Upgrade old rig or buy new?

Hey everyone! So, after a long time, my trusty desktop finally gave up the ghost 😢 Specifically, the graphics card and motherboard both died on me. Since this rig is getting pretty old, I'm stuck wondering what the best move is.

Here’s the old setup—basically everything that hasn't died yet.
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad 955
RAM: PC-10600, CRUCIAL, DDR3, 1333 MHz, 3x2 GB
Disk: HDD 1000.0 GB HITACHI, SATA, 16MB c., 7200 rpm
Power Supply: 400W, CORSAIR CX Series CMPSU-400CXEU, ATX2 v2.2, 120mm fan
DVD drive, some LG model, still works
Case: COOLERMASTER Elite 332 MIDI, which probably needs replacing since it's pretty small
Peripherals: Not needed

The big question is: what should I do? Should I just buy a completely new build, or try to salvage the working parts from the old one and mix them with new components?

My budget is around $1667, ideally something I can put on a credit card with 12 monthly installments. I'd likely shop around at Best Buy. I know how to put things together myself if I go the upgrade route, but if
I decide to go for a full new build, I'd rather have someone else assemble it because I'm feeling pretty lazy.

I'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions on what to do or what to buy.

Mainly, besides standard web browsing and movies, I want to do some casual gaming—ideally newer titles, along with World of Warcraft and League of Legends. I also need to run Photoshop and SolidWorks, maybe some light AutoCAD, and some Java programming.

Damn, how did it even die on you?

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.

Thanks. I’ll probably grab a bigger case since everything is pretty cramped in there right now. Not sure exactly how it died, but the smell coming from the graphics card said it all. I think the motherboard might actually be fine, though—it’s an ASUS Motherboard. The PC belongs to my brother. He mostly just uses it for AutoCAD and occasionally SolidWorks. As for what they play lately, it's mostly RPGs, with some FPS games thrown in here and there. I'm definitely getting more RAM, too; the system is hungry for a new Solid.

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 😁

I don't think that FX 8320 is going to work with this motherboard. Personally, I'd probably lean toward an i5 instead, since I get the feeling those specific programs tend to run a bit smoother on Intel processors anyway.

1 x Intel Core i5-4460 Processor (3.20GHz, 1MB, 6MB, 84 W, 1150) Box
1 x ASUS Motherboard, s1150, Intel ® H97, 4 x DDR3, 1 x PCI Express
1 x Zalman Z1 mid tower case. 199(W)x432(H)x457(D)mm. ATX Standard
1 x Western Digital Blue SSD, 120 GB Capacity, 2.5"
1 x EVGA Graphics Card, R9-270A-CDFC, Double Dissipation Edition 925M Boost
1 x DDR3 8GB (1x8GB) Crucial, 1600MHz CL11

$1555
techforum.com

You drop a grand on a GPU and another 500 on an SSD, and you'll honestly feel like you're running a brand-new rig 🙂

If the motherboard is the issue, you can fix that pretty cheap too

But if you've got money to burn, just buy everything brand new

Haha, money doesn't grow on trees. Honestly, I'm just seeing how much I can stretch my budget and pay in installments to build something that holds up for a few years. When I put this together, my goal was to make sure it lasts at least 3 to 5 years. I just don't have the time to keep up with all the latest PC hardware news like I used to. The motherboard supports AM3, so I'm guessing an AM3+ socket CPU won't fit. But you guys gave me a great starting point, so I'll take some time to do some reading, figure out the right combo, and then pull the trigger. Like I said, I'm no tech expert—it’s just that things move so fast these days that if you aren't watching constantly, you get lost. Then you have no clue where to even start. Anyway, thanks a ton for the advice.

P.S. The people in this link used those damn rivets to secure the motherboard and the GPU. Has anyone actually managed to remove them without having to drill through them?

If you’re asking me, I’d probably just grab one from Target

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?

What rivets? Post a pic.

Never mind, I figured out what the deal is. Basically, since my motherboard is fine, I'll just grab some RAM, an SSD, and a new GPU, and I can get this sorted for about half the cost. Thanks to Tiki and Halek. We can lock this thread now. 🙂