Upgrading old vs. building new

[LadyCrimson]

Note: by upgrading I don't mean I expect a ton of improvement, only that I want to maybe delay building entirely new for a couple years

 

So, I'm constantly surprised by how well my old i7-920 still does, at least when paired with a decent GPU like the 980ti. I can often still get 50-60fps in games with High settings and 1440 if I want, although I may have to turn off special effects like Gameworks. Often seems to work better than some people with far newer (but lower grade) CPU's.

 

Anyway, main block for new rig - Windows 10. And of course right now prices are inflated.

 

So if I was to "ugprade" this old rig, it'd be like this:

 

--better CPU cooler in case I want to OC it to 3.2

--16 or 24 RAM instead of 12, where it would still be D3 but maybe a little "faster." More importantly, just more since games are becoming more RAM hogs.

--1 TB SSD

 

This would add up to around $900-$1000.

If I built an entire new rig it might be $2500+ not including a GPU or monitor if I wanted to buy those.

 

I want to avoid Win10 as long as possible. I don't play tons of "new, intensive," online or shooter games but would like to have the possibility of running them at least ok-ish @ 1080 if I did want to play one.

 

Main question mark would be whether $1000 would really work for the next couple years or if I should just grin and bear it with Win10. What do you think is the better course of action for me at the moment?

 

P.S. - it's amazing to think I built this entire rig 8-9 years ago for around $1100 (initially - gpu upgrades over time, of course). Now that just barely upgrades it. Sheesh.

Edited March 1, 2018 by LadyCrimson

[Gizmo]

I read an article the other day, written by a staunch DIY advocate... who has finally given up, and says it's cheaper to buy a pre-made system.
It's the crypto-currency miners, buying up all the RAM & graphic's cards.

The guy couldn't build it close—and even compromised with lesser parts—for better than the retail price... Sometimes costing hundreds more than the off-the-shelf system.

Edited March 1, 2018 by Gizmo

[Bartimaeus]

I'm rather confused. Not upgrading to Windows 10 seems to be a sticking point for you...but you seem to be implying that you'd have to if you made a new rig, which you don't (especially as motherboard manufacturers are even conveniently still providing drivers on their websites for Windows 7 for new motherboards). I've built a bunch of new PCs for people in the last couple of years, and most of them have been Windows 7 machines (the biggest problem with Windows 7 for new builds is that it's very difficult to install an OS on SATA M.2 drives - and sometimes impossible for certain models). Further, your price for upgrading your current rig confuses me even more - you can get a very good 1TB SATA3 SSD for ~$300, your RAM for probably around $150, and the cooler...well, that depends on how far you want to go - probably as little as $50, though.

 

@Gizmo: Yep, GPU costs are ridiculously terrible right now, which is making whole systems a much more attractive option than they used to be (because prices haven't affected them...at least as much...yet).

Edited March 1, 2018 by Bartimaeus

[LadyCrimson]

We were looking at my mobo specs and RAM this evening and it looked like it'd be around $80 for each 4GB stick (that was the cheaper ones, some were $140), I have 6 slots so if I filled all of them for 24GB. Ram has become a little pricey I guess. (edit - note I'm talking about replacing the entire Ram, not just adding more - the six slots are currently full with six 2Gb sticks and I don't like mixing)

 

I have an OEM version of Win7 that would likely not appreciate being installed into an entirely new rig and I have yet to find a new packaged Win7 that seems reputable - although in that case it's partly because I'm not very trusting. A lot of the ones I see being sold have lots of comments from buyers saying the keys were used and that kind of stuff.

 

The SSD yes, about $300-$400 depending on brand and all of that. The one hubby likes was $500 tho. He's had bad experiences with some SSD's and he's become rather picky because of that I guess.

Edited March 1, 2018 by LadyCrimson

[LadyCrimson]

^ Oh ... I'm hoping the GPU thing will calm down after a while and manufactures catch up with the notion or some such. But I'm glad I bought the 980ti when I did - since I'm in no hurry for 4k gaming it should work for me for quite some time still.

 

Those 4K textures in FFXV if you set them to highest possible sucks up all your vram like mad - maxed out the 6GB on my card even at 1080, although I suspect that's in part because the game just sees what you have and takes it all whether it truly needs to or not. Had to put it back to High and not Highest. Heheh.

