Upgrades.....

[EndGame]

Haven't posted on A/T in a LONG time! Life and priorities changed but at the point that it's time I have to do some upgrading. Been having some problems with my system, lag in simple games, general weirdness overall so I opened up my case, cleaned everything up hoping that would help. In doing so, noticed some expanded capacitors and knew at that point, it was time.

About the only thing I'll be keeping is my case and I have 3 7200rpm drives, one 250GB runs Win 7, one 150GB runs Ubuntu, one 750GB for backup/storage. I'll also keep my DVD/RW just for to have the drive, only use it to install Windows anymore really. Not so sure about the P/S.....it's a 680W Corsair but, everything is about 7 years old now.

I'm in Missouri so all parts will be bought in the USA. I've used Newegg for all my purchases in the past.....are they still "the place to go"?

I'm looking at a very basic upgrade. Not that money is a factor......to be honest, my wife and I only use it to shop, go on FB and forums we both use a few times a week, email, a few simple games, MS Office, pictures and stored music.

Been away from this so long, I don't really even know where to begin......I know from the little bit of reading I've done, I believe Intel is the way to go. I'll probably just use onboard video & sound.

What would be a good, basic setup......Motherboard, chip, etc. just to do the basics I'm needing?

Thanks in advance, hope I didn't leave anything out!

 

[Charlie98]

If everything is 7 years old, I would just get all new...

Does your optical drive have a SATA plug?

What kind of monitor do you have, or are you upgrading?

One big upgrade you can make would be to include an SSD in lieu of your 250GB OS HDD, but that is certainly optional depending on your overall budget.

Newegg is still here, but now that we are in the off-season their sales aren't all that great and you will need to shop them. You are in MO, there is a MicroCenter in both KC and StLouis... are you near either of those?

With those questions in mind, can you answer these questions? We can get you a more targeted build that way...

 

[EndGame]

If everything is 7 years old, I would just get all new...

Does your optical drive have a SATA plug?

What kind of monitor do you have, or are you upgrading?

One big upgrade you can make would be to include an SSD in lieu of your 250GB OS HDD, but that is certainly optional depending on your overall budget.

Newegg is still here, but now that we are in the off-season their sales aren't all that great and you will need to shop them. You are in MO, there is a MicroCenter in both KC and StLouis... are you near either of those?

With those questions in mind, can you answer these questions? We can get you a more targeted build that way...

I said 7.....that's a guesstimate! It's a AMD Phenom 920 system. I'm just WAY out of the loop.....you have to consider, I was online in '95 and pretty much had top of the line systems for 10 - 12 years after that......but now, I'm older, kids are grown and I just am not on it much.

Yes, everything including Hard Drives and Optical are SATA.

I have a 24" LED monitor......forgot to mention that. Picked that up recently

Now for the questions......

1) Mainly browsing the web, email, storing pictures and music, a few basic games (poker, simple games), Office.

2) Considering my limited usage, I really don't want to spend a lot.....but don't want junk either. Want something that will last me as long as possible. I'm a big guy (6' 7") and my fingers just don't work on laptops, tablets. Depending on what I end up buying.....(tested the P/S and it checks out good) I'm thinking no more than $400 - $600 ought to do it.

3) USA

4) Buying inside USA but, not close to KC or St. Louis anymore......moved out in the "sticks". Probably Newegg.....

5) Want Intel this time. Other than that, no real preferences.

6) Case, Monitor, P/S, Optical Drive, Hard Drives (may buy SSD, not sure on that)

7) No Overclocking anymore

8) 1920X1080

9) I'll buy as soon as I figure out what to buy!

Thanks!

 

[Charlie98]

Cool...

I built a basic use PC for my inlaws over Christmas (see DESK2 in sig below) with the idea of keeping it at roughly $400. I bought parts as they came on sale for about 2 months leading up to it to keep the cost down as much as possible, but if you are going to buy parts outright, we will just have to take what we have.

Intel Haswell Pentium G3220, $70
ASRock H81M-HDS mATX mobo, $52
Team 2x 4GB RAM, $65
Corsair CX430M PSU, $30 (AR)
Silverstone PS08B mATX case, $30 (AR)
ODD, $0
HDD, $0
Windows 8.1 full version. $120

Total $367 + some shipping. You can price match some of this with other online retailers like TigerDirect, or use PCPartPicker.

