PC Upgrade Ideas

Keep the hard drive and the coffee maker, everything else:

EVGA Power Supply, Corsair CX Series 80+ Bronze, 430 Watt, ATX, EPS12V, PS/2, US Version

CORSAIR DDR3 (4GB,1600MHz,Unbuffered) CL11

MSI B85M-P33 iB85 Motherboard (S1150, DDR3, SATA II,SATA III,PS/2,USB2.0,USB3.0,LAN,audio Line-In,Audi

INTEL Pentium Processor G3420 (3.20GHz,512KB,3MB,54 W,1150) Box, Intel hd Graphics

Midi ATX Gamer Case Akyga AKY004BK, color, 12cm Fan, no PSU


Total: $580 Best Buy

This setup should probably serve you well for years. There’s some room for upgrades too, I guess—maybe adding another 4GB of RAM, an i5 processor, or a dedicated graphics card if you ever find you need one.

Would you mind terribly sending over the links for those specific products?

You could probably just hang onto your current case, and honestly, your old power supply would likely get the job done too, but grabbing a brand-new one is a smart move if you want that extra peace of mind.

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/i...yv4s_s8Mk2Ko2w

I actually have a chassis somewhat similar to this one sitting right here

I'm not sure which specific model you're looking at, but honestly, it probably isn't worth picking up one of those cheap ones in the $100-$67 range. Usually, they aren't any better quality than what you'd find elsewhere; in fact, you often find that older chassis are actually built much sturdier and more robustly. I can't quite identify that specific case from the photo, though.

EDIT - If you're worried about whether your motherboard will actually fit inside—don't be. It'll definitely fit since you're using an ATX format, and all the options suggested here are ATX compatible. Based on the scale shown in the picture, I'd bet even larger cases would work fine, so you really don't need to stress about the dimensions.

I simply cannot track down the paperwork for the chassis at this very moment, which makes identifying the exact model a bit of a headache. If I manage to dig them out from under whatever pile they've vanished into, I’ll be sure to post the specific model details right here.

Look, there's no need to kill yourself searching for one, because you can always just grab the motherboard.

Alright, much appreciated

Dear fellow forum members, I would truly appreciate your insights on a matter regarding my current setup:
my PC consists of
a Gigabyte P35-DS3 revision 2.0 running the latest F14 BIOS version
an Intel Core 2 Duo E6750, which is currently clocked at 3,200 MHz via an 8*400 multiplier while utilizing the stock cooler—noting that I haven't touched the voltage settings, leaving them strictly on "auto" in the BIOS...
4GB of Kingmax DDR2 RAM at 800MHz with timings of 5-5-5-15 and a 1:1 FSB:RAM ratio
a Radeon 5670 1GB DDR5 graphics card, which was the last one I purchased
a Blue Storm II 500W power supply unit
a Seagate Barracuda 320GB hard drive
housed in a Thermaltake chassis, which looks quite nice with its transparent side panel🙂

My proposed upgrade path
involves switching to either a Q6600 or a Q6700 processor, priced at roughly $70 USD, and I intend to overclock it slightly to somewhere around 3.2 or 3.4 GHz...
I am also considering adding a Cooler Master Hyper 212 or perhaps a Noctua NH-D15, both of which could potentially be repurposed for a future LGA1155 platform upgrade down the road
Essentially, for about $50 USD, I could improve the overall performance of this machine—perhaps even less if I manage to sell the E6750...

Does this plan seem sound to you all, and is it actually worth pursuing? Would the performance gains be significant enough to handle modern coding tasks or recent games more effectively?
Which processor do you believe offers better value, and which cooler would you recommend I select...

I’d probably save my money depending on what kind of monitor you're using and your resolution, but upgrading to a 775 socket just doesn't make any sense.

Signed, I wouldn't waste my money on a 775 either; better to save up and grab something modern. You can snag some new Springfield processors for about $200, which are newer and way better than that old Q6600, plus they use a more recent socket...