Edited March 1, 2018 by LadyCrimson

[Humanoid]

Don't upgrade, that's a dead-end path especially since you're buying near-obsolete DDR3 RAM. You can get a much faster CPU and motherboard combo, be it Intel or AMD for about $250-300. With 16GB of DDR4 your system spend before SSD will be $400-450. Then buy *two* 1TB SSDs and you get to your $1000 budget. Your video card is still totally fine and still counts as high-end even today, don't touch it.

 

Your existing Win7 licence probably won't activate automatically once you install it on this new PC, but a quick phone call to Microsoft and they'll do it for you, no cost involved. You might need to stretch the truth and say your old hardware broke if they ask.

Edited March 1, 2018 by Humanoid

[Gorgon]

You can get the basic windows 10 for like 60 bucks. I dunno what's actually in the pro version that you need. I don't love windows 10 but at least it's not a major investment anymore. 

[Bartimaeus]

We were looking at my mobo specs and RAM this evening and it looked like it'd be around $80 for each 4GB stick (that was the cheaper ones, some were $140), I have 6 slots so if I filled all of them for 24GB. Ram has become a little pricey I guess. (edit - note I'm talking about replacing the entire Ram, not just adding more - the six slots are currently full with six 2Gb sticks and I don't like mixing)

 

I have an OEM version of Win7 that would likely not appreciate being installed into an entirely new rig and I have yet to find a new packaged Win7 that seems reputable - although in that case it's partly because I'm not very trusting. A lot of the ones I see being sold have lots of comments from buyers saying the keys were used and that kind of stuff.

 

The SSD yes, about $300-$400 depending on brand and all of that. The one hubby likes was $500 tho. He's had bad experiences with some SSD's and he's become rather picky because of that I guess.

@RAM: Is there a benefit to doing all 6 channels instead of just 2 or 4? IIRC, first generation i7s work best with 3 channels, but I don't recall if there's any benefit to going to 6 instead of 2 or 4.

 

@New system entirely: I don't quite agree with Humanoid's numbers here, but I agree with the general principle of what he's saying. If you want to stick with an i7, that'll be $300-350 (depending on whether you want the overclockable version), and a good motherboard will probably be within the realm of $150-200 unless you have very specific features in mind. 32GB of DDR4 3000-3200 is around $340, give or take $25; while 16GB is around $180, give or take $20.

 

@SSD: What, the Samsung 860 Pro? That's the only really notable SSD that I see at around that price. If that's the one, then at 1TB, there really isn't enough of a difference between it and the 860 Evo to justify the $200 greater price tag - at lower capacities I could see it, but the gap is bridged greatly when going to higher capacities.

Edited March 2, 2018 by Bartimaeus

[Humanoid]

Yeah, my numbers are based on a generic i5 or Ryzen 5 build with 16GB RAM and SATA SSDs. Just a general ballpark of what constitutes a good gaming system for the typical gamer these days. I've barely kept up with any specifics lately because I'm probably a fair few years away from needing to change anything myself.

[Gizmo]

I have an OEM version of Win7 that would likely not appreciate being installed into an entirely new rig and I have yet to find a new packaged Win7 that seems reputable - although in that case it's partly because I'm not very trusting. A lot of the ones I see being sold have lots of comments from buyers saying the keys were used and that kind of stuff.

These are sold and shipped directly from Newegg.

 

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832416804&cm_re=windows_7-_-32-416-804-_-Product

 

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832397771&cm_re=windows_7-_-32-397-771-_-Product

 

In a dozen years, I've rarely had a problem with them, and never a problem that they did not immediately fix.

Edited March 2, 2018 by Gizmo

[LadyCrimson]

Well, I guess only the RAM is really locked into the PC in terms of upgrading. I can always take a SSD with me to a new build if it's still kicking.

 

We looked some more and found 24RAM that's faster than my old sticks for about $270 so just going to go with that for now (and the cpu cooler). I think I mostly just want it to be good enough to wait until the market/tech settles and/or changes again, if I can. Plus when I do build a new rig, this one goes to hubby to be one of his many (he doesn't need "gaming power") so it's not like it'll go to the trashheap even then.

 

Thanks for the Win7 link. I'll take a peek/keep it in mind. Wish I could find something on Amazon tho - I don't like purchasing online too many places.

 

Hubby had a story about his client trying to install Win7 on a newer mobo/chip - it installed no problem but Windows kept popping up a message every hour to remind that Win7 is no longer supported or some such pestering. He wasn't saying it would always be like that, but it was kinda funny. The client ended up giving the thing to hubby.

