Help me upgrade this media server (please)

[vapcdoc]

So I have this old PC I've been using as a Plex Media Server on my home network (and remotely when on the go) for about a year. It seems to work fine but the computer is super slow, obviously due to it's age and crappy specs even for the time it was originally released. 

 

Basically I want to keep this project alive, Mostly for lack of funds to build a new system just for a media server, and it still works so why stop using it? 

 

All that aside, Its super slow just while using it overall. Surprisingly there are little to no issues streaming HD content over the home network, SOMETIMES we have buffering issues but it seems to mostly perform O.K, Keep in mind this is the only pc I've ever used for Plex so maybe it's a really crappy experience and I don't even know what I'm missing! 

 

Anyway I'm rambling on especially for my first post on LTT forums.. At the end of this thread is a pic of my pc and also a close up of the power supply specs just for everyone's reference so you can see what's available on the board and what power limits we're working with. 

 

I'm just trying to see what would be the coolest/cheapest/most creative upgrade options for this pc. Also I'm open to new cases or whatever lol. 

 

(Also I see that the computer is more dusty than it should be, I clean it out every month or so but I'm cleaning it again!)

               

 

 

        :Specs:

 

AMD Athlon II X2 220 65 watt socket AM3 CPU

3GB DDR2 PC2-6400 400mhz 

320gb random 5400rpm 2.5inch sata drive 

2x External USB 3.0  Toshiba 1TB 7200rpm drives (System only supports USB 2.0) 

 

 

 

 

 

Below is the System Information Summary from Windows for your reference if it helps at all. 

 

[System Summary]

Item    Value    
OS Name    Microsoft Windows 10 Pro    
Version    10.0.10586 Build 10586    
Other OS Description     Not Available    
OS Manufacturer    Microsoft Corporation    
System Name    DESKTOP-8L7K5I6    
System Manufacturer    Acer    
System Model    Aspire X1300    
System Type    x64-based PC    
System SKU        
Processor    AMD Athlon(tm) II X2 220 Processor, 2800 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 2 Logical Processor(s)    
BIOS Version/Date    Phoenix Technologies, LTD R01-B4, 7/17/2009    
SMBIOS Version    2.5    
Embedded Controller Version    255.255    
BIOS Mode    Legacy    
Platform Role    Desktop    
Secure Boot State    Unsupported    
PCR7 Configuration    Binding Not Possible    
Windows Directory    C:\WINDOWS    
System Directory    C:\WINDOWS\system32    
Boot Device    \Device\HarddiskVolume1    
Locale    United States    
Hardware Abstraction Layer    Version = "10.0.10586.0"    
User Name    DESKTOP-8L7K5I6\vapcd    
Time Zone    Eastern Daylight Time    
Installed Physical Memory (RAM)    3.00 GB    
Total Physical Memory    2.75 GB    
Available Physical Memory    1.02 GB    
Total Virtual Memory    5.00 GB    
Available Virtual Memory    2.69 GB    
Page File Space    2.25 GB    
Page File    C:\pagefile.sys    
Hyper-V - VM Monitor Mode Extensions    Yes    
Hyper-V - Second Level Address Translation Extensions    Yes    
Hyper-V - Virtualization Enabled in Firmware    Yes    
Hyper-V - Data Execution Protection    Yes    
 

 

 

 

[Streetguru]

3 minutes ago, vapcdoc said:

 

What budget for the new system/upgrades?

[Talamakara]

Are you showing us an 80w psu?

[vapcdoc]

2 minutes ago, Streetguru said:

What budget for the new system/upgrades?

Hey thanks for replying! Honestly no idea, I am not looking to pour a fortune into it obviously but I am open to ideas of all budgets! It's most likely something that's going to be done a part at a time every week or 2 lol. 

[Streetguru]

Just now, vapcdoc said:

Hey thanks for replying! Honestly no idea, I am not looking to pour a fortune into it obviously but I am open to ideas of all budgets! It's most likely something that's going to be done a part at a time every week or 2 lol. 

