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Is my current Build still relevant?

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Rhudyll

New Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2016
Location
Philippines
Good Day guys! Trying to find the value of my build as a whole. Is my current PC still relevant for 2016 or should I really try to Build a new PC? Thanks for you feedback!

Specs:
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R
Processor: Intel Core2Quad Q8200 2.33GHz
Ram: NCP 4 x 1Gb DDR2 (4Gb Total)
GPU: EVGA GT 630 2Gb
PSU: Powerlogic ATX 600w
Cooler: Deepcool Ice Edge 300ue
HDD: WD Blue 1 x 320Gb, 2 x 160Gb
Case: ATX Acrylic Case
PCI Cards: Plus TV tuner Card
DLink Wireless PCI Card
Monitor: AOC 1619sw
Keyboard: Razer Blackwidow Ultimate 2011
Mouse: Microsoft Wireless Mouse 1000
 
it depends on what you are doing with it and if you are happy with it.
if you are wanting to play the latest games, no.
if it's just a web surfer, htpc and light work rig yes.
 
I think the question is the wrong way around. There is no arbitrary requirement that says you need a certain specification in 2016. The question is, if the system is still good enough for what you want to do? If not, then look at upgrading or replacing.

If you feel a need for speed, then something newer could certainly help, even on a budget.
 
Thanks guys... As of now I overclocked the quad to 3.0GHz... and it still play games at mid to high setting great. I mainly play Survival Horror games e.g. RE and Silent Hill and this PC still holds up to it. The thing is, am I really missing out by not using a current gen rig?
 
You are, no doubt, leaving FPS on the table.. a glass ceiling if you will. Though I honestly have no idea how you are gaming with that old budget card...

My main concern is that garbage psu you are using honestly...

But, if it's still working for YOUR uses, then it doesn't matter what else is out tbere. ;)

Edit: holy cow... now I see why that low end old card is holding up... you game at 1990s resolutuon with that 16" monitor, lol... 1366x768 is LOW RES. It also tends to be CPU bound..
 
Thanks guys... As of now I overclocked the quad to 3.0GHz... and it still play games at mid to high setting great. I mainly play Survival Horror games e.g. RE and Silent Hill and this PC still holds up to it. The thing is, am I really missing out by not using a current gen rig?

Oh, yeah you are missing out on some performance.

Last year I was on a Q6600 overclocked to 3.4GHz with 8GB of DDR2 RAM and a GTX 680. Playing Battlefield 4 on this computer was okay-ish, because I was getting 30-50 FPS usually, but I was dropping down to 20-25 FPS frequently while playing, even at Low graphics settings. Then I tried that same graphics card on an LGA1366 platform with a Intel Xeon E5640 overclocked to 4.2GHz (stock 2.67GHz) and 6GB of DDR3 1600MHz I was easily getting 70-120 FPS, and never really dipping below 60 FPS with High settings. With my current main PC (i5 4690K, 16GB DDR3-1866 (set to 1600MHz so that I can run tighter timings, as my system doesn't seem to like running at 1866MHz) and the GTX 680 I'm easily at 80-130+ FPS and never really dip below 60-70 FPS with High or Ultra Graphical settings.

I guess it may depend some on what game(s) you're playing and what resolution you're at, but yes playing with older hardware can result in bottlenecks that result in lower performance.
 
It's all in what you call missing out. Are you missing frame rates? Yes! Are you missing detail? Yes! For what you could do to upgrade that you would be better off building a new beast. :) Even if you just go to 1080p or 1440p you would be amazed at just how awesome even your current games will play and look. It's like day and night. These days its not 'cheap' BUT !!!! You could build a beastly system for very reasonable :) Welcome to the forums and when you're ready to do your build let us know how it goes. If you have any problems we are here to help.

TC
Z
 
with a few exceptions, I tend to play older games, most even my old single core Sempron can play well, my game rig is a monster by todays standards, but angry birds looks about the same on both.............
 
hate to say it..... but 980TI's in sli don't improve it one bit..............
 
Oh, yeah you are missing out on some performance.

Last year I was on a Q6600 overclocked to 3.4GHz with 8GB of DDR2 RAM and a GTX 680. Playing Battlefield 4 on this computer was okay-ish, because I was getting 30-50 FPS usually, but I was dropping down to 20-25 FPS frequently while playing, even at Low graphics settings. Then I tried that same graphics card on an LGA1366 platform with a Intel Xeon E5640 overclocked to 4.2GHz (stock 2.67GHz) and 6GB of DDR3 1600MHz I was easily getting 70-120 FPS, and never really dipping below 60 FPS with High settings. With my current main PC (i5 4690K, 16GB DDR3-1866 (set to 1600MHz so that I can run tighter timings, as my system doesn't seem to like running at 1866MHz) and the GTX 680 I'm easily at 80-130+ FPS and never really dip below 60-70 FPS with High or Ultra Graphical settings.