[Terminator]

Here is my advice still if someone else might want to have not Windows 10. I bought a laptop budget gaming laptop in year 2017. With it came Windows 10. However you actually can install software that re installs Start button to left corner so it looks more like Windows 7. It is however then a mix between Windows 7 and Windows 10.

 

Main advantage with Windows 10 vs Windows 7 are:

A. Windows boots faster if it is Windows 10.

B. I guess modern games optimize drivers etc for Windows 10.

 

I am not in love with Windows 10 and there is a bit learning curve but still way better then Windows Vista and Windows 8 that I have avoided.

 

Interesting I paid 840 euro for my laptop with it included a external DVD drive... that I simple wanted.

 

Oh don't you dare call me poor.... I am landlord. However I truly hate my job and dream of possible early retirement and live very frugally I don't own a car and bought a budget gaming laptop. You know I have had driving license since 18 years age but I have never bought a car... I do love Fast and Furious movies and I do respect car owners. My brothers and his wife that has 3 children have 2 cars but car becomes much more necessary immediately if you have children.

 

This is my performance/price gaming laptop:
Acer Aspire VX5-591G 15.6" GAMING LAPTOP (black)
15.6 inch screen easy to carry into airplane even if you move to another country.
CPU: Intel Core i5-7300HQ
This particular CPU is Kaby Lake generation and  is 4 cores and 3,5GHz in TURBO MODE.

Graphic card: Nvidia GTX 1050Ti, 4 GB DDR5
Memory: 8 GB DDR4 RAM
1 TB HDD
What no SSD? Does not affect gaming, but Windows boots/starts slower.

Operating system: Windows 10. I do have separately a 24 inch gaming monitor with 1 ms response time and Flicker-free , TUV Low Blue Light technology. This external 24 inch monitor I bought it like a year before the laptop and its price is not included in the above mentioned price.  I dont remember what i payed for monitor but price is roughly 1100 euro if you include that 24 inch gaming monitor with top technology TUV Low Blue Light technology.

Edited March 9, 2018 by Terminator

[mkreku]

I'm on almost the same system as the topic starter and I would really not recommend getting any RAM for it. Just wait it out and purchase a new mobo and CPU/RAM combo when the prices normalize. I did the RAM upgrade myself (from something like DDR3-1600 to DDR3-2133) and from 6GB to 12GB, but it did practically **** all to my performance.

 

I'm on a Core i7-970 and R9 290X system instead of Core i7-920 and 980Ti, but they're essentially the same.

[LadyCrimson]

I'm on almost the same system as the topic starter and I would really not recommend getting any RAM for it. Just wait it out and purchase a new mobo and CPU/RAM combo when the prices normalize. I did the RAM upgrade myself (from something like DDR3-1600 to DDR3-2133) and from 6GB to 12GB, but it did practically **** all to my performance.

Essentially true, but more RAM does help me actually run the game, in a way. >.>

It was sucking up 8 system RAM just to run it (it's gone as high as 9). Then top it off with the 2GB that just running Wndows uses and I'd get close enough to the 12RAM that I had, that if I tried browsing the net or looking at screenshots with the game still open, it would sometimes crash w/out of memory errors. Ha. Ha.

 

So having 24RAM was a must for me, for this one game. (16 would've worked probably tho)

I think some run it with less than 12RAM (and no hi-res texture pack) and the game limits itself then somewhat but yeah...I wouldn't want to go there.

Edited April 8, 2018 by LadyCrimson

[Mygaffer]

I read an article the other day, written by a staunch DIY advocate... who has finally given up, and says it's cheaper to buy a pre-made system.

It's the crypto-currency miners, buying up all the RAM & graphic's cards.

 

The guy couldn't build it close—and even compromised with lesser parts—for better than the retail price... Sometimes costing hundreds more than the off-the-shelf system.

Who cares if it's cheaper? And honestly it hasn't been cheaper for years.

 

It's about building the system you want with the components that best meet your needs. I'll never stop building my own.

[Gizmo]

Who cares if it's cheaper? And honestly it hasn't been cheaper for years.

 

It's about building the system you want with the components that best meet your needs. I'll never stop building my own.

People working on a budget, and people whose needs are met by the off the shelf system; IE. those who would like to avoid paying more for the equivalent machine—which additionally...

comes with a warranty.  

Edited September 23, 2018 by Gizmo