The one optional thing I would add would be an SSD in lieu of your OS HDD... It will greatly improve your everyday use like nothing else. I don't know how much space you need, I generally recommend a 250GB SSD, but if your OS storage requirements aren't that great, you can easily get by with a 120GB SSD.

Crucial M500 120GB, $75
or
Crucial M500 240GB, $130

 

[EndGame]

Cool...

I built a basic use PC for my inlaws over Christmas (see DESK2 in sig below) with the idea of keeping it at roughly $400. I bought parts as they came on sale for about 2 months leading up to it to keep the cost down as much as possible, but if you are going to buy parts outright, we will just have to take what we have.

Intel Haswell Pentium G3220, $70
ASRock H81M-HDS mATX mobo, $52
Team 2x 4GB RAM, $65
Corsair CX430M PSU, $30 (AR)
Silverstone PS08B mATX case, $30 (AR)
ODD, $0
HDD, $0
Windows 8.1 full version. $120

Total $367 + some shipping. You can price match some of this with other online retailers like TigerDirect, or use PCPartPicker.

The one optional thing I would add would be an SSD in lieu of your OS HDD... It will greatly improve your everyday use like nothing else. I don't know how much space you need, I generally recommend a 250GB SSD, but if your OS storage requirements aren't that great, you can easily get by with a 120GB SSD.

Crucial M500 120GB, $75
or
Crucial M500 240GB, $130

That doesn't look bad....

I'm going to use my Antec case I already have and can't I use my copy of Win 7?

I believe I will go with the SSD. Probably a smallish one since I have PLENTY of storage on my other drives and I don't load a lot of software. This will be above the dollar amount I stated above. Like I said, money isn't really a factor......I just don't want to go overboard for a system I don't use that much.

Question, been doing some looking this morning......What about the i3's? Worth the money? They didn't seem that much more than the Pentiums and the reviews I read made it sound like it would be worth the money vs the Pentium.

My system I have now has 8GB of ram......was considering going to 16GB simply because from what I can tell, the video will also use the ram correct? I've never used onboard or onchip video.

Do you have any experience with that motherboard? I want something reliable and that will last. I have had one system I actually built with a friend for his kids years back and we used an Asrock.....that thing was a PITA.....I have a Gigabyte now and have used Asus in the past......would I be better off with one of those? Admittedly though, I haven't messed with this stuff for 5 - 7 years and I don't really know what's good/bad anymore......

 

[Insert_Nickname]

The one optional thing I would add would be an SSD in lieu of your OS HDD... It will greatly improve your everyday use like nothing else. I don't know how much space you need, I generally recommend a 250GB SSD, but if your OS storage requirements aren't that great, you can easily get by with a 120GB SSD.

Crucial M500 120GB, $75
or
Crucial M500 240GB, $130

I believe I will go with the SSD. Probably a smallish one since I have PLENTY of storage on my other drives and I don't load a lot of software. This will be above the dollar amount I stated above. Like I said, money isn't really a factor......I just don't want to go overboard for a system I don't use that much.

That's a very good choice. You'll understand why once you've got the system up and running...

Question, been doing some looking this morning......What about the i3's? Worth the money? They didn't seem that much more than the Pentiums and the reviews I read made it sound like it would be worth the money vs the Pentium.

My system I have now has 8GB of ram......was considering going to 16GB simply because from what I can tell, the video will also use the ram correct? I've never used onboard or onchip video.

That really depends on how long you're planning to keep the system. If you don't upgrade for 5-7 years, I'd even make a case for a low-end i5. Potentially 16GB RAM too, DDR3 is being replaced by DDR4 in the next couple of years and if prices go the same way as DDR2, the last 8GB could end up relatively expensive. But that's pure conjecture on my part. I'm usually not in the business of fortune-teller...

With the Pentium you get 80-90% of the CPU performance for around half the price. But the i3 will have a better IGP (integrated graphics processor). So it's a trade-off what's most important to you.

I'm going to use my Antec case I already have and can't I use my copy of Win 7?

Not if its an OEM license. That's tied to the mainboard. If its a retail license, sure. You might have to call Microsoft to get it activated, but they're usually very reasonable.

