PC upgrades from 2010?

I'm thinking about beefing up my rig just so I can actually sit back and stream 4K movies without everything lagging out. Do you think I could get away with just tossing in some more RAM?

Right now, I've only got 4GB of RAM under the hood, so if I bump that up by another 2 or 4 gigs, would that be enough to handle 4K playback?

I spotted these being sold for older machines: KINGSTON 2GB DDR3 1600MHz CL11 SO-DIMM Is this even worth my time?

Post your specs so we can see what kind of rig you're running.

Are you playing 4K movies? You'll need some decent hardware for that... Are you streaming them from a hard drive or just watching on YouTube 1080p?

Check Task Manager. See if your CPU or RAM is hitting 100%. If either one is maxed out, that's why everything is stuttering.

Do you have an SSD?

Some beefier, newer GPUs have built-in 4K decoders, but the GTX 1050 doesn't. Those modern cards take the load off the processor, but without one, your CPU has to handle all the decoding... depends entirely on how powerful your CPU actually is.

Pretty much any modern card out there, including the GTX 1050, handles H.264 decoding just fine.

It’s rarely the RAM holding you back—it's usually the CPU, unless you've got the GPU doing the heavy lifting.

Man, I don't get it—back when I was running Windows 7 32-bit, I could breeze through YouTube 1080p without a hitch, but now that I've been using Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit for a couple of years, even 720p is a struggle! Like, I can maybe manage short clips, but anything longer just chokes out.

I can play back movies in 1080p just fine, even the massive ones over 10 GB, but the second I try to fire up a 2160p (4K) video, everything starts playing in slow motion like some weird glitchy dream.

A buddy of mine actually suggested that Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit puts way more strain on the hardware than the old 32-bit version did, and that might be why I'm hitting this wall.

So, I was thinking maybe if I just tossed some more RAM in there, it would fix everything, but you guys are telling me I really need to upgrade the CPU first, right?

Intel Core i3 (core) or something similar with a clock speed north of 3 GHz... do you think that would be enough to get things moving?

Okay, so if I grab a new processor and bump the RAM up by an extra 2 to 4 GB, should I finally be able to stream 2160p smoothly without all this headache?

Is this a discrete GPU or is it integrated?

Alexander Moore67 said:Is this a discrete GPU or is it integrated?

It's integrated.

Honestly, I haven't touched a single thing under the hood since I first picked this rig up back in early 2010.

The only real change was swapping out the OS about two years ago.

1) With a 32-bit OS, you're stuck at around 3GB of RAM max, regardless of what's actually installed in the machine.

2) I’d suggest going with Windows 10. It isn't any slower than Windows 7 Ultimate, plus you get modern features and better security. Just make sure to opt out of all that tracking nonsense during setup.

3) For the best performance, just install Linux.

4) Since there's no dedicated GPU, I'm assuming you're running on integrated graphics from the motherboard?

5) The real question is whether a better processor will even help if the integrated graphics are the bottleneck.

6) My advice? Throw in a used GPU like a GTX 1050, GTX 960, or an RX 550, then run Windows 10 64-bit (or better yet, Linux).

Everything’s lagging a bit here. Honestly, you probably need a GPU that can actually handle 4K decoding, then a beefier CPU, and maybe some extra RAM too. Even if you do all that, you’ll likely realize everything is still sluggish and you really need an SSD 😬
You could drop $100-$67 on this, maybe $100-$67 on that, and then toss another $100-$333 into the rig, but you'd still be stuck on ancient architecture using a decade-old PC.

If I were you, I'd just start looking toward a new build or at least most of the parts. For about $500, you can grab a new PC that handles basically anything you throw at it and runs several times faster...

Man, I seriously can't thank you guys enough for taking the time to help me out. Seriously, all your expertise, advice, and suggestions have been a total lifesaver.

I'm gonna sit on this for a few days and really weigh my options before making a move.

fadedorca66 said:Everything’s lagging a bit here. Honestly, you probably need a GPU that can actually handle 4K decoding, then a beefier CPU, and maybe some extra RAM too. Even if you do all that, you’ll likely realize everything is still sluggish and you really need an SSD 😬
You could drop $100-$67 on this, maybe $100-$67 on that, and then toss another $100-$333 into the rig, but you'd still be stuck on ancient architecture using a decade-old PC.

If I were you, I'd just start looking toward a new build or at least most of the parts. For about $500, you can grab a new PC that handles basically anything you throw at it and runs several times faster...

That was just a quick thought for a temporary fix since a full new build is definitely the end goal, but hey, I actually have to work for that money, right? Haha! So while I'm grinding to save up the cash, I figured I might as well tweak my old setup a bit to keep it going for a while.

You can find a used GTX 1050 on eBay for $67 a decent price, and it'll handle 4K just fine. Honestly, it’s probably your cheapest way to get an upgrade right now without breaking the bank much.

Quick follow-up, and maybe this sounds totally dumb: Since my PC should have USB 2.0, I'm assuming I can just plug in an external hard drive without any issues, right?

Like a Seagate one, for instance, ?

Because even TVs usually come with 2.0 ports, and since I’m planning on starting my shopping spree tomorrow, a hard drive is at the top of my list. I’m just terrified some tiny little technicality is going to screw me over, so I figured I'd ask here. I could always ask the guy at the store, but honestly, I trust you guys way more—sometimes those sales clerks will just tell you, "Oh yeah, don't worry about it, it'll work," when really it might be a total disaster, 😁

Quote:That actually sounds doable.

Alexander Moore67 says: You can find a used GTX 1050 on eBay for $67 and it'll handle 4K just fine; that's probably your cheapest way to get an upgrade right now without breaking the bank much.

👍

If you pair it with an Intel Pentium G4400, or better yet, a Core i3 on a 110 series motherboard for $133, it could work pretty well... maybe even less for $67 if you pop in 8 GB of DDR4 RAM. If that isn't enough, just grab a GPU and an SSD later.....

Or honestly, just buy a graphics card now and see if you actually like it.
If you're planning on upgrading the CPU on your current board, check the manufacturer's compatibility list first to see what fits. For $67, you might want to hunt down a Phenom II X4 955 3.2 GHz or a 965 3.4 GHz—those are still solid processors.....

For $67, you've got 8 GB of DDR3 RAM and 4 GB $33

Run Speccy to pull your full specs so we can figure out exactly which motherboard you're running.

The AMD Athlon 245 is a total disaster, and the integrated graphics on that board are even worse.

If you're rocking an N68 with or without UCC, don't even bother trying to upgrade it. That thing is a complete wreck.

cosmiclynx57 said:Quick follow-up, and maybe this sounds totally dumb: Since my PC should have USB 2.0, I'm assuming I can just plug in an external hard drive without any issues, right?

Like a Seagate one, for instance, ?

Because even TVs usually come with 2.0 ports, and since I’m planning on starting my shopping spree tomorrow, a hard drive is at the top of my list. I’m just terrified some tiny little technicality is going to screw me over, so I figured I'd ask here. I could always ask the guy at the store, but honestly, I trust you guys way more—sometimes those sales clerks will just tell you, "Oh yeah, don't worry about it, it'll work," when really it might be a total disaster, 😁

Quote:That actually sounds doable.

Alexander Moore67 says: You can find a used GTX 1050 on eBay for $67 and it'll handle 4K just fine; that's probably your cheapest way to get an upgrade right now without breaking the bank much.

👍

Yeah, it'll work fine.

The headquarters????????

Still haven't figured out which one it is