Old Comp worth upgrading or Just buy new?

[shesfury]

I have a computer that is just a tad bit over 4 years old that I had a friend build. It was great at the time but I'm really starting to slow down while gaming (WOW, SWTOR, D3, GW2) Is it upgradeable or should I just fork out and build a new one?

MB gigabyte ga-8IPE 1000 PRO-G ATX RT
CPU P4 3.0 EGHz 800M 478P/1MB HT RT
DDR 512MB/DDR400 CL3 PC3200 RTL x2
FD 1.44MB SONY MPF920
HD 120GB/WD 7200RPM WD1200BB
DVD/LITE ON 16X SOHD-167T BLACK RTL
CDRW 52x32x52 SMSUNG SW 252 FEN
FAN COLINGFN SPEEZE BLD 08025S1M
NVIDIA GEFORCE 9800GTX

I am currently running Windows 7 Home Premium

[Notarget]

Yeah quite outdated, I'd say save up and build yourself a new system.

[Skarsguard]

Yep time to upgrade for sure give us a budget and we can help you out.

[shesfury]

Yeah I figured as much Haven't ever touched the computers so knew it was a grim outlook. Going to wipe them clean and keep them as guest computers in the house. (I have 2 identical comps, one for the husband and I)

So since you know I need 2 I really would like to keep the total cost around 1800 max to incl shipping.

[Notarget]

Do you need anything besides the core components?

Windows?

monitors etc.?

Also just to be clear, you're looking for 2 systems for a total of 1800, right?

[shesfury]

That's correct, i have a need for 2 identical systems. Don't need Windows or any extra parts right now. They will mostly be used for gaming purposes.

[Notarget]

This will be very close to your max budget, could tweak it a little (like a "lower" end GPU, less/no storage etc.) but this is what I got so far:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek GAIA SD1283 56.3 CFM CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($35.57 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ B&H)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($219.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 220 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK III 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($64.58 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Sony AD-7280S-0B DVD/CD Writer ($18.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $859.07
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-30 20:18 EST-0500)

If you don't have a Microcenter near you the total is closer to ~$900 as you can see my using the links.

[shesfury]

Looks good. The nearest Microcenter is a couple hours away. Might be worth the 60 dollars though. Thank you for your help. Probably start ordering the parts in a few days. Putting this thing together shouldn't be that tough for two semi intelligent people should it? lol

[Butler Log]

Looks good. The nearest Microcenter is a couple hours away. Might be worth the 60 dollars though. Thank you for your help. Probably start ordering the parts in a few days. Putting this thing together shouldn't be that tough for two semi intelligent people should it? lol

Set an afternoon aside, and take your time.

How to:

[Notarget]

Looks good. The nearest Microcenter is a couple hours away. Might be worth the 60 dollars though. Thank you for your help. Probably start ordering the parts in a few days. Putting this thing together shouldn't be that tough for two semi intelligent people should it? lol

When you buy an i5-3570k at MC you get $50 off on most (if not all) their Z77 boards.

Newegg TV: How To Build a Computer - Part 1 - Choosing Your Components
Newegg TV: How To Build a Computer - Part 2 - The Build
Newegg TV: How To Build a Computer - Part 3 - Installing Windows & Finishing Touches

Or these videos from ASUS, showing you how to:

ASUS How-To - Get Started Building a PC
ASUS How-To - Install Inside the Case
ASUS How-To - Install CPU, CPU Fan, & Memory
ASUS How-To - Cable Management

[theoffice]

I don't know much about the cooler that was linked in the above build but the Hyper 212 Evo is only $10 more... Plus edition only $5. They're one of the more popular air coolers for budget builds (not saying popular translates to performance though mine performs well). Having said that, I don't necessarily think you need an aftermarket cooler so you could just save that $20.

As for MC, if you did end up going, you would get the 3570K for $169.99 and you could grab a Extreme4 for only $94.99. In which case you might as well grab an aftermarket cooler since you're system would beg to be OCed...

[shesfury]

Thank you for the video links it will really help.