Could always go for an 8320E build on the cheap then

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/dr3KwP
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/dr3KwP/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD FX-8320E 3.2GHz 8-Core Processor  ($126.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock 970M PRO3 Micro ATX AM3+/AM3 Motherboard  ($56.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($28.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 5450 1GB Video Card  ($27.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($43.56 @ Mac Mall)
Total: $284.52
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-24 23:50 EDT-0400

[vapcdoc]

1 minute ago, Talamakara said:

Are you showing us an 80w psu?

I may be dumb but I think this is 80W max for the CPU and 220 max for overall 

[vapcdoc]

2 minutes ago, Streetguru said:

Could always go for an 8320E build on the cheap then

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/dr3KwP
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/dr3KwP/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD FX-8320E 3.2GHz 8-Core Processor  ($126.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock 970M PRO3 Micro ATX AM3+/AM3 Motherboard  ($56.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($28.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 5450 1GB Video Card  ($27.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($43.56 @ Mac Mall)
Total: $284.52
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-24 23:50 EDT-0400

While that seems like a really economical build, I'm mostly looking to keep this pc and just upgrade a few components to speed it up a tad with this super old hardware! lol. I was mostly looking into cheap ebayish options for part upgrades that would be the best performance/price for what this system can support with it's motherboard/power supply. This is mostly just for fun and occasional streaming. I do plan on building a new pc eventually specifically for gaming on the cheap, But for now my current computers serve me well and this computer in particular is a side project! 

[Streetguru]

Just now, vapcdoc said:

 

There's really not going to be much you can upgrade, you're going to be better off with the new build, and probably a more efficient PSU like a gold rated one

[79wjd]

I would recommend not upgrading as there isn't really much you can do at this point that would be worthwhile. How many users will be streaming at any one time (keeping the future in mind)? And if you say the performance is good, then why upgrade -- what do you mean the computer is slow? (you said you don't really know what "good" means, but it's good if it's smooth playback and streaming at the native resolution and not downscaling it)

 

 

Here would be an extremely budget option that would still be able to handle two transcoded 1080p streams:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Celeron G1840 2.8GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($47.15 @ NCIX US) 
Motherboard: MSI H81M-E34 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($40.99 @ NCIX US) 
Memory: Avexir Core Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($25.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($29.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: XFX XT 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($36.98 @ Newegg) 
Total: $181.10
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-25 00:06 EDT-0400

[Talamakara]

6 minutes ago, vapcdoc said:

I may be dumb but I think this is 80W max for the CPU and 220 max for overall 

To be honest dude, There is almost nothing you can do with this. Even if you find the parts on ebay you have no clue how long or well they will work.

I was thinking a graphics card if you could get a good one that fits and see if you could use the GPU for the plex software instead of your CPU but that will also depend on how well your system board can handle a modern GPU, as well as you would have to replace the psu, there is nothing you can buy right now that won't literally suck the life out of your psu.

It's a very old machine dude and i can respect you wanting to use it for as long as you can but... 

[vapcdoc]

1 minute ago, djdwosk97 said:

I would recommend not upgrading as there isn't really much you can do at this point that would be worthwhile. How many users will be streaming at any one time (keeping the future in mind)? And if you say the performance is good, then why upgrade -- what do you mean the computer is slow? (you said you don't really know what "good" means, but it's good if it's smooth playback and streaming at the native resolution and not downscaling it)

 

 

Well I mostly mean it's slow performing basic tasks when actually using the computer (which is rare) Basically I use synergy software to share mouse and keyboard to this computer, and only ever directly use it when I need to open up a browser to download new content or use file explorer to organize content. 

 

What is "slow" is just the usual launching of programs and whatnot. 

[79wjd]

2 minutes ago, vapcdoc said:

 

 

Well I mostly mean it's slow performing basic tasks when actually using the computer (which is rare) Basically I use synergy software to share mouse and keyboard to this computer, and only ever directly use it when I need to open up a browser to download new content or use file explorer to organize content. 

 

What is "slow" is just the usual launching of programs and whatnot. 

It shouldn't matter if it's slow if you're only rarely accessing the system to download more content. 

[Guest]

17 minutes ago, vapcdoc said:

Build a new one. It will save you alot of hassle and maybe last you 5-7 years.

if your budget is under 400

ok.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/JyPz23

ADD HDD.