Upgrading a old alienware pc

[Nickinum]

My co-worker wanted me to upgrade his pc a alienware area 51 7500 

Cpu_ Intel core 2 duo E8200

Motherboard phoenix technology ltd 6.00 PG

Memory 2G ddr2 

GPU gtx 1060 3gb ddr5 

Hard drive 500 gb

[SenKa]

Okay, so what is the question? That is a standard ATX case, standard ATX components will fit. 

[Guest]

15 minutes ago, Nickinum said:

Cpu_ Intel core 2 duo E8200

can likely use a 45nm core2quad. The Q9550 would be a good upgrade without spending alot.

But a 8600 dual core is dirt cheap and gives you an extra 660mhz.

 

Quote

Motherboard phoenix technology ltd 6.00 PG 

That is the bios, not the motherboard

Quote

Memory 2G ddr2 

4gb or 8gb of 1066mhz if the board can take it.

Quote

GPU gtx 1060 3gb ddr5 

Keep it.

Quote

Hard drive 500 gb

Get an ssd?

[Nickinum]

Just now, SenpaiKaplan said:

Okay, so what is the question? That is a standard ATX case, standard ATX components will fit. 

Well his question was whats the best cpu and how much memory can he put in the computer.

[3 Lions]

1 minute ago, Nickinum said:

Well his question was whats the best cpu and how much memory can he put in the computer.

It's not worth upgrading the CPU in this PC, the platform is simply too old. 

[SenKa]

Just now, Nickinum said:

Well his question was whats the best cpu and how much memory can he put in the computer.

Ahhhh.... Best CPU will be the Core 2 Quad Q9650. Max amount of RAM will be 2GB sticks in every slot, which is 8GB if you have 4 slots. GPU is fine, but could use an upgrade. With that aging CPU, anything better than a GTX 1060 6GB will bottleneck. SSD is also advised.

[SenKa]

2 minutes ago, LinusTechTipsFanFromDarlo said:

It's not worth upgrading the CPU in this PC, the platform is simply too old. 

He will see much better performance with a C2Q. I used a C2Q PC to game very recently (with a GTX 670), very playable at 1080P Low at ~ 40FPS in all the games I play.

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, LinusTechTipsFanFromDarlo said:

It's not worth upgrading the CPU in this PC, the platform is simply too old. 

A better cpu could be less then 10$

[3 Lions]

Just now, SenpaiKaplan said:

He will see much better performance with a C2Q. I used a C2Q PC to game very recently (with a GTX 670), very playable at 1080P Low at ~ 40FPS in all the games I play.

I not denying the fact that there would be a performance boost with a C2Q, my problem is that the platform is 11 years old. Spending money on an 11 year old platform is just not worth it these days. 

[3 Lions]

3 minutes ago, Mr. horse said:

A better cpu could be less then 10$

Not worth it I'm afraid. 

[Guest]

1 minute ago, SenpaiKaplan said:

He will see much better performance with a C2Q. I used a C2Q PC to game very recently (with a GTX 670), very playable at 1080P Low at ~ 40FPS in all the games I play.

Very true. I had an maxed out x48 system up until not long ago and it was not all to bad at 1200p.

Not saying OP should go all out and max the system out. But a SSD, a little more ram and a faster dual core or lower end quad would not cost much. less then 50$ likely. 

But if the board supports the 771 xeon mod he could get a much better CPU for even less.

[SenKa]

1 minute ago, LinusTechTipsFanFromDarlo said:

I not denying the fact that there would be a performance boost with a C2Q, my problem is that the platform is 11 years old. Spending money on an 11 year old platform is just not worth it these days. 

Well, the value to you is not the value to OP's friend. To him it could be worth it for nostalgic or financial reasons.

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, LinusTechTipsFanFromDarlo said:

Not worth it I'm afraid. 

if you say so. he could get an extra 660mhz for 5$ wit the e8600. That would be a rather nice boost for the lose change in your cars cup holder.

 

[3 Lions]

This is what I suggest...