As far as OC'n the computer we have no knowledge on that at all. I assume it is like overtuning your car but on your comp? I do want to get the best bang for my buck out of the systems so going to MC and getting a few upgrades and still being around the price range would work. I plan on going to MC this week some time. If I do that how does it affect the original build that was listed here that I was going to go for?

[theoffice]

Thank you for the video links it will really help.

As far as OC'n the computer we have no knowledge on that at all. I assume it is like overtuning your car but on your comp? I do want to get the best bang for my buck out of the systems so going to MC and getting a few upgrades and still being around the price range would work. I plan on going to MC this week some time. If I do that how does it affect the original build that was listed here that I was going to go for?

Not much. Cost-wise the processor will be $20 cheaper. You can get a better motherboard for the same price since MC has a sale going if you buy a processor + MoBo together. Their website will tell you exactly which MoBos are part of the deal.

As far as OCing... I've never done it until last month. I built my first PC a month ago. As long as you don't go overboard and have an aftermarket cooler it's as simple as going into the BIOS and finding the setting and changing it to 4.2 GHz (which is what mine is at) as opposed to the stock 3.2 or whatever it is. I believe anymore than that and you'll be tinkering with voltages and things like that and I won't notice a difference between 4.2 and 4.4 so I don't care to try. Maybe someone else will correct me and say I'm doing it wrong.

[shesfury]

Hmm, looking at the MC website they don't seem to offer that processor/mobo combo anymore. The processor is still 169.99 but the extreme 4 mobo is 134.99 That on top of the fact they will only sell me 1 per household is starting to make the drive less exciting.

[Notarget]

Hmm, looking at the MC website they don't seem to offer that processor/mobo combo anymore. The processor is still 169.99 but the extreme 4 mobo is 134.99 That on top of the fact they will only sell me 1 per household is starting to make the drive less exciting.

Call them, I'm 99% sure they ALWAYS offer that combo. Yeah I forgot about the "one per household" thing

[Butler Log]

Call them, I'm 99% sure they ALWAYS offer that combo. Yeah I forgot about the "one per household" thing

Do they check your home address? She could buy one system, and her husband/partner the other separately.

[Notarget]

Do they check your home address? She could buy one system, and her husband/partner the other separately.

I believe they ask for your address but there might be a workaround like you mentioned.

[shesfury]

Just called, they don't offer a bundle for the 3570K anymore, just the 3570 and they said something about the extreme 6 instead of the extreme 4.

Its hard to pass up the deal they have on the 3570K, I will just bring a friend when I go to buy it to not ruin the "one per household" rule.

Still undecided about the MOBO now. This is kind of like car shopping at a dealership lol, there is always an "upgrade" available for just a little more :P

[at05gt]

I don't know much about the cooler that was linked in the above build but the Hyper 212 Evo is only $10 more... Plus edition only $5. They're one of the more popular air coolers for budget builds (not saying popular translates to performance though mine performs well). Having said that, I don't necessarily think you need an aftermarket cooler so you could just save that $20.

Hyper 212 is kinda best bang for the buck really, nice heat pipe setup and decent performance, dual fan option as well.

Still undecided about the MOBO now. This is kind of like car shopping at a dealership lol, there is always an "upgrade" available for just a little more :P

LOL welcome to the world of custom computers, the "I just bought this and the new thing is the same price but better" complaint line starts over there ------------------->

J/K btw :P, building and tweaking computers for personal use is alot of fun and can be a very educational/frustrating experience.

[Notarget]

Just called, they don't offer a bundle for the 3570K anymore, just the 3570 and they said something about the extreme 6 instead of the extreme 4.

Its hard to pass up the deal they have on the 3570K, I will just bring a friend when I go to buy it to not ruin the "one per household" rule.

Still undecided about the MOBO now. This is kind of like car shopping at a dealership lol, there is always an "upgrade" available for just a little more :P

http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/...b#/88faafeb/33

Says $40 off right there. Just get the Pro4 it's gonna be fine. Extreme6 if you want things like SLI/CF support, better power design for more stable overclocks etc.

Comparison of Pro4/Extreme6

Or check if they have a P8Z77-V LK, that's a decent option as well and should be like $80 when you buy the CPU with it.

Could always leave one HDD out to save some money, then add it later on.