Upgrading my 2009 PC build

Hey everyone!

I could really use some advice or a hand with upgrading this old rig of mine.
So, here’s the breakdown: I’ve got an ASUS P55-ud4 motherboard (LGA 1156 socket) running what I think is a first-gen Intel Core i5-2500—or Lynfield, whatever they call it these days.
Memory is 4GB of Corsair DDR3 at 1600MHz, the GPU is an AMD Radeon HD 5850, there's a 1TB hard drive in there, and the power supply is a Corsair TX 650W.
My main goal is to grab a better graphics card, add another 4GB of RAM, and maybe finally pick up an SSD.
From what I know, my current power supply shouldn't be an issue, but the real question is: what kind of GPU can I actually slap on this motherboard to get decent performance? I want to play World of Tanks and stuff like that, or maybe even run Madden or NHL on max settings at 1080p.
If anyone has any suggestions, my budget is around $667, though I might be able to stretch it a bit more if it's absolutely necessary... thanks!

Roger Gonzalez41 said:Hey everyone!

Looking for some advice on upgrading an old rig.
The motherboard is an ASUS P55-ud4, socket 1156, running what I think is a first-gen Intel Core i5-2500 or similar.
RAM is 4GB Corsair DDR3 1600MHz, GPU is an AMD Radeon HD 5850, there's a 1TB HDD, and a Corsair TX 650W power supply.
Main goal is a better graphics card, another 4GB of RAM, and maybe an SSD.
From what I know, my PSU should handle it fine. The main question is which GPU fits this board to get decent performance for World of Tanks or stuff like Madden at 1080p max settings.
If anyone has suggestions, my budget is about $667, maybe a bit more if necessary... thanks.

1 x Crucial RAM 4GB DDR3L 1600 MT/s (PC3L-12800) CL11 Unbuffered UDIMM 240pin 1.35V/1.5V Single Ranked
1 x Kingston UV400 120GB SSD, 2.5” 7mm, SATA 6 Gbit/s
1 x PALIT GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, 4GB, DDR5, DVI, HDMI, DP

Total: $678
futura, if you can swing another $67 over, I’d honestly just grab an RX 470 instead.

Oh, shoot, I totally forgot to mention—I'm running 2x 2GB sticks right now. If I grab an extra 4GB module with the same frequency, is that combo actually going to work?

It should work. I’m 90% sure, and obviously, you'll want it running in dual channel mode.
So, leave those 2x2GB sticks in the black slots, then take that 4GB stick and put it in the other colored slot—specifically the one with the lower slot number.

Here’s how you’d lay it out based on the slot order. Check the numbers printed next to the slots to see which is which.

1) 2GB
2) 4GB
3) 2GB
4) empty

That way, Bank 0 gets the 2+2, Bank 1 gets the 4GB, and everything should run fine.

The only time I've seen this rule fail was once on some weird custom motherboard in a Dell PC, but on any standard board, this setup should work regardless of the manufacturer, frequency, or whatever else.

Honestly? I’d sell the whole setup while it’s still functional. If that motherboard dies on you, you’re basically screwed. 😬 I’m saying this because my brother has an Intel Core i5-2500 and ran into this exact issue: his motherboard kicked the bucket, and now he's stuck. I’d move everything now while you actually still have a shot at getting decent cash for it.

GeForce GTX 1050 Ti

4GB DDR3

You could almost fit a 240GB SSD in there too.

goldenotter9

What’s the worst that happens? He sells the CPU for maybe fifty bucks and calls it a day. There isn't much to lose on an old processor like that—it's basically worth peanuts at this point anyway.

Susan Garcia5

Is it a hyperthreaded dual-core or an actual quad-core?

goldenotter9 said:To be blunt: I would sell all of that while it’s still functional. If the motherboard dies, you are completely screwed. 😬 My brother has an Intel Core i5-2500 and ran into this exact issue—the board died and now he’s stuck. It is my opinion that you should sell everything while there is still a chance to get decent value for it.

Finding a motherboard for an Intel Core i5-2500 is simple enough, but tracking down one for an s1156 socket or a non-i5 650 is difficult. They exist, sure, but the prices are absurdly high. Generally speaking, motherboards don't just fail spontaneously unless they've been pushed too hard via overclocking.

Because we both know the Intel Pentium G6950 is arguably the most pathetic CPU ever produced.🙂

mellowtiger83 said:Finding a motherboard for an Intel Core i5-2500 is easy, but tracking down one for an s1156 or even a basic i5 650 is a pain. They exist, but the prices are ridiculous. Just don't fry your boards unless you're pushing the overclock too hard.

Because let's be real, the Intel Pentium G6950 is probably the most pathetic CPU ever made.🙂

Sandy Bridge boards aren't exactly cheap or easy to find either.

Timothy Kim60 said:GeForce GTX 1050 Ti

4GB DDR3

You could probably squeeze a 240GB SSD in there too, if you're lucky.

goldenotter9

What’s the point? He could just flip the CPU for maybe fifty bucks and call it a day. It’s not like he’s losing a fortune on an old processor like that—it’s basically worth nothing at this point anyway.

Susan Garcia5

Is it a hyperthreaded dual core or an actual quad?