I guess it may depend some on what game(s) you're playing and what resolution you're at, but yes playing with older hardware can result in bottlenecks that result in lower performance.

That is pretty good, with my GTX 970 and BF4 I have seen my FPS dip to 60 FPS at Siege of Shanghai 1920X1080 Ultra Graphical settings.
 
Thanks for all the feedback guys! Really have to save up for a much more recent build. Guess this PC has to retire then... Maybe hand it to my sister... hahaha! Anyways, any thoughts on budget builds using latest hardware? I tend to start buying the cheap but reliable ones first then upgrade from that...
 
ASRock Z170 Extreme 4, i5 6600k, Hyper 212 evo, GTX 970, G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3000 (PC4 24000) Windows 10 64bit OEM.
 
...any thoughts on budget builds using latest hardware? I tend to start buying the cheap but reliable ones first then upgrade from that...

It all depends on your budget and what you want to use your comp for. How do you feel about buying used?

Y'know, your comp is very close to my secondary comp (Q8300), soon to be tertiary though.
 
I think the question is the wrong way around. There is no arbitrary requirement that says you need a certain specification in 2016. The question is, if the system is still good enough for what you want to do? If not, then look at upgrading or replacing.

If you feel a need for speed, then something newer could certainly help, even on a budget.

Good Day guys! Trying to find the value of my build as a whole. Is my current PC still relevant for 2016 or should I really try to Build a new PC? Thanks for you feedback!

Specs:
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R
Processor: Intel Core2Quad Q8200 2.33GHz
Ram: NCP 4 x 1Gb DDR2 (4Gb Total)
GPU: EVGA GT 630 2Gb
PSU: Powerlogic ATX 600w
Cooler: Deepcool Ice Edge 300ue
HDD: WD Blue 1 x 320Gb, 2 x 160Gb
Case: ATX Acrylic Case
PCI Cards: Plus TV tuner Card
DLink Wireless PCI Card
Monitor: AOC 1619sw
Keyboard: Razer Blackwidow Ultimate 2011
Mouse: Microsoft Wireless Mouse 1000

Mackerel sums it up well. If you find yourself unable to run apps/games smoothly, maybe it's time to upgrade. But, if you are able to use the PC well for what you bought it for, then don't upgrade for the sake of upgrading.

I get this feeling from time to time as well since I haven't upgraded since purchasing the 4770K way back when they were released, but my PC is still able to run every application I use it for, and does it well, so I've managed to not upgrade the computer.

(I did replace the 39" Seiki monitor with a 43" LG though)
 
I will give my opinion. Yes, it's a very old machine. Very out-dated technology. That CPU was fantastic when it came out but by today's standards both the CPU and the front side bus it runs on are turtles. Also your monitor resolution is very mid-to-late 90s, like EarthDog said.
It doesn't sound like you play very demanding games so as long as you stick to that, you should be fine. The question is whether you feel like you want more, and whether you want to spend the money on upgrading.

There are 165Hz (and more Hz even than that) screens now with adaptive sync. Monitors have really become spectacular of late. There are video cards with several orders of magnitude more power than the one you have, and there are CPUs that are much more powerful. RAM is faster. Data moves around the motherboard faster. There are better storage interfaces for blazing fast solid state storage... the list goes on and on.

I think that if you had something like a 6600K on a Z170 board with 16GB of DDR4, a GTX 1070 GPU, a nice big fast SSD, and a high resolution, large, G-sync monitor, as well as some nice gaming gear in the form of a Corsair K70 keyboard and a nice gaming mouse, you'd probably have a lot more fun, and your mind would be utterly blown and remain so for quite some time.

The question isn't whether it's worth it to us, because it is. Most of us here love high end hardware and are willing to spend the $ to stay current. The question is whether it's worth it to you. If you are in a situation where money is no issue, by all means get the best machine you can right now. If money is tight, or you're not really a hardcore user/gamer, or if you just don't care and you're happy with what you have, then s tick with it.

Yes your computer is outdated. Is it obsolete? Only you can answer that. Whether you need to make a change is entirely your choice."It's only obsolete when it doesn't do what you want it to do any more"


BTW I hope you aren't running Win XP which was still a viable choice when you built that machine. Support has ended and you are very vulnerable to exploits, attacks, etc with that OS. Please use Win 7/8.1/10
Mackerel sums it up well. If you find yourself unable to run apps/games smoothly, maybe it's time to upgrade. But, if you are able to use the PC well for what you bought it for, then don't upgrade for the sake of upgrading.

I get this feeling from time to time as well since I haven't upgraded since purchasing the 4770K way back when they were released, but my PC is still able to run every application I use it for, and does it well, so I've managed to not upgrade the computer.

(I did replace the 39" Seiki monitor with a 43" LG though)

Upgrading a Haswell machine doesn't make sense. 1st/2nd gen Core i, sure, but haswell? Nah. You're good for years.
 
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