Upgrade this junk or move on?

[SSTAT]

Ive been reading the site for a while but this is my first post, if this post is inappropriate for this section or site just let me know, and be gentle. I have a 2009-2010 HP 180t with the following specs all stock except for a GForce GTX 660. It has :

Core-i7-975EE (OD) (B) (3.33GHz / Socket LGA1366
Manufacturer: Pegatron IPMTB-TK
HP: Truckee-UL8E
Chipset
Intel X58 Express
Memory : 12g of factory DDR3 10600
Memory slots: 6 DIMMS
Maximum memory:
24 GB (6 x 4 GB) (64-bit OS)
4 GB* (32-bit OS)
Power output wattage
460 Watt
Expansion Slots
PCI Express x16: 2
PCI Express x4: 1
PCI Express x1: 1
Drive Bays
13.33 cm (5.25 inch) external: 2
8.89 cm (3.5 inch) internal: 2
Pocket Media Drive: 1

My goals are really nothing other than not having to shell out a lot of money for a new rig. it runs pretty good really, its just not as sharp these days, I use it for usual household stuff, the most intense games I run are NFS most wanted, battlefield 3, shift 2, I know, Im old. Anyway the motherboard doesnt allow any mods period. Im thinking of buying a used ASUS Sabertooth X58 motherboard, adding a SAMSUNG 850 EVO" 500 SATA III 32 3 V-NAND, and upgrading the ram to G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 1866, then overclocking the CPU to 4K (its an OD) and the ram. The whole deal should cost me around $450. Would I get performance worth that? Or is she just too old? Ive read that 1866 ram isnt much faster than 10600 (1333 as I understand) so would that be worth it? I suppose the old factory 10600 wouldnt take kindly to overclocking? Thanks for any input.

 

[EarthDog]

I dont think it would be worth it. But I would do board and ssd. Ram is fine.

For a bit (200) more you can buy something a ton faster

 

[bigtallanddopey]

You are in a similar situation to me this time last year. Basically you are at the point of a whole new system if you want an improvement.

I would say there is no point in spending money on any upgrades to the motherboard or ram you have. A new graphics card would be a massive improvement over the one you have though, maybe something like a 1060?

Or you could upgrade the motherboard, ram and cpu to something like a ryzen 2600 or maybe an i5 8400. That wouldn’t leave you any money for a gpu upgrade though.

 

[stompah]

I'd spend my money on GPU and SSD (maybe psu.) Or else spend more and build from the ground up.

 

[wingman99]

I would spend the money on GTX 1060 GPU and SSD. With those items you can transfer if your not satisfied.

 

[Zerileous]

I would not replace the motherboard to overclock a 9 y/o CPU unless its under $50. IMHO either you don't have any specifically CPU intensive applications where you'll get a significant increase from the OC, or you would be better off with a new system. The ram I definitely would not replace.

If the PC is just sluggish for general all around use I think you should install an SSD and save the rest for a new build. As long as it has a SATA port I can't imagine it not working with an SSD, but maybe I'm missing something. You could even get rid of the optical drive and just run the SSD and HDD both if you don't have extra ports.

 

[SSTAT]

Thanks all for the good advise, I think the old girl still has enough fight left in her to save my pennies for now...

 

[Bill_Bright]

Thanks all for the good advise, I think the old girl still has enough fight left in her to save my pennies for now...

Sounds like a good plan to me. If something is serving your needs, why replace it?

What I don't see in your specs above is a graphics card. While I am a strong proponent of SSDs, if you are using integrated graphics, you might see some nice improvement by adding a card. Just understand graphics cards tend to be power hungry - often the most power hungry components in our system (even more than CPUs). So a new graphics solution might require a bigger PSU too.


EDIT ADD: Oops! I missed that you had a GTX 660 in there. Ignore the above.

 

[Keithn]

I will strongly suggest you not to upgrade that PC, the good option here is get a new PC

 

[JLK03F150]

I'd spend my money on GPU and SSD (maybe psu.) Or else spend more and build from the ground up.

I would spend the money on GTX 1060 GPU and SSD. With those items you can transfer if your not satisfied.

An SSD would breath new life into your current rig. Personally I'd do a fresh O/S & games install on the SSD, then convert the spinner into a storage/backup drive. Also replacing the GTX 660 with something like a GTX 1060 or RX 580 would let you turn up the detail on your games. And as wingman said, you could install the new parts in a new PC when you do decide to update the full system.

 

[pinky33]

An SSD would breath new life into your current rig. Personally I'd do a fresh O/S & games install on the SSD, then convert the spinner into a storage/backup drive. Also replacing the GTX 660 with something like a GTX 1060 or RX 580 would let you turn up the detail on your games. And as wingman said, you could install the new parts in a new PC when you do decide to update the full system.

I would do SSD for sure. 100% worth your pennies

If you want to spend a few more pennies look for deals on a better graphics card that would work on that 460watt PSU. This is a harder choice because you will end up buying a card that works with that PSU, but might not be worthy of a new build in a year or two. But you can find better cards used for $50 bucks on craigslist/ebay. Even my old AMD 7950 3G outperforms that card and can be found for $40 bucks on ebay. Not that I would spend $40 for such a small improvement. Wait for a used $100 GTX 1060 deal?