see anything like that.

How is your existing mobo not Win8 compatible? If anything wasn't Win8 compatible I'd guess it would be the (lack of) RAM. Funny thing is, your existing mobo has DDR3 support.

Budget is important. I'd like to keep the Motherboard at or below $150 and the CPU under $100.

You kind of have that backwards. I assume $250 is your entire budget, and that you don't have an extra $50 for RAM?

I'm expecting to replace the motherboard, CPU & ram and hoping I can reuse the rest. I don't want/need cutting edge performance. This PC has been fine for me for years and it's pretty ancient as far as technology goes.

So what is it about your current PC that's not working for you anymore? Win8 shouldn't require an upgrade except maybe for RAM. What else are you using your PC for? I also assume this means you don't want to overclock?

 

[fourtwenty]

How is your existing mobo not Win8 compatible? If anything wasn't Win8 compatible I'd guess it would be the (lack of) RAM. Funny thing is, your existing mobo has DDR3 support.

You kind of have that backwards. I assume $250 is your entire budget, and that you don't have an extra $50 for RAM?


So what is it about your current PC that's not working for you anymore? Win8 shouldn't require an upgrade except maybe for RAM. What else are you using your PC for? I also assume this means you don't want to overclock?

I'm just assuming the motherboard doesn't support Windows 8 as I don't see any drivers for Windows 8 on the Asus website and when I do a google search I can't find anything that confirms it's compatible. I also read somewhere that the P5KC doesn't even support Windows 7 if it was built before a certain date. Never really followed that up much though.

Regarding the budget, I just threw those #s out there as they seem reasonable. I could afford a $2k computer, but I don't need one. Ram doesn't seem too expensive ($70 for 8GB is what I'm seeing) so I left the budget for that out as I'm not sure how much I would need at this point.

There is really only one game I play with any sort of regularity and that is MTGO (magic online). I reinstalled Windows XP over the Xmas holidays and it wouldn't work anymore. I just reinstalled it again and it still won't work. Their technical people aren't much help either. Figured it was a good enough reason to do an upgrade. My case has seen better days so I'll replace that too.

 

[Ken g6]

Well, the simple answer is:

i3 3220 + 8GB DDR3-1600: $180
ASUS B75: $70
Total: $250

If you want a bigger mobo, with more RAM and PCIe slots, here's one for $20 more.

One more thing: That Enermax PSU could be deteriorating. Here's a good 500W PSU for $30 AR AP if you want it.

 

[Torn Mind]

Windows 8 has a bit of a learning curve for those used to previous versions of Windows. Just so you know.

http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/gadgetbox/8-worst-windows-8-annoyances-how-fix-them-962136

 

[mfenn]

I'm just assuming the motherboard doesn't support Windows 8 as I don't see any drivers for Windows 8 on the Asus website and when I do a google search I can't find anything that confirms it's compatible. I also read somewhere that the P5KC doesn't even support Windows 7 if it was built before a certain date. Never really followed that up much though.

The P5KC is a very normal P35 board with the exception that you can run DDR2 or DDR3. P35 is absolutely supported by Windows 7 and Windows 8, all you need is some more RAM.

 

[fourtwenty]

The P5KC is a very normal P35 board with the exception that you can run DDR2 or DDR3. P35 is absolutely supported by Windows 7 and Windows 8, all you need is some more RAM.

So what drivers do I use?

 

[mfenn]

So what drivers do I use?

You use the drivers that come built into the OS for the basic system components (SATA controllers, audio, etc). You download the latest GPU drivers from Nvidia's web site for the GTX 460.

 

[fourtwenty]

You use the drivers that come built into the OS for the basic system components (SATA controllers, audio, etc). You download the latest GPU drivers from Nvidia's web site for the GTX 460.

Ok. Guess there's no harm in trying if I'm going to get the OS anyways.

Thanks for the help!

 

[mfenn]

No problem. I ran Windows 7 on a P35 for a long time and it worked perfectly fine. Windows 8 supports everything that Windows 7 supports, so you are good there.

 

[fourtwenty]

Another question for you, should I be getting the 64-bit version?

 

[VirtualLarry]

Windows 8 supports everything that Windows 7 supports, so you are good there.

Not entirely true, I have some ATI X1300 cards, that Win7 64-bit HP supports out-of-the-box with built-in drivers, but is otherwise unsupported on Win8 entirely, as far as I can tell.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Another question for you, should I be getting the 64-bit version?

Yes, no good reason not too, unless you still need to run 16-bit apps, and are ok with less than 4GB of total usable RAM.

 

[mfenn]

Yes, no good reason not too, unless you still need to run 16-bit apps, and are ok with less than 4GB of total usable RAM.

Agree. Definitely go with 64-bit.

Not entirely true, I have some ATI X1300 cards, that Win7 64-bit HP supports out-of-the-box with built-in drivers, but is otherwise unsupported on Win8 entirely, as far as I can tell.

Well, by supports what I really meant was "would work with" not that it had out of the box drivers. The OP will need to grab NVIDIA drivers for his GPU as well.