Can I use this old hardware?

[amidoingthisright94]

I have an old build that was barely used that is about 10 years old, and I'm trying to figure out if I should get it working and find a use for it or just recycle and start new.

CPU: i7-4820k

MB: ASUS Rampage IV Black Edition recently updated to latest

GPU: XFX DD Radeon R9 270X 2GB

Cooler: Antec KUHLER H2O 1250

PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX750G Gold 80+

OS: 8.1 64bit (most likely)

Current Issues:

BIOS boots no issue, but there are 2 large blue vertical bars in screen. This may be a GPU drivers issue?

OS wont fully load to login after exiting BIOS. Displays windows icon, then login background, then will go black.

 

Please let me know what you think. I am still a beginner learning here.

[Chapunna]

Hello, first take off gpu and boot with integrated graphics and see if 2 large vertical bar still happens, reinstall windows 10 not 11 for maximum performance. My advice is to sell that pc and get new. Its 2024 not need to use 10 year old pc.

[RONOTHAN##]

10 minutes ago, amidoingthisright94 said:

BIOS boots no issue, but there are 2 large blue vertical bars in screen. This may be a GPU drivers issue?

OS wont fully load to login after exiting BIOS. Displays windows icon, then login background, then will go black.

More likely just a straight GPU issue, either the VBIOS got corrupted or a memory chip decided to die. If it's a VBIOS issue, you might as well try to fix it, but it's not worth fixing a broken memory chip on a card that old. 

 

Unless you need the system, this isn't worth fixing. I also wouldn't recycle it, since at least that motherboard is worth it to the right collector. 

 

1 minute ago, Chapunna said:

Hello, first take off gpu and boot with integrated graphics and see if 2 large vertical bar still happens, reinstall windows 10 not 11 for maximum performance.

The i7 4820k does not have integrated graphics. 

[manikyath]

vertical bars are almost always a monitor issue, not a GPU issue.

 

past that.. it's old but still acceptable, as long as you dont start to expect stuff from it like running new games at max settings you'll be fine.

 

i'd start out with sticking windows 10 or 11 on it, and seeing if that's stabile.

1 minute ago, Chapunna said:

reinstall windows 10 not 11 for maximum performance.

while i support the notion of going for 10 instead of 11, performance is not a reason. win11 is identical to, if not better than 10 on that part.

 

sidenote, my "old home server" is still an i7 4770.. i have an epyc system sitting mostly idle because i just cant be bothered to migrate away from old reliable.

[Zando_]

6 minutes ago, manikyath said:

past that.. it's old but still acceptable, as long as you dont start to expect stuff from it like running new games at max settings you'll be fine.

Yep, the 270X is the main thing holding it back. I ran my 4930K (6c version of the 4820K) at 4.7GHz with my 1660 Ti without issue. Especially if you're like me and play at 60Hz, these old CPUs can remain usable for quite a while. At stock clocks you may have some issues with more demanding games, but these Ivy Bridge chips pretty much all do 4.5GHz or higher and are easy to cool (I ran mine on a 280mm AIO and I don't recall it ever breaking into the 80s so there was still thermal headroom left). If you're on a super tight budget then OC the CPU and try to snag a newer GPU. Otherwise as @RONOTHAN## said, you can probably get a good price for that board if you're willing to wait a bit (they don't sell super quickly as only folks like me who like this old stuff buy 'em). I got my EVGA X79 Dark, 4930K, and 16GB Vengeance RAM for $300 shipped back in 2019. ASUS Rampage boards went for a bit more at the time. I don't know if their value has dropped much... from a quick look on ebay they go for anywhere from $83 - $270 for the board alone, most look to be around $120-170. 

[amidoingthisright94]

4 hours ago, manikyath said:

vertical bars are almost always a monitor issue, not a GPU issue.

 

i'd start out with sticking windows 10 or 11 on it, and seeing if that's stabile.

while i support the notion of going for 10 instead of 11, performance is not a reason. win11 is identical to, if not better than 10 on that part.

This couldn't be a monitor issue since it works without issue when extending my laptop screen. So I was hoping updating drivers might clear this issue up, I mostly want to rule out this being a MB issue.

I was thinking of reinstalling 8.1pro onto a new hard drive since I didnt see me cpu on Intel's supported processors list for Windows 11 version 22H2 & 23H2 or Windows 10 22H2.