upgrade a 5yr. old system?

[horus772]

Hi,

 

I have an fairly old system (5 years) and I would like to upgrade whatever makes sense to upgrade. It worked ok so far (email and such). I started streaming with it on my 40in 1024x720 tv(Toshiba, HDMI ports), and I was wondering if the (fairly rare) hiccup comes from hitting the limits of the system.

 

Any suggestion will be appreciated. (My budget is around 500CAD)

 

Thanks!

 

processor:           Intel Core i3 4330 (dual core 3.5 Ghz)

motherboard:       Asus H81M-E 1150

RAM:                   2x4GB 1.33Ghz

V/C :                    Radeon R7 240 DDR3 2Gb, 700Mhz clock

case:                    Antec VSK-3000E

[Jurrunio]

I guess it's the graphics card, but do check the CPU, RAM and GPU usage in Task Manager first. Whichever tops out first is the one to go

[Razor Blade]

What OS are you using and what sort of software do you use?

 

Finding the bottleneck is sometimes tricky. If you use a Windows OS you could use task manager to try to figure out what is being maxed out during your hiccup. You didn't list what sort of storage you are using. Are you using any sort of SSD? That could be a potential worthwhile upgrade to consider due to the much more affordable SSD offerings out there.

[corrado33]

I don't think that board can overclock, so your best bet would be a non-k version of the 4790 for ~ 130 USD or a 4771 for 120 USD

 

EDIT: Or the I7-4770 for ~110 USD. (All ebay prices) As for performance, they're all very very close so just pick whichever you like. 

 

That should leave plenty of room for a new GPU.

[horus772]

Yes, an SDD would be useful - storage is 1TB HDD 3.5". I am using linux, and I change it every now and then - Debian atm., i will look if they have any tools. I want to upgrade anyway though seeing that the system is old. I just dont want to do something extra stupid :).

[corrado33]

20 minutes ago, horus772 said:

Yes, an SDD would be useful - storage is 1TB HDD 3.5". I am using linux, and I change it every now and then - Debian atm., i will look if they have any tools. I want to upgrade anyway though seeing that the system is old. I just dont want to do something extra stupid :).

Oh yeah. If it were me, I'd buy a 4770 for ~150 CAD, 128 GB SSD for $40 CAD (NEW). Then a used 1060 6gb (not the 3gb one, it sucks) for less than $300 CAD

EDIT: Seems canadian ebay sucks. May have to find a 980 for $200 or so. 

 

It'll feel like a completely different computer. The CPU is a hyperthreaded quad core, and the 980 and/or 1060 can play almost any modern game at 1080p at ultra settings. 

[horus772]

Thanks Corrado, sounds like a plan. I will see waht I can get, and if I finish the upgrade I will post back!

[corrado33]

20 minutes ago, horus772 said:

Thanks Corrado, sounds like a plan. I will see waht I can get, and if I finish the upgrade I will post back!

You may have to look for a decently priced CPU for a couple of weeks. Tons of them on ebay are super overpriced. Check the completed listings for prices you should be paying. Even if you have to pay $200 for the CPU, that still leaves you 40 for the SSD (NEW) and 260 for the GPU. Both 980s and 1060s can be found on ebay.ca for less than 260.

 

I recently bought a 980 for $200 on kijiji, so check there as well. 

 

EDIT: Or just bid on every 4771, 4770, and 4790 for like $180 and hope to get lucky. Sometimes the chips go for super cheap if the listing ends in the middle of the night or something. 

 

For the record, I recently purchased THESE SSDs.

 

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B073W3Q96S/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

They're only 120 GB, but that's plenty for windows 10 and 1-2 large games that loads slowly, the rest of the games can be installed on your HDD. Also make sure to move the page file from the SSD to the HDD so it doesn't take up a lot of room. And disable hybernation.

[horus772]

Thanks again, these are great tips. Shopping from Canada does have its drawbacks

 

I was wondering about the power requirements. Over the current configuration, the CPU and graphics card seem to require around 70W each, so I should expect about 140W more power draw. the current source is 350W, and even if it was oversized, it makes me wonder. The ventilation could become a problem too, as the case is a mini-tower. I do have a larger - and older - one, (Cooler Master RC-330-KKN1), I should probably put the whole thing in there and figure out some extra fan placement.

 

Anyway, will post back when I actually make a mess ..