So, how's the video processing looking? Is the card even kicking in, or is it just dead? I mean, did you actually install the drivers? If the card really bit the dust, you might want to switch over to the integrated graphics, but you’ll still need to grab those drivers too, otherwise the whole thing is going to stutter like crazy. Also, your RAM situation is pretty rough. Maybe try to find some used 2GB DDR2 sticks to plug in; that should give you a noticeable bump.
You aren't going to get anything out of a dedicated GPU since the integrated one is plenty for basic stuff anyway.
It’s another thing entirely why you're even bothering with that piece of junk Pentium D when your dual core is clearly the better chip. Honestly, just stick with the dual core; the D is just a single-core disaster that runs hot and is probably going to make your PC perform worse, I guess.
Nothing is objectively better or more stable here; everything has its own set of pros and cons, I guess.
AMD FX-Series X8 - you'll probably need a slightly "nicer" motherboard for this one (not the one $100 mentioned). It runs hotter, too. While the CPU itself might be cheaper than an i5, once you factor in the board and a decent cooler, the price gap pretty much disappears. On the plus side, you can overclock it, and having those 8 cores might actually help with certain apps or games—maybe even hold up a bit longer down the road. Intel Core i5-10400 - you can basically slap this into the cheapest motherboard you can find, and the stock cooler should handle it just fine. Just keep in mind it's only 4 cores and there's no overclocking.
Performance-wise, they're roughly in the same ballpark, though it really just depends on what you're running and how well that specific game or program utilizes multiple cores.
My first thought is that retailers just stocked up at peak prices and couldn't move the inventory, so now they're basically just waiting for someone to buy it off their hands.
Maybe think about just grabbing a Seagate instead. You can snag a 1TB for basically nothing extra, which doubles your space... and since everything's huge these days, it's probably worth it.
As for the Dell, I’d probably skip it since it only has a VGA port. Just find the cheapest one you can with a DVI port and a decent warranty, and you're pretty much set.
Zachary Miller14 said:a little upgrade... So I've got an Intel Core i3 GPU-AMD Radeon HD 5450 mobo-ASUS M4N68T RAM-1x4GB DDR3 1333 PSU-Stronger SPSN-060P
I'm looking to freshen this thing up a bit, any suggestions? Looks like my motherboard can handle some more, and the power supply seems fine enough... so what kind of GPU should I grab, and maybe a new CPU? I was thinking about switching to 4x2GB DDR3. Alright, your turn...
The 4870 is definitely the fastest, but man, it’s a power hog. You really should tell us the brand and model of your PSU, otherwise you might end up frying everything if you plug a thirsty card like that into a weak power supply. Ditch the 5550. An NVIDIA GeForce might work; I guess I'd try starting with that one.
Adam Diaz67 said:Haha, it’s not like I have money to burn. I just want to see how far I can stretch my budget on a payment plan to build something decent that lasts me a few years. When I put this together, I was aiming for at least a 3-5 year lifespan. I guess I just don't have the time to keep up with all the PC hardware news like I used to. The board supports AM3, so I'm assuming an AM3+ socket CPU won't fit. But you guys gave me some good ideas, so I'll take a minute to read up, figure out the best combo, and then pull the trigger. Like I said, I'm no tech geek—you know how fast things change, and if you aren't tracking everything, you get lost pretty quick. Then you have no clue where to even start. Anyway, thanks for the advice.
P.S. The guys in this link used those damn rivets to secure the motherboard and GPU. Has anyone actually managed to get them off without drilling them out?
If the motherboard isn't fried, you could probably limp along on your current setup for a bit by just throwing in some RAM, an SSD, and a new GPU. Unless you're just itching to empty your bank account, I guess 😁
You've got a decent foundation; the hard drive, RAM, PSU, and case don't need replacing. You could probably just sell the CPU and grab something like this:
1 x ASUS Motherboard, AM3, AM3+, AMD 970, SB950, BUS 5200 MHz, DDR3 1 x DDR3 2GB Corsair, 1333MHz, CL9, COR-VS2GB1333D3 1 x Western Digital Blue SSD 120GB, 2.5", SATA III-600, R/W:550/520MB/s 1 x Procesor AMD FX-Series X8 8320 3.5GHz,16MB,125W,AM3+, FD8320FRHK 1 x Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo,2011,1366/1156/775/AM3/ 626g,13-32dB 1 x Gigabyte R9 280 3GB WF3 OC, 3GB GD5 384bit, GV-R928WF3OC-3GD $1437
It’s an eight-core processor that software can actually use, an SSD to make the whole thing fly, and a GPU that should handle most stuff fine. I guess if you aren't playing the absolute newest AAA titles, maybe you could go with a cheaper graphics card. As for the RAM, I suppose you could grab another 2GB, but you might not really need to.
That's from the floppy. You could probably solder it if you find someone who actually knows what they're doing with a soldering iron. Honestly, finding a decent GPU is going to be a nightmare since you're stuck on an AGP slot, so I guess what you have right now is pretty much your best bet anyway.