Maybe you should've put more of that cash toward a decent GPU instead.

Dammit, then you’d eventually have to swap out the GPU right after the CPU just to see any real performance gains

I am well aware that the ideal course of action would be to overhaul the entire system from scratch, yet I simply cannot justify such a significant investment into a gaming rig at this particular moment... With my current setup and a modest amount of additional funds, there are certain upgrades available, and the Q6700 keeps coming to mind. I did consider looking into the Q9550, but seeing it priced at $130 feels quite excessive for what is essentially an aging processor...
Let us approach the matter this way: if I were to upgrade my existing configuration by moving to the Q6700, would I notice a substantial improvement, or merely a marginal one? That is the core of my concern...

Look, you either get a meaningful upgrade or you get nothing at all when it comes to games that actually utilize four cores—you know, that moment where your GPU is ready to go but the CPU just bottlenecks everything.
But if you can snag a quad-core processor at a bargain price, grab it immediately. Someone was posting links on eBay for a Q6600 for $150, but honestly, watch your back. There have been plenty of scammers out there trying to offload those processors for suspiciously low prices just because they're in high demand.

Well, I honestly thought my graphics card was holding up just fine—only to realize it’s essentially useless without a complete system overhaul... It seems you get exactly what you pay for, though adding the cost of a whole new PC to the mix makes the price tag even more ridiculous, haha... My thanks to everyone for the input

Henry Campbell4, would you be interested in an i5 750 paired with an ASRock H55M-LE and a Corsair cooler?

I’ve never overclocked the i5 750—just kept it at stock speeds—but I picked up the ASRock motherboard last year, and I'll throw in the Corsair CPU cooler for free. If it sounds like something you'd want, just shoot me a DM. I'm based out in Chicago... Honestly, you'd see a pretty decent boost if you decided to jump over to this processor or the platform in general.

Henry Campbell4 said:Man, I really thought my GPU was doing fine—turns out it’s useless without a new rig. It’s like trying to buy premium concert tickets with zero cash in your pocket, except now my computer is acting up too, haha. Thanks, everyone!

Look, when you consider that gaming performance relies most heavily on the graphics card, while the CPU just determines if you're hitting a bottleneck or not, that GPU is still perfectly capable of handling some light gaming.

Larry Ortiz5 said:Henry Campbell4, you interested in an i5 750, an ASRock H55M-LE, and a Corsair cooler?

I’ve never overclocked this i5 750; it's run at stock speeds my whole life. I picked up the ASRock board last year, and I'll throw in the Corsair CPU cooler for free if you want it. Hit me up via DM if you're interested. I'm out in Chicago. You'd see a decent jump in performance if you switched over to this setup..

And again, you're just getting an old socket. That motherboard is junk—you won't be able to overclock it at all...

That's true, but I’m pricing this relatively low compared to what people are asking on eBay—so I'm expecting to get a pretty significant boost from that.

Greetings to everyone here.

I am currently contemplating an upgrade for a computer that will primarily serve my son’s gaming needs—he tends to gravitate toward titles like Call of Duty: Ghosts, Grand Theft Auto, Far Cry, and things of that nature—so I find myself in need of some expert guidance.

The current setup consists of the following:

Motherboard: AsRock N68C-S UCC
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo Processor BE 1.91 GHz
RAM: 4GB DDR2
Power Supply: EVC ML 500W
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650
My intention is to transition to 8GB of DDR3, which leads me to request your advice regarding a compatible processor.
According to the motherboard specifications, it supports up to 95W socket LGA 1366 processors:
Intel Core i7/X4/X3/X2
Intel Core 2 Duo / Pentium
Sempron processors

There is one particular point that has left me feeling quite perplexed; a gentleman at the local electronics store suggested that the Intel Core i7 would be the optimal solution, yet I am deeply uncertain whether this can actually be installed on my board given that those are AM3+ sockets.
It is my sincere desire to assemble the most balanced and effective combination possible, so I humbly ask for your recommendations.
Thank you.