Question Resurrect an old PC

[shoman94]

I have been out of the game sooo long but I have a 12 year old that is becoming interested in it. I have an old PC that was my last custom built PC that I was wondering if I could bring it back to life but buy a new Video card and be able to play Roblox or Fortnite? IF I have to buy new stuff I will but I don't want to spend too much for the first time learning experience for him.

The MB is a Asus P5WD2-E Premium with a 3.4GHZ CPU.
2x2GB OCZ Fatality PC2 6400 Memory
2x 36GB WD Raptor HDDs with a 1TB WD Cavier Black and all SATA for storage
Antec True 430 PS


Thank you!

 

[VirtualLarry]

What's the CPU? Anything pre-Sandy Bridge and lower than a quad-core is pretty iffy for "modern" games these days.

That sounds like a Pentium IV, which, sorry to say these days, is old hot "garbage". (For gaming I mean. Not trying to be harsh, just the truth. It just doesn't have the cores, cache, or IPC to keep up these days with games.)

You can put together an Intel 10th-Gen i3-10100 (4C/8T) or an AMD Athlon 3000G (2C/4T) rig for around $350 new, and then drop in a "reasonable" gaming GPU, 1660 Super would be great. That would minimally be able to play Cyberpunk2077. (Well, the AMD rig would have to move up to a 2600/3600/5600X CPU.)

 

[shoman94]

What's the CPU? Anything pre-Sandy Bridge and lower than a quad-core is pretty iffy for "modern" games these days.

That sounds like a Pentium IV, which, sorry to say these days, is old hot "garbage". (For gaming I mean. Not trying to be harsh, just the truth. It just doesn't have the cores, cache, or IPC to keep up these days with games.)

You can put together an Intel 10th-Gen i3-10100 (4C/8T) or an AMD Athlon 3000G (2C/4T) rig for around $350 new, and then drop in a "reasonable" gaming GPU, 1660 Super would be great. That would minimally be able to play Cyberpunk2077. (Well, the AMD rig would have to move up to a 2600/3600/5600X CPU.)

Yes sir, it's a P-IV 3.40ghz.

I was looking at the i3-10100 after some light reading last night with a 1660 as you mentioned. I would also have to get a MB and RAM (Recommend?). Do you think I would need to get a new PSU? I'd like to reuse everything also if I can.

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,

I would say a rebuild is needed; that's simply too old and getting parts to max it out would cost more than modern stuff.

What's your max budget?

Very best,

 

[shoman94]

I don't really have one. He is using his money and upcoming Christmas money but I want him to use least possible for now. I can't seem to find any 1660 supers anywhere!

 

[MalVeauX]

Right now is a hard time to get an nVidia GPU and any Ryzen CPU, without significantly overpaying.

You could go for an AMD GPU RX 580, similar performance, good price. But you still need a basic system to work from that is newer frankly.

Very best,

 

[shoman94]

Right now is a hard time to get an nVidia GPU and any Ryzen CPU, without significantly overpaying.

You could go for an AMD GPU RX 580, similar performance, good price. But you still need a basic system to work from that is newer frankly.

Very best,

Thanks

As of right now I found the i3-10100 on Amazon for 105 and an MSI Z490-A Pro for 160.
I found someone locally selling an Asus 1660 Super NiB for 300 so I made an offer. We'll see. I need to look into RAM now too.

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[shoman94]

What about this:
MSI GTX 1650 SUPER VENTUS XS OC

If I can't find a 1660 super?

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[VirtualLarry]

What about this:
MSI GTX 1650 SUPER VENTUS XS OC

If I can't find a 1660 super?

Roblox and Fortnite? Sure. Cyberpunk, not so much.

 

[shoman94]

Roblox and Fortnite? Sure. Cyberpunk, not so much.

I don't even know what that game is....lol.

I guess I'm asking what should I get off I can't find a 1660 super anywhere.

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[MalVeauX]

I don't even know what that game is....lol.

I guess I'm asking what should I get off I can't find a 1660 super anywhere.

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Look for an RX 580. They're inexpensive, available and offer a lot of performance.

Very best,

 

[shoman94]

Look for an RX 580. They're inexpensive, available and offer a lot of performance.

Very best,

I didn't think they were comparable.... I'll look into it. Thanks

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[MalVeauX]

I didn't think they were comparable.... I'll look into it. Thanks

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The 1660 Super is a little better. But you can find an RX580 right now for $230 to your door. You'll pay $300 for a 1660 Super right now. Or more.

https://www.amazon.com/XFX-Radeon-1386MHz-Graphics-RX-580P8DFD6/dp/B06Y66K3XD/ref=sr_1_12?dchild=1&keywords=RX+580&qid=1607779241&sr=8-12

Just another option. If you're patient you can get a 1660 Super or just go for a 2060/2070.