 

[EndGame]

My Win 7 is actually an Upgrade copy. I do have the XP or Vista Product keys though.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

I wouldn't go to 16 gb of RAM in your circumstances. We don't have any reason to believe you'd use it. I'd go with 8 (2 x 4). You can always upgrade to 16 later if you in fact know you are using all of the 8. Use the saved money to get the i3 or possibly even i5. If you can get into a mid-level i5, I'd think you'd be in good shape for several years at least.

I've got only 4 GB of RAM--I monitor usage and rarely use more than 3 GB.

Given your intentions, I'd think you'd be satisfied with the integrated video if you aren't a gamer to speak of. I haven't had a video card in years and never wish I had one. Integrated graphics has improved considerably in the last couple of generations of Intel CPUs.

I think there are a few i3s and i5s that don't have integrated video, so make sure on that point.

MS sometimes has pity on those who are changing motherboards with an OEM license if they are convinced your original motherboard failed, but generally a new motherboard means you need a new license UNLESS you have a retail license.

 

[mvbighead]

Not if its an OEM license. That's tied to the mainboard. If its a retail license, sure. You might have to call Microsoft to get it activated, but they're usually very reasonable.

Interesting. I moved from an AMD 880G with an x4 to an Intel i5 something or other on an Intel board. I had to call it in, but my activation went through just fine with my OEM license.

 

[mfenn]

My Win 7 is actually an Upgrade copy. I do have the XP or Vista Product keys though.

The validity of the upgrade license will depend on whether or not those XP/Vista keys were retail or OEM.

Interesting. I moved from an AMD 880G with an x4 to an Intel i5 something or other on an Intel board. I had to call it in, but my activation went through just fine with my OEM license.

Yeah, they'll sometimes do it for you, but it is technically against the license.

 

[DominionSeraph]

i5 760 on FS/FT for $55 + shipping.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2371581

 

[Charlie98]

Nickname and mfenn covered pretty much my replies...

I actually spec'd 2x 4GB RAM as an upgrade because you are using Office and photos and such, otherwise 2x 2GB usually will suffice; you want this for long-term, so 2x 4GB makes sense. 16GB RAM doesn't, not at this point anyway.

The iGPU of the Pentium chip is perfectly capable of pretty much everything you can throw at it, including media streaming. I actually used the iGPU on my i5 to play ModernWarfare 1/2 until I got a discreet card... it was playable about 80-90% of the time... I was surprised.

Going to an i3 or even an i5... if you want to spend the money, sure. For a general purpose machine, doing what you have listed... I don't see a reason. I ran my Pentium build for a month to proof it before I boxed it up for the inlaws, and like my Pentium G620 in my HTPC, the G3220 did not fail to impress. The modern-day Pentiums are not the Pentium4 or D's of yesteryear.

As far as that ASRock board, it has been solid all the way... It was my first ASRock board, I'm normally a Gigabyte man, but the equivalent Gigabyte board was almost $15 more at the time. The only thing I can warn you about is the 24-pin power connector and the Corsair PSU... the plug did not want to go in all the way, one of the reviewers on Newegg mentioned the same thing. It's in and it's working... all's well that ends well.

For an equivalent Gigabyte board there is the H81M-HD3, $48 (AR) which is a better deal, even, than the ASRock board I listed.

 

[VirtualLarry]

The only thing that I might add, is to get a board with all solid capacitors. 5-7 years down the road, you will be happy that you did.

 

[EndGame]

Sorry for the lag in response. Got busy yesterday. I took everyone's advice and have ordered all the parts, came to around $500. I'll list or link to them in another post. I have come up with two concerns since placing the order.

One, (minor) my Antec 300 case does not have front USB 3 ports. I figured perhaps I could simply buy the Antec 302 header with USB 3 ports but so far haven't found that...

Second is MS Windows. As mentioned, I have copies of Win 7 already (family pack of 3, upgrade version) and also have product keys for Vista/XP in upgrade, OEM and retail. I'm hoping I can get away with doing a clean install and MS will approve it since my system did die.......

 

[Charlie98]

There are some USB 3.0 5.25" panels listed on eBay... maybe take a look at them. They aren't cheap, though.

I have the reverse problem... my Define Mini case has 3.0... but my Z68 mobo doesn't...

You could try installing Vista and then upgrading if you still have a unused upgrade license left. Or maybe just call MS and see what they say. A straight up clean W7 install would be better...

