Looking for advice on a PC upgrade/build help!

Hi everyone,

Basically, my computer has become incredibly sluggish lately, and I’ve decided I'm ready to set aside some cash to swap out a few components and give it a much-needed speed boost.

To give you some context, this machine is about 8 years old now, and honestly, it has been remarkably reliable up until this point. The only real hiccup was a while back when we had to have it serviced to replace the hard drive after I accidentally bumped the tower—it was quite some time ago, though, and everything has been smooth sailing since then.

I’ve considered just picking up a laptop, but I recently invested in a nice monitor that I use as my primary TV setup, so I really want to stick with a desktop.

I know I have a fair amount of digital clutter piling up, like old photos and documents, and while a good cleanup might help slightly, I don't think it'll be enough. These days, I'm regularly running heavy-duty software like Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, and AutoCAD.

It feels like such a waste to have such a slow system when I have a great high-speed internet connection. I realize that maybe a 20 Mbps connection isn't breaking any records for tech experts, but for my daily needs, it's perfectly sufficient.🙂

So, my question for the group is: what specific upgrades would you recommend I look into?

Here are the current specs:
Windows 7 Ultimate
Storage: C drive (238 GB), D drive (227 GB)
Processor: AMD dual Core 4400
RAM: 2 GB

Thanks in advance, and I truly appreciate any advice or information you can share. 👍

Budget? Roughly:

1 x DDR3 8GB (1x8GB) Corsair, 1600MHz, CL11, Value, CMV8GX3M1A160C11
1 x Asrock B85M Pro3, LGA 1150, supports 4th Gen Intel Core i7 / Intel Core i5
1 x Intel Core i3-4170 Processor (3.70GHz, 512KB, 3MB, 54 W, 1150) Box
1 x Kingston SSD 120GB HyperX Fury, 2.5", SATA 3 6G
1 x FORTRON Power Supply 400W, HEXA plus 400, 12cm fan

$861 ADM

You could probably just use your old drive for extra storage, then put Windows and all your main programs on the SSD. As for graphics, you're looking at integrated on the CPU—unless you happen to have a decent dedicated card lying around, though if that thing is eight years old, I guess it might not be much to look at anyway. 😁
You can likely hang onto the case too, assuming it isn't in terrible shape.

crimsonstag84 said:Budget? Roughly speaking:

1 x DDR3 8GB (1x8GB) Corsair, 1600MHz, CL11,Value, CMV8GX3M1A160C11
1 x Asrock B85M Pro3, S 1150, Supports 4th Gen Intel Core i7 / Intel Core i5
1 x Intel Core i3-4170 Processor (3.70GHz,512KB,3MB,54 W,1150) Box
1 x Kingston SSD 120GB HyperX Fury, 2.5", SATA 3 6G
1 x FORTRON Power Supply 400W, HEXA plus 400, 12cm fan

$861 ADM

You could certainly repurpose the old hard drive for extra storage, while you install Windows and all your essential software on the SSD. Since the graphics are integrated into the processor, you probably won't find much better than that unless you have a dedicated card, which seems unlikely if that setup is already eight years old. 😁
The case is also fine to keep as long as it isn't in terrible shape.

Haha, so basically, I should swap out everything except the skeleton, or the case itself.😁
Thanks so much. I’m going to do some reading on these components, though I suspect I'll be picking things up one at a time because a massive upfront cost is a bit much for my current student budget.😁
My main priority is likely upgrading to a more capable processor, maybe an Intel Core i5 or an Intel Core i7, and then moving on to the rest later.

Honestly, your best first move is grabbing an SSD—you'll definitely feel the speed boost once you load Windows and heavy hitters like Photoshop onto it. You can probably snag one around $167 for 120GB. After that, you're looking at a full overhaul of the motherboard, RAM, and CPU, so I guess you should budget at least $667 for that trio. Don't forget the power supply, either; if you're running some junk like a generic off-brand unit or something from Codegen, you might want to swap that out immediately, even before touching the motherboard or the processor.

First, I’d go with more RAM and an SSD. That’ll give you a noticeable boost, though you really need to install a fresh macOS on the SSD for it to matter. Maybe even grab some used 2GB DDR2 sticks on eBay for $27 just to get by; you can probably flip them for the same price once you upgrade the whole rig. Local pickup is usually best, depending on where you're located.

For example, check this out: http://www.ebay.com/itm/ram-memory/...listing-16441114
http://www.bestbuy.com/kingston-...-120gb-7mm-2-5