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD - Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor	$83.99 @ Newegg
Motherboard	Gigabyte - B450M DS3H Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$71.88 @ OutletPC
Memory	Patriot - Viper Elite 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2666 Memory	$39.99 @ Newegg
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$210.86
	Mail-in rebates	-$15.00
	Total	$195.86
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-06-11 12:29 EDT-0400

 

[Guest]

6 minutes ago, LinusTechTipsFanFromDarlo said:

This is what I suggest...

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD - Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor	$83.99 @ Newegg
Motherboard	Gigabyte - B450M DS3H Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$71.88 @ OutletPC
Memory	Patriot - Viper Elite 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2666 Memory	$39.99 @ Newegg
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$210.86
	Mail-in rebates	-$15.00
	Total	$195.86
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-06-11 12:29 EDT-0400

 

That alienware likely does not have a run of the mill PSU. If he were to plug it into a new board it might fry it.

Also he might lose the ability to use the alienware lights by changing the board. Adn that alienware very well could have came with liquid cooling meaning that he would need to get a new block or go to air.

 

OP what is your budget? Do you want to make this system faster or replace it outright ?

 

[Nickinum]

1 minute ago, LinusTechTipsFanFromDarlo said:

This is what I suggest...

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD - Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor	$83.99 @ Newegg
Motherboard	Gigabyte - B450M DS3H Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$71.88 @ OutletPC
Memory	Patriot - Viper Elite 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2666 Memory	$39.99 @ Newegg
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$210.86
	Mail-in rebates	-$15.00
	Total	$195.86
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-06-11 12:29 EDT-0400

 

I would too but hes giving this to his wife so she can do her work.

[3 Lions]

Just now, Nickinum said:

I would too but hes giving this to his wife so she can do her work.

So what kind of budget are we looking at? 

[Nickinum]

4 minutes ago, Mr. horse said:

That alienware likely does not have a run of the mill PSU. If he were to plug it into a new board it might fry it.

Also he might lose the ability to use the alienware lights by changing the board.

 

OP what is your budget?

He said 100$

[Nickinum]

3 minutes ago, LinusTechTipsFanFromDarlo said:

So what kind of budget are we looking at? 

100$

[3 Lions]

3 minutes ago, Mr. horse said:

That alienware likely does not have a run of the mill PSU. If he were to plug it into a new board it might fry it.

Also he might lose the ability to use the alienware lights by changing the board.

Yeah that's something I'm not sure about, the motherboard can be replaced because it has an IO shield that can be taken out. It's Alienware though, so you just don't know. 

[Guest]

11 minutes ago, Nickinum said:

I would too but hes giving this to his wife so she can do her work.

With a 100$ budget I would have him sell, add what is sells for to the 100$ and get something newer if that is what his plan is.

 

But however with a 100$ budget you could get a c2q like the q9550, a ssd and extra 2gb of ram or even 8gb. And you would still have money left over. Just be sure to clone the OS over to the SSD if you don't have the alienware drivers and recovery disks. The ssd alone would be a nice boost.

[3 Lions]

14 minutes ago, Nickinum said:

100$

Something like this would be an excellent upgrade...

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-OptiPlex-790-MT-Core-i5-2400-3-1-GHz-8-GB-1-TB/183679979153?hash=item2ac42e0e91%3Ag%3AKpQAAOSw8yxcYO1W&LH_BIN=1

 

Obviously if your co-worker wanted to reuse the 1060, I'd advise changing the PSU. 

Edited June 11, 2019 by LinusTechTipsFanFromDarlo

[Nickinum]

Just now, LinusTechTipsFanFromDarlo said:

Something like this would be an excellent upgrade...

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-OptiPlex-790-MT-Core-i5-2400-3-1-GHz-8-GB-1-TB/183679979153?hash=item2ac42e0e91%3Ag%3AKpQAAOSw8yxcYO1W&LH_BIN=1

 

Obviously if you wanted to reuse the 1060, I'd advise you replace the PSU. 

The psu is a 750 80 plus

[Nickinum]

I just got in contact with him, I gave him the information you all provided for me and he just wants me to upgrade the pc.

[Guest]

8 minutes ago, Nickinum said:

The psu is a 750 80 plus

The alienware? I would not pull that PSU and put it into a system like the one linked.