Unfortunately right now nVidia cards are just having a hard time being in stock and the prices are outrageous for many of them. Even older models!

Very best,

 

[shoman94]

The 1660 Super is a little better. But you can find an RX580 right now for $230 to your door. You'll pay $300 for a 1660 Super right now. Or more.

https://www.amazon.com/XFX-Radeon-1386MHz-Graphics-RX-580P8DFD6/dp/B06Y66K3XD/ref=sr_1_12?dchild=1&keywords=RX+580&qid=1607779241&sr=8-12

Just another option. If you're patient you can get a 1660 Super or just go for a 2060/2070.

Unfortunately right now nVidia cards are just having a hard time being in stock and the prices are outrageous for many of them. Even older models!

Very best,

Yea they have that card at my local BB it looks like for 229.

 

[shoman94]

I am leary on the performance difference though. What if I find a 1660 ti? How is that different from the super?

 

[VirtualLarry]

The 1660ti is like 5% faster than a 1660 Super. Mostly irrelevant for gaming, considering the price increase. (MSRP of GTX 1660 Super is $239, MSRP of GTX 1660 ti is $289.) But if both of them are now retailing for $299, either way, then a GTX 1660 ti IS preferable. Heck, if you can get one at MSRP, an MSI 'Gaming X' model of the GTX 1660 ti is probably the best one, I have one in this PC. It has been around $299 for a while @ Newegg. (Sold by Newegg, when it stock, don't pay "Scalper prices" to 3rd-party sellers.)

 

[MalVeauX]

I am leary on the performance difference though. What if I find a 1660 ti? How is that different from the super?

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Prices are everywhere, so you'll have to just compare what you think is an appropriate price for the performance. This is of course depending on your settings and the games themselves. Some games will run maxed out no problem. Some games will crawl even with top end gear.

Here's a good bunch of graphs to get an idea:

GeForce GTX 1660 Tested: 33 Game Benchmark feat. The Division 2

This is our second look at the new GeForce GTX 1660. Not to be confused with the 1660 Ti that was released a month earlier, both GPUs...

www.techspot.com

But prices are not what are listed there; so you have to look up prices and see what falls into your budget that performs best to get the the cost per frame ratio to be where you find acceptable.

If all things were MSRP, this would be a no brainer.
But hardly none of the nVidia stuff that isn't really old is MSRP right now.

Very best,

 

[shoman94]

What would you guys think as far as a PSU and DDR4 ram? I have an Antec True430 PSU which is probably not enough?

 

[shoman94]

I found a PNY XLR8 1660 Super for 275 private sale. Looks like I'll be doing that

 

[Charlie98]

If your PSU is as old as the rig, it's time for an upgrade. Truthfully, about the only thing you'll be reusing is the case... Things have come a long way in 12 years. If you look at my game rig in my signature, you can see I'm not too far behind you...

 

[shoman94]

If your PSU is as old as the rig, it's time for an upgrade. Truthfully, about the only thing you'll be reusing is the case... Things have come a long way in 12 years. If you look at my game rig in my signature, you can see I'm not too far behind you...

Do you think I'll need bigger than a 550watt? And for DDR4.... 3200mhz?

 

[Charlie98]

550w may be overkill at that, but it would be a safe bet with a single GPU.

I think DDR4/3200MHz is probably the sweet spot on value vs performance right now.

You will also want to replace those dinosaur HDD's with an appropriately sized SSD.

 

[shoman94]

550w may be overkill at that, but it would be a safe bet with a single GPU.

I think DDR4/3200MHz is probably the sweet spot on value vs performance right now.

You will also want to replace those dinosaur HDD's with an appropriately sized SSD.

My plan is to use the 2x Raptors in Raid0 and a 1TB Black I have.


Also if 550.would be overkill why wouldn't my 430 still work fine?

 

[shoman94]

This is what I got so far.....
MSI z490-A Pro (NEW)
Intel i3 10100 (NEW)
Asus GTX 1660 Super ROG Strix (USED)
Thermaltake Smart 600w (NEW)
Corsair Vengeance LPX 2x8GB 3200 (NEW)
Western Digital 2x36gb Raptors (Already Own)
Western Digital 1TB Black (Already Own)
Lian-Li Aluminum Case (Already Own)


I think this will be a decent first gaming rig for my 12 year olds first custom PC?

Currently he plays Fortnite and Roblox mainly.

 

[Torn Mind]

Go craigslist or Facebook a used rig, take it apart, and have your child assemble it.

No material difference between that and sourcing new parts.

Roblox can work on that P4 rig, Fortnite doubtful.