Computer upgrade help

[badwake]

I have a Dell Studio XPS 9000 from 2009 and I want to upgrade it and give it new life again but I'm no computer expert and any advice would be welcomed. I want to use it for my daily driver. I'll play games on it (my next Steam purchase will be Divinity Original Sin 2), watch videos, download stuff, waste hours on youtube/reddit, and etc... I've already spent $150 on a SSD I was hoping on maybe staying near $500 but I can always wait to save up a bit more if it's not enough but I don't have the budget to go crazy. 

 

Current Specs:

• Mother Board: N1996 RI0707
• Intel i7-920 (8MB L3 Cache 2.66GHz)
• 4x2GB DDR3
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 260
• 1 TB and 2TB HHD

I have ordered a 500GB Samsung 850 EVO and plan to install Windows 7 on there which should sped up the load time. 

My questions for the upgrades are:

1. I can install up to 24 GB of ram (6x4GB) any recommendations on which ram I should purchase?
2. What's the best graphics card I can install? I was eyeing a Nvidia 1070 GTX but I don't know if my desktop can handle it or is it needlessly overkill?
3. Also with those upgrades do I need a better power source? I think the stock PSU is 475W but, I'm not 100% sure.
4. Any other recommendation (please provide your reasoning as well) would be appreciated.

[223342_1454181628]

24 gb of ram is a bit excessive. You would be fine with 16. 

[WereCat]

I am playing Divinity Original Sin 2 right now (really good game )

 

- I would suggest you to get SSD (nothing fancy like the 850 EVO, just get whatever you can with good capacity/price ratio)

- RAM upgrade can help but I think that 16GB total would be enough

- any new GPU you can get your hands on will be way better than GTX 260 but GTX 1070 with that CPU ... I would suggest GTX 1060 6G at most even that will be probably bottlenecked with the i7 920

[Streetguru]

1 hour ago, badwake said:

 

Your best bet is not really to spend anything on such an old system, especially since you need DDR4 now not DDR3.

An SSD is fine since it can be reused, 240GB is plenty for the money.

You can however upgrade the GPU, but I wouldn't go too far, probably just an RX 560 OC'd given current pricing. Does 1080p 60hz just fine, and gives you way more money for a CPU upgrade, probably to a Ryzen 5 1600 or 1700 if you need more cores.

Given that the recommended specs are pretty low, the lower end GPU should do fine, just look up benchmarks.

Looks like if you forget the SSD you can get an upgrade to an R5 1600.

Maybe justify a slightly cheaper motherboard, not sure on the VRM for the rest of them.

RAM prices are still screwed.
 

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/yhcD9W
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/yhcD9W/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor  ($195.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus - PRIME B350-PLUS ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2666 Memory  ($68.71 @ Amazon)
Storage: SK hynix - SL308 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($77.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: PowerColor - Radeon RX 560 2GB Red Dragon OC V3 Video Card  ($113.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $546.56
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-09-30 02:28 EDT-0400

[Fardin]

4 hours ago, badwake said:

 

1. Any other recommendation (please provide your reasoning as well) would be appreciated.

first suggestion is to wait 1/2 weeks more, intel's 8th gen is coming out at october 5. since you don't need heavy workstation but daily basic use & gaming, Intel would be better. second suggestion is if you do not want to wait then build a new pc. sell the one what you have because its really old now & add the cash with 500$ that you have & get something like that. depending on your cash, you can change ryzen 1400 to 1600.  But for 1080p gaming , ryzen 1400 + gtx 1060 would be absolutely amazing.

 

note: have not added storage thinking you've ordered 500gb ssd & can reuse one of Hdds you got.

  

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1400 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($155.49 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: Asus - PRIME B350-PLUS ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($81.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Crucial - Ballistix Sport LT 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory  ($138.98 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB GAMING Video Card  ($259.99 @ B&H) 
Case: Deepcool - D-Shield ATX Mid Tower Case  ($29.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Power Supply: Corsair - CX (2017) 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($24.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $691.42
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-09-30 06:33 EDT-0400

 

[badwake]

Thanks for all your advice I was planning on making these upgrades

• MSI GTX 780 Ti
• 500 GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD
• 4x 4GB Ballistix DDR3 RAM
• I plan on keeping the same processor and see how the other upgrades fair

What do you think of these changes?

Also I have a problem with the MSI GPU I need both a 6pin and an 8pin power connection. My stock PSU only has a 6 pin for the GPU and I think I need to replace my PSU. I will have 3 hard drives and 2 optic drives and still need a 6 and a 6+2 pin for power. Can someone recommend a PSU that can accommodate my needs and match the dimensions of my old PSU?

[Sanctorum]

500GB 850 EVO was a good grab. Don't buy more RAM, waste of money at this point.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: Asus - Radeon RX 580 4GB Dual Video Card  ($274.98 @ Newegg) 
Case: Fractal Design - Meshify C ATX Mid Tower Case  ($89.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Power Supply: BitFenix - Whisper M 450W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($66.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Total: $431.96

 

Nice new case and PSU as well as a great GPU, you can get the GPU from Amazon for $250 so with these you'll have about $100 left. Hold on to that $100 and re-use your current CPU, Mobo and RAM for a while until you can afford an upgrade, then grab a Coffee Lake i3/i5 and 300 series motherboard with DDR4 RAM. You should be able to get an i3, mobo and 8GB RAM for <$250 or an i5, mobo and 16GB RAM for $350-400.