To build or to upgrade?

[Xilor]

Hello guys,

Over the past few weeks my 1 and a half year old Gateway PC has been slowing down a lot, and I'm beginning to experience frequent freezeups and crashes, even when doing basic tasks like browsing the Internet. I've ran virus scans, defragmented the hard drive, and removed all unnecessary programs and files but its made no difference, so I've arrived to the conclusion that the problem lies in the aging hardware.

Here are the basic specs of the PC:

CPU: Intel Core i5-2320 CPU @ 3.00GHz
Motherboard: Gateway dx4860, LGA 1155 socket
RAM: 6.2GB currently available
Video Card: Nvidia GeForce GT 520
PSU: 300W
1.0 TB of free disc space, Windows 7 OS

After asking around in a different thread, I've been told that both the Motherboard and the Graphics Card will need to be replaced to give this computer a second life. However just these two items will already set me back by $200 or more, and it won't get me around the limitations imposed by the lack of RAM and the weak PSU.

So my other option is to build my own PC, which is something that I've always wanted to do. And since I'm demanding more and more out of my current computer, asking it to run a DAW and graphically demanding games like Assetto Corsa, I'm wondering how long it will last even if I do update it. If I were to build a PC my budget would be about $800 at most.

So given this situation, would it be better to build a new PC, or upgrade the Motherboard and Graphics Card on my current one?

Thanks

 

[sesselpupser]

Well, if you have $800 (Canadian, right?), I guess building a new PC isn't unrealistic but being in the UK as I am makes it hard to specify which parts you should be looking at. If you wanted to keep your CPU - which isn't bad but is getting on a bit, mine is of the same generation and I'm not in a rush to upgrade but it will probably be the next thing I upgrade - you'd be buying an LGA 1155 motherboard meaning when you want to finally get a new CPU you'd need a new motherboard anyway as LGA 1150 has replaced 1155. So I suppose in this case a simple motherboard and GPU upgrade is a little short-sighted, even though I'm contradicting what I said before but that was before I knew your budget!

 

[BobK]

Hello guys,

Over the past few weeks my 1 and a half year old Gateway PC has been slowing down a lot, and I'm beginning to experience frequent freezeups and crashes, even when doing basic tasks like browsing the Internet. I've ran virus scans, defragmented the hard drive, and removed all unnecessary programs and files but its made no difference, so I've arrived to the conclusion that the problem lies in the aging hardware.

I'd say it's unlikely that the problem is ageing hardware; year and a half isn't really all that old. My Windows box is close to a year older than yours and doesn't give me any lockup/freeze problems, and the machine I'm typing this on right now is an eight year old Dell (not running windoze though).

One potential problem with your machine other than virus/malware infestation is a PSU that's not quite up to snuff.

 

[acascianelli]

Have you tried re-installing the OS and seeing if the problems persist?

I'm running Assetto Corsa on much older hardware without any problems. But admittedly, my video cards is better than yours...

2x Xeon 5160's (2x dual core 3.0ghz)
8gb DDR2-5300
Radeon HD 6950 2gb.

I was able to run Assetto Corsa at pretty high settings at 1680p on the same system running a Radeon HD 5850. I haven't tried it yet now that I've upgraded to the 6950. I'd be willing to bet you would see a pretty good improvement in gaming performance by just upgrading your video card, you'll probably need a more powerful power supply too though. But I'm not sure that would be worth it.

 

[20832]

Well, it could simply be just your hard drive, that is slowly dying.

To be honest, upgrading wouldn't be an option. The 1155 socket still is a good platform, but most of your hardware just isn't all that great to begin with, so I guess that building a whole new PC would be a good option.

That would be a good PC for the price: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/HxhvD3

 

[Buck-O]

Hello guys,

Over the past few weeks my 1 and a half year old Gateway PC has been slowing down a lot, and I'm beginning to experience frequent freezeups and crashes, even when doing basic tasks like browsing the Internet. I've ran virus scans, defragmented the hard drive, and removed all unnecessary programs and files but its made no difference, so I've arrived to the conclusion that the problem lies in the aging hardware.

Here are the basic specs of the PC:

CPU: Intel Core i5-2320 CPU @ 3.00GHz
Motherboard: Gateway dx4860, LGA 1155 socket
RAM: 6.2GB currently available
Video Card: Nvidia GeForce GT 520
PSU: 300W
1.0 TB of free disc space, Windows 7 OS

After asking around in a different thread, I've been told that both the Motherboard and the Graphics Card will need to be replaced to give this computer a second life. However just these two items will already set me back by $200 or more, and it won't get me around the limitations imposed by the lack of RAM and the weak PSU.

So my other option is to build my own PC, which is something that I've always wanted to do. And since I'm demanding more and more out of my current computer, asking it to run a DAW and graphically demanding games like Assetto Corsa, I'm wondering how long it will last even if I do update it. If I were to build a PC my budget would be about $800 at most.

So given this situation, would it be better to build a new PC, or upgrade the Motherboard and Graphics Card on my current one?

Thanks

Here is my IT professional opinion on the matter.

First, the slow downs your experiencing shouldnt be happening. Most all of those Gateway, Dell, Acer, HP, whoever OEM installation OS's are full of bloatware, and needless crap utilities. I would HIGHLY recommend that you consider doing a fresh installation of Windows (7 or 8, whichever the product key on the tower came with). I would likely imagine that a fresh clean install without all of the bloatware, and garbage Gateway applications will make it run a whole hell of a lot faster.