From what I can tell, it’s a legitimate quad processor.
Look, if it dies, who cares? No big deal. It was never overclocked, and honestly, nobody's been playing anything decent on it for five years since he moved out from his parents' place...

Your CPU isn't going to just die on you. The real headache is if the motherboard gives out; finding a direct replacement for those can be a nightmare. But honestly, it doesn't have to come to that. If it does, just sell the processor, swap out the whole platform, and call it a day.

Thanks for all the help, everyone

Here’s the deal: I’ve got the rig fully disassembled and cleaned out—thank God I didn't find any dead rats in there. It's up and running now, and honestly, I'm pretty happy with it. I tested out World of Tanks on High settings at 1920*1080, and it doesn't dip below 50fps, which is more than enough for my needs...

I'm definitely sticking with an extra 4 GB of RAM and an SSD, but the GPU is what's really bugging me.
I found that Crossfire "module" to link two cards together, and now I'm seriously tempted to just grab another identical one and run them in Crossfire.
Since the cards you guys recommended are already a bit of a compromise, if I could snag a 20-30% boost by running dual AMD Radeon HD 5850s in Crossfire, that would be plenty for me... I mean, if I can scrape together 7 or 8 hours of gaming time a week, I'll be over the moon...
Every wattage calculator I’ve used shows this setup with 2x AMD Radeon HD 5850s pulling less than 550W, so my 650W power supply should be able to handle it, right?
Also, for a combo like that, am I going to need some extra 6-pin cables for the graphics cards?

Personally, I wouldn't bother going the overclocking route—not because it's hard to set up, but because of how games actually handle it. Some titles just don't support OC at all, and others scale pretty poorly, meaning you might see way less of an FPS boost than you'd expect. Plus, you're looking at more noise from the fans and higher temps inside the case. Look, if you really want to try it, it's your money, but for such a tiny potential gain—assuming you even get one depending on what you play—I wouldn't sink another dime into such an old computer...

Larry Ortiz5 said:Personally, I wouldn't bother with overclocking. It’s not just about being able to set it up; some games don't even support it properly. Others scale terribly—you end up getting way lower FPS than you actually expected, plus you deal with more fan noise and higher temps. Look, if you want to blow your cash on it, go for it, but for such a tiny performance boost—assuming you even see one depending on what you play—I wouldn't sink another cent into an old rig like that..

Look, I get it. It's an old bucket, and dumping huge amounts of money into it makes zero sense...
But spending $1000-$500 on a GPU? That's a hard pass for me. Sure, I'd see a performance jump, but right now that's basically a mid/low-range card. Fast forward 4 or 5 years to when I'm actually ready to buy a whole new rig (or something for my kid once they get into gaming), that card will be absolute junk. For that reason, I'd rather just grab something similar to what I already have for maybe $200-$100 just to squeeze out an extra 5 FPS. If I try it and it works, cool, whatever...
I've got three laptops at home, so I don't even need this desktop for daily stuff. This is purely my little hobby—just messing around with games for half an hour or an hour a day, maybe 2 or 3 hours on the weekends...
That's why spending more than $333 total on this current setup is just pointless... if the motherboard dies or something soon, I'll just toss the parts on eBay, scrape together maybe $500, and call it a day...

Maybe you could grab something like this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/graphics-card-listing

You just pick it up, plug it into your $267. It's more than twice as powerful as yours (roughly on par with a GeForce GTX 1050 Ti). I guess there might be a tiny bit of a bottleneck, though.

You can probably find some 4GB DDR3 for about $33 used.

crimsonstag84 said:You could grab something like this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/graphics-card-listing-example

Just pick it up, plug it into your $267. It’s more than twice as powerful as what you're running now (roughly on par with a GeForce GTX 1050 Ti). You might run into a tiny bit of a bottleneck, but it's nothing major.

Grab some 4GB DDR3 for about $33 used.

Thanks for the suggestion! If anyone finds anything with similar performance in the $600-$$267 range, just drop a link here—preferably if you're in the Chicago area so I can pick it up easily.

I honestly don't think you'd see any real benefit from running Crossfire:

- The real issue is whether—and how much—the games you actually play even support it.
- Let's be real: having only 1GB of VRAM is a massive bottleneck for anything modern, and adding another card won't fix that capacity issue.
- You're basically just inviting unnecessary power draw and extra heat into your rig.

Just snagged an AMD Radeon R9 270X at a total steal $233
Now I just need to grab an SSD, though honestly, I don't even think I need more RAM right now.
Thanks to everyone for the help!

Alright, what’s the best pick for that budget?

Just wanted to drop a quick update and say my hunt is finally over. I ended up grabbing an extra 4GB of RAM (two 2GB sticks) and a 120GB SSD. All in all, that brings the total to $367.
Everything is running smooth as silk now. I did a fresh install of Windows 10, and man, it boots up in literally seconds. Game loading times are way down, too. But honestly, my favorite part? No more of that annoying clicking and grinding sound from the hard drive like I used to deal with before.

Thanks to everyone for the help! 👍

Next on the agenda: upgrading the cooler and pushing the clock speed up to 3.6GHz.