Upgrade advice for my retired dad

[KyltPDM]

Hello everyone! My father has asked me for advice on how to upgrade his computer, and I'm not sure how to help him as my knowledge is a bit dated. He's retired and tech-savvy. He uses the computer for internet surfing, photoshop, finance, office-style applications, and for watching videos from time-to-time. His main concern is speed... he bought a SSD last year and installed it with much fanfaire only to find no speed change whatsoever as the motherboard didn't support SATA 3 so.. a big priority is getting a system which takes advantage of the SSD. That will probably entail a motherboard/CPU/memory upgrade?

We are Canadian and get most of our equipment through NCIX.com, his budget for upgrades is about $500 (but is probably flexible).

Here's an inventory of what he has currently:

Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit
Motherboard: ASUS P5Q SE Plus (LGA775 P45+ICH10,FSB 1600Mhz, dual-Ch DDR2 1200, 8-CH HD Audio EPV-4 Engine)
CPU: Genuine Intel CPU 2140 @ 1.6 ghZ
4GB Ram:
- Two Kingston KVR667D2N5K2/2G
- One Kingston KVR800D2N6/2G
Case: Antec... with 9 front loading bays (not sure on model I apologize)
Power Supply: Nspire x-Extreme series 750W
Video: e-GeForce 8800GTS Sc (320MB, PCI-e)
Drives:
- Floppy Drive
- Sony DVD RW DRU-810A ATA Device DVD/CD-ROM Drive
Storage:
-Samsung SSD 840 Pro Series 256 GB
-WDC WD2500KS 250 GB
-WDC WD5000AAKS 500 GB

Any advice is much appreciated and thanks very much for your time, I'd hate to tell him to go buy something and then be wrong!

 

[EarthDog]

Heh.. new pc is order I'm afraid. I can't think of a socket 775 board which uses sata3 ports.

Basically he needs a new cpu, mobo, and ram and can reuse the rest.

 

[||Console||]

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[ATMINSIDE]

I second what Console put up.

 

[pcgamer4life]

$500 is more than enough to upgrade his machine so that it will scream in comparison to what he has now. The items above are a great option. I'd be inclined to update the power supply as well, as I've never heard of 'Nspire' before. Maybe grab a Corasir CX430 for about $25. I could be totally wrong, Nspire could be awesome... I've just never heard of it, and I'm leery of PSUs that I haven't heard of. Depending on how much he uses (and to what extent) photoshop, you might consider 8gb of RAM instead of 4, since it's well below his budget. 4gb is most likely more than enough for his needs.. but hey, if it's worth doing.. it's worth over doing... especially when it's cheap.

 

[ATMINSIDE]

$500 is more than enough to upgrade his machine so that it will scream in comparison to what he has now. The items above are a great option. I'd be inclined to update the power supply as well, as I've never heard of 'Nspire' before. Maybe grab a Corasir CX430 for about $25. I could be totally wrong, Nspire could be awesome... I've just never heard of it, and I'm leery of PSUs that I haven't heard of. Depending on how much he uses (and to what extent) photoshop, you might consider 8gb of RAM instead of 4, since it's well below his budget. 4gb is most likely more than enough for his needs.. but hey, if it's worth doing.. it's worth over doing... especially when it's cheap.

Nice catch.

OP, we have a list of recommended PSUs here

 

[KyltPDM]

These are great suggestions, thanks everyone. Is it possible to jump to an i7 system at or near his budget?

 

[ATMINSIDE]

These are great suggestions, thanks everyone. Is it possible to jump to an i7 system at or near his budget?

Its possible, but I don't feel it necessary at all for his usage.

 

[KyltPDM]

Re memory, if I'm upgrading to 8gb this will work?

Corsair Vengeance Blue CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 Dual Channel Memory Kit

 

[KyltPDM]

Sorry, I also noticed you dropped the power supply from 750W to 450W - I'm not doubting you but I'm wondering how do you go about knowing how much power is enough?

Thanks again all!

 

[pcgamer4life]

There are several calculators out on the web that allow you to select specific components and they'll tell you the minimum recommended power supply. A quality 450W PSU outshines a shoddy 1000W PSU any day of the week. 450W is enough to handle that system, plus a decent graphics card. You can always spend a little more and get something with a bit more wattage, or something with better quality components. I've been using the Corsair Builder's Series (CX series) for years and have had no issues whatsoever.

 

[GTXJackBauer]

Take in consideration how much power each component wants. 750w is overkill for this system so 450w/500w is good enough.

As for the budget, any money left over I'd grab a nice GPU since your old man uses some graphic programs. Assuming they are CUDA enabled software and not some old Adobe version.

 

[Theocnoob]

I would suggest a 4670k and an asus z87a motherboard. Get a decent heatsink and overclock the system. Te extra performnce will be nice for your dad and overclocking is not complicated. H can probably do it himself fter reading the guide on this website and watching a couple of youtube videos. My last three systems have been overclocked to the moon and i wouldnt have it any other way. Do change that power supply to something decent like a corsair or seasonic. And try to get 1.5v ram. Also, upgrade the gpu later on down the road. 8800gts is very dated.

 

[||Console||]

I would suggest a 4670k and an asus z87a motherboard. Get a decent heatsink and overclock the system. Te extra performnce will be nice for your dad and overclocking is not complicated. H can probably do it himself fter reading the guide on this website and watching a couple of youtube videos. My last three systems have been overclocked to the moon and i wouldnt have it any other way. Do change that power supply to something decent like a corsair or seasonic. And try to get 1.5v ram. Also, upgrade the gpu later on down the road. 8800gts is very dated.

ITs only dated for playing games ( and even then you would be surprised)
I agree about the PSU I didnt see that the corsair 430cx fits the build

 

[Conumdrum]

Sorry, I also noticed you dropped the power supply from 750W to 450W - I'm not doubting you but I'm wondering how do you go about knowing how much power is enough?

Thanks again all!

You figure out the TDP on each part with a bit of Google-Fu and add 100 watts if that for the max. A good PSU can run at 90% of the max all day.

Running the PSU at 90% wattage, do NOT confuse that with the 90% efficiency ratings etc like gold and platinum ratings. There are total junk PSUs with a platinum (90%) rating that can't deliver the wattage you need but are sold with cheap caps and worthless protection circuits. Meaning possible smoke and voltages so out of standards you can ruin other stuff.

We do have a PSU forum full of info and STICKIES and a list of many good PSUs that we would use.