Secondly, i notice that your RAM is reporting a very odd number. Are you plugging your monitor into the graphics card, or into the onboard video out on the motherboards I/O sheild plate? Installing a video card SHOULD disable the onboard video. The fact that your RAM is reading a funky number like that (It should be even numbers like 8, 12, 16, not 6.2) tells me that part of your RAM is being allocated for something other than system memory.

And finally, upgrades. Your CPU really isnt THAT bad. It is certainly capable of driving most modern games. The step up to an i5-2500 wouldnt give you that much extra speed. Going up to an i7-2700 would give you some noticeable gains, but you would be hard pressed to actually find one at retail. Likely it would have to be something used, or scrapped from another OEM system that was being parted out on CraigsList or something.
Your real bottleneck right now is the video card. That 520 wont do much in the way of driving a modern game. It is really the lowest common denominator of 500 series nVidia cards. Upgrading the video card would give you a substantial boost in performance. But that runs us into another problem...
Your PSU. Most OEM PSU's are absolute crap! The fact that this one is only rated at a measly 300 watt makes it even worse. In all likelihood, if tested to the same standard as a 80Plus Gold PSU, it would probably end up being more like 165-180 watt. That means that putting in any video card that requires and external power source is going to be a big no go.

The best you could do upgrade wise, is to get yourself an nVidia GeForce 750ti. It is a gaming specific card, unlike the 520, and is running off of their latest die revision, and has a low enough power requirement that it doesnt need to have an external 6pin PCIe connector. It runs completely off of the power in the PCIe x16 slot. Its about $150-180 on newegg.ca, from a number of manufactures, with a host of special features, fans, overclocks, etc.

Unfortunately, that is really the only upgrading your current system can reasonably handle. To upgrade any firther would require at a minimum a new PSU, and if you got a bigger video card, then your bottleneck would be the CPU, and if you tried to get a new CPU, you might as well just build a new system.

So in summery, reinstall your OS from scratch. Disable your onboard video in the BIOS, and buy a 750 ti video card.
Aside from that, you will need to buy a new system. Sorry that likely isnt the answer you wanted to hear, but that is the reality of the situation.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

 

[TB]

If I were to build a PC my budget would be about $800 at most.

I'm assuming you're going to pull the drive(s) our of your current machine so how does $797.63 sound?

 

[Danoff]

I agree with @Buck-O

You need a fresh OS install. Honestly based on your complaints about the computer, I think that's about all you need really. Since you have a video card, you should make sure you're using it.

 

[Buck-O]

I agree with @Buck-O

You need a fresh OS install. Honestly based on your complaints about the computer, I think that's about all you need really. Since you have a video card, you should make sure you're using it.

Honestly, that 520 is barely better than the Ivy Bridge on board graphics. Its really bad. Just a simple multimedia card that OEMs market as an add in extra to boost the selling price. It's crap.

 

[Ettick]

Upgrade to a 400 or 500 watt PSU and get a better GPU. The wattage of the PSU depends on what GPU you buy. Do not buy a PSU bigger than like 500w unless you are going to have 2 graphics cards, PC's use up much less power than most sites tell you.

Make sure you get a well rated PSU from a good manufacturer. It has to have at least a bronze rating. I recommend Corsair.

My tech info is all a few years old from when I built my PC, so I can't recommend specific parts and things may have changed, so do some research on your own about that stuff.

 

[Xilor]

I've decided to go ahead with the plan to build a PC. I frankly don't know much about the whole process so if anyone can link me to a site that goes through all the basics that would be greatly appreciated.

My budget like I've said before is around $800, I don't need the most powerful machine in the world, something that will be able to run games like Assetto Corsa and Skyrim on High settings is what I'm aiming for. For starters I'm thinking of going with an AMD processor since these seem like better bang for the buck the Intel ones, this AMD FX-6300 looks quite good from the limited knowledge I have of these things.

 

[TenEightyOne]

Always difficult to guide someone because of all the build variables, but have a look at this lifehacker article. Has printable PDFs if you find the help in there any good

 

[20832]

I've decided to go ahead with the plan to build a PC. I frankly don't know much about the whole process so if anyone can link me to a site that goes through all the basics that would be greatly appreciated.

My budget like I've said before is around $800, I don't need the most powerful machine in the world, something that will be able to run games like Assetto Corsa and Skyrim on High settings is what I'm aiming for. For starters I'm thinking of going with an AMD processor since these seem like better bang for the buck the Intel ones, this AMD FX-6300 looks quite good from the limited knowledge I have of these things.

Seems like you've overlooked the link I've provided?

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/HxhvD3

 

[Xilor]

Seems like you've overlooked the link I've provided?

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/HxhvD3

I might have, my bad.

It looks good, though like I've said I got a lot of research to do to start getting an idea which parts are good and which are bad, and which ones are the best for the build that I want to achieve. I only really know the basics of computing right now.

 

[TenEightyOne]

Choose, in order;

Operating system, processor and graphics card, then the motherboard from that. I added OS there because if you're going to run Linux (probably fastest) then you need to make sure that drivers won't be an issue. I suspect though that you're going to use Windows

From there you go into choosing the HDD (or SSD).

Now you have an idea of the power supply and case requirements. Don't be afraid to look in second-hand shops for a case, unless you want AlienWare trick-case then you can save a LOT of money here. The same goes for the PSU but if you're less confident then this time around buy new.

 

[BHRxRacer]

What everyone said really.

Run a memory diagnostic tool. Windows' or memtest86. Then, try installing a clean OS and see if they happen. Crashing as in everything getting turned off, probably means PSU or motherboard more than anything.