 

[EndGame]

LOL! Think I might have just found the money for Win 7 if I have to buy.......the memory (8GB DDR2 800) , the chip/heatsink, (AMD Phenom II 920) the video card (Sapphire Raedon 4850) are all still good.....looked on FB and there seems to be a pretty good market for them!

 

[mfenn]

Just having a valid retail Vista or XP key that isn't currently in use is enough justification to use the upgrade version of 7, you don't actually have to install it. There are various methods for doing a clean install with upgrade media.

 

[EndGame]

That was my intention mfenn.... Just seemed like a few people were unsure whether it would be allowed by MS......

 

[EndGame]

OK, another question. I really don't have much time on Win 8 except on a laptop and tablet, neither of which I use much. Looks like I've sold my old hardware already so, if you were going to buy a copy of MS Windows right now, would you buy Win 7 or Win 8?

 

[Charlie98]

I would get (I will be getting...) W8.1 next time around. As I understand it, 8.1 has better functionality if you don't like the tile screen (primarily for touchscreen users.)

 

[EndGame]

I would get (I will be getting...) W8.1 next time around. As I understand it, 8.1 has better functionality if you don't like the tile screen (primarily for touchscreen users.)

That's what I was reading earlier and made me reconsider. Also read the free classic shell program basically makes it like Win 7. I actually have a Windows phone and like it......but without a touchscreen, not so much.

For the same price, just not sure Win 7 would be the best buy for the money.....still undecided and using my Win 7 would make the most sense if possible but seriously considering just buying a copy to avoid any potential hassle with MS......

 

[coolpurplefan]

Some general ideas... you can save money by buying a GTX 750 Ti and people say games don't use more than 8GB.
Boards I find interesting... (for Intel) Gigabyte GA-H87-D3H or Asus GRYPHON Z87 (for AMD)
ASUS A88X-PRO
Some CPUs are coming soon like the i5-4590 and i5-4690.

 

[mvbighead]

That's what I was reading earlier and made me reconsider. Also read the free classic shell program basically makes it like Win 7. I actually have a Windows phone and like it......but without a touchscreen, not so much.

For the same price, just not sure Win 7 would be the best buy for the money.....still undecided and using my Win 7 would make the most sense if possible but seriously considering just buying a copy to avoid any potential hassle with MS......

Personally, if you're considering buying Windows 7 over 8 at the same price... I wouldn't. Microsoft LOVES to limit your IE/DirectX/other inner application versions based on OS. So if you want to game, you're going to want to have the latest DirectX. You may not care about IE, but you're basically giving up future support for the comfort of an older OS.

If you can get 7 to work with what you have, do it. If not, I would NOT buy 7 again when the next OS has been released, but that may just be me.

 

[EndGame]

LOL! Just when I think I have it decided to go ahead and move to Win 8.1, I get an answer to an email I sent a friends son whom works at MS. He gave me 2 reasons to reconsider the move to Win 8.1. I backed everything up via "easy transfer" before tearing down my old system.......but he tells me only personal files will be transfer to Win 8.1 from a Win 7 easy transfer backup. Also, and maybe this is already common knowledge on Anandtech, MS will have Windows 9 ready for retail purchase by early 2015. from what he told me, it may be wise to wait because MS may well be putting all versions (desktop/laptop/tablet) on a DVD and you install which ever you want to use. Desktop will not have all the "touch" functionality and will be more visually and functionally similar to Win 7.

Back to thinking I'm just going to try to install my copy of Win 7 Upgrade, hope for the best and wait for Win 9 early next year........

 

[Insert_Nickname]

Also, and maybe this is already common knowledge on Anandtech, MS will have Windows 9 ready for retail purchase by early 2015. from what he told me, it may be wise to wait because MS may well be putting all versions (desktop/laptop/tablet) on a DVD and you install which ever you want to use. Desktop will not have all the "touch" functionality and will be more visually and functionally similar to Win 7.

Wouldn't that be nice. I'd wait to get independent confirmation, though. Plans can and will change...

Back to thinking I'm just going to try to install my copy of Win 7 Upgrade, hope for the best and wait for Win 9 early next year........

Since you have a valid XP/Vista retail licence and a 7 upgrade licence, I don't see any reason to buy a new 8 licence. The 8(.1) UI is very much a matter of personal taste, and for gaming you're not missing much with DX11.2 compared to 11...