Ancient computer upgrade or not for son?

stevenreader · 25 Oct 2024 at 16:32

Hi,

I have an ancient computer sitting around not doing anything. My son is now getting into gaming but only lightly at this stage. Is there anything that I can do with this to upgrade or should I just go fresh build for him? He would want 1080p 0r 1440p for Forza and other racing sims plus tot use for school work.

Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge)
MSI Z77A-GD65 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
8GB ram
MSI HD 7950 Twin Frozr III OC V2 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure Edition CPU Cooler
Corsair TX650M PSU
60gb Samsung SSD
1TB HDD
Zalman Z9 ATX case

I told you it was ancient!!!

Thanks

tamzzy · 25 Oct 2024 at 16:35

what's your budget?
another 8gb ram to make 16gb, a larger sata3 ssd and a better gpu should be sufficient

something like:
1) another 2x 4gb sticks of ddr3 (£5)
2) a 500gb ssd (£30)
3) a gtx 1070/1660 super/1660ti used (£70-110) would be my go-to
4) overclock the 3570k if not already done so

Tetras · 25 Oct 2024 at 16:43

stevenreader said:
I told you it was ancient!!!

It is not that bad, it would play A LOT of games just fine, especially anything from the quad core stagnation era between 1st and 6th gen Core.

It would struggle with newer games, but I'm sure you're aware of that already.

What kind of budget would you have for either an upgrade, or a new PC?

stevenreader · 25 Oct 2024 at 16:51

Hi,

Whatever it would take to get it upgraded to play Forza etc or a new PC I could probably go up to £1200. If it doesn't need that for a first entry into PC gaming then that would be great. Any specs or links would be great.

Thanks

almoststew1990 · 25 Oct 2024 at 16:51

I would also grab something like a Xeon 1230/1240 v2 off eBay for £15 which is a 4-core 8-thread part. A bit cheaper than an i7 3770/K. It would be a similar chip to what you have but the hyperthreading will probably help in newer games.

tamzzy · 25 Oct 2024 at 17:00

stevenreader said:
Whatever it would take to get it upgraded to play Forza

which forza? forza is a franchise with quite a number of games, the latest ones are horizon 5 and motorsport
if it's horizon 5 then an oc 3570k is sufficient
if it's motorsport then you'll need a full upgrade

stevenreader · 25 Oct 2024 at 17:02

Sorry Forza Horizon 5

Tetras · 25 Oct 2024 at 17:06

stevenreader said:
Whatever it would take to get it upgraded to play Forza etc or a new PC I could probably go up to £1200. If it doesn't need that for a first entry into PC gaming then that would be great. Any specs or links would be great.

To upgrade your PC for basic playability for newer games, I'd do a combo of what almoststew1990 & tamzzy suggested, with new RAM (16GB minimum), an 8 thread CPU (can be Xeon equivalent, if cheaper) and a decent GPU upgrade. If you wanted a new graphics card, the 6600 would be fine.

This is like a minimal 1080p build:
- For nvidia you can go 3060 12GB or 4060 8GB. For AMD RX 6600 or 6650 XT if it isn't much more. 7600 is also an option. The 4060 and 6600 have the best power consumption, at around 130 watts, but the 4060 is a chunk faster.
- Swap the b-grade motherboard in my spec for a new one.

My basket at OcUK:

1 x Intel Core i3-12100F 3.30GHz (Alder Lake) Socket LGA1700 Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-6AS-IN) = £73.99
1 x B Grade MSI PRO H610M-G DDR4 - Intel H610 DDR4 Micro-ATX Motherboard (SKU: BG-MOT-MSI-00718) = £60.00
1 x Team Group Vulcan Z T-Force 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit - Grey (SKU: MY-0AJ-TG) = £55.99
1 x Zotac GeForce RTX 4060 Twin Edge 8GB Graphics Card (SKU: GRA-ZTC-03197) = £260.00
1 x Team Group MP44L 1TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-TMG-03128) = £49.99
1 x Kolink Inspire Series K2 ARGB Micro-ATX Case - Black Window (SKU: CA-046-KK) = £37.99
1 x Phanteks AMP GH 750W 80PLUS Gold ATX Power Supply Modular - Black (SKU: POW-PHK-02517) = £84.95

Total: £622.91 (includes delivery: £0.00)

1440p and less minimal, so I'd change bits around a bit:
- You could downgrade to a 6750 XT for £300ish and still get good performance at 1440p, but OCUK don't sell them.
- Nvidia alternative would be a 4070 non-Super, though I think you'd struggle to get one much below £450.

My basket at OcUK:

1 x Intel Core i5-12400F 2.50GHz (Alder Lake) Socket LGA1700 Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-6AR-IN) = £98.99
1 x Asus Prime B760M-A WIFI D4 (LGA 1700) DDR4 Micro-ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-6KG-AS) = £109.99
1 x Team Group Vulcan Z T-Force 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit - Grey (SKU: MY-0AJ-TG) = £55.99
1 x SAPPHIRE PULSE AMD Radeon™ RX 7800 XT Gaming Graphics Card with 16GB GDDR6, AMD RDNA™ 3 architecture (SKU: GRA-SPR-00764) = £419.99
1 x AMD Radeon - Space Marine & Unknown 9 Awakening Games Bundle (SKU: DIG-AMD-02939) = £0.00
1 x Crucial T500 2TB NVMe PCIe Gen4 M.2 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-CRU-01090) = £133.99
1 x Antec CX500M RGB M-ATX Mini Tower - Black (SKU: CAS-ATC-02734) = £54.95
1 x Phanteks AMP GH 750W 80PLUS Gold ATX Power Supply Modular - Black (SKU: POW-PHK-02517) = £84.95

Total: £958.85 (includes delivery: £0.00)

tamzzy · 25 Oct 2024 at 17:06

these are the minimum requirements for horizon 5

Code:

Processor: Intel i5-4460 or AMD Ryzen 3 1200
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: NVidia GTX 970, AMD RX 470, OR Intel Arc A380
DirectX: Version 12
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Storage: 110 GB available space

your 3570k is slightly better than the 4460 (more when overclocked)
you'd want 16gb ram really, 8gb is very anaemic nowadays
the hd7950 will not meet the minimum requirements, the 1070/1660 super/1660ti is equivalent to the 980ti
same with your current ssd, you'd want something bigger to install the game on

ie, what i've suggested above will get horizon 5 up and running for the least outlay

tamzzy said:
something like:
1) another 2x 4gb sticks of ddr3 (£5)
2) a 500gb ssd (£30)
3) a gtx 1070/1660 super/1660ti used (£70-110) would be my go-to
4) overclock the 3570k if not already done so

stevenreader · 25 Oct 2024 at 17:10

Thanks guys, really useful info