Upgrading parents PC - probably new build!

Swampyseifer

Swampyseifer

Swampyseifer

Associate
Joined
9 Jan 2008
Posts
511
Location
UK
So...as the title says, I've been asked to upgrade my parents PC. TBH its about 6-7 years old, we're talking a Q6600, 2gig ram and I think its an old 7950.

As for the system usage, mostly going to be windows stuff...web browsing, word processing. However, my father does play games occasionally so it would be ideal if the PC was able to play the new Doom, he isn't worried about it being in high detail and 4k! Literally barely enough so it runs smoothly at low settings.

As for a budget, preferably around the £600 mark - is that feasible? We could stretch further if it will give us what we need but I think no more than £800.

The essentials will be a mobo, cpu (and fan), gfx card and ram. I think the old power supply should be alright as it was a 1000watt, we'll probably get a bluray drive but that could come later to save a small amount of cash. The case is still usable and they can keep the HDDs they have.

Thanks in advance!
 
My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £252.92
(includes shipping: £0.00)
​


​

This plus the AMD RX480 (est. cost £175ish) which comes out at the end of the month should do.

I threw in an ssd to speed up load times etc. Won't be able to over clock this, but could always throw in a faster cpu if needed. That being said for desk top use and some basic gaming you won't really need more. Also could swap out the single channel ram kit for a dual channel one, but wouldn't be able to expand later :)
 
Swampyseifer said:
I think its an old 7950.
Click to expand...

StarShock said:
This plus the AMD RX480 (est. cost £175ish) which comes out at the end of the month should do.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't bother waiting for the Rx 480 - the 7950 is still a decent enough card, which paired with a newer processor will likely be fine.

Swampyseifer said:
I think the old power supply should be alright as it was a 1000watt
Click to expand...

I would get a new lower rated PSU, both from an age point of view, but also due to new components draw less, and such a large PSU may not be very efficient at lower power draw.
 
Here's a build which should last your parents for a decent time to come. I'm assuming they are sticking with their monitor and it's likely 1080p?

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £638.94
(includes shipping: £0.00)
​

Notes:

I have put the GTX 960 into the build as a price guide, but you should consider the AMD RX 480 which is due to be released soon at a similar price point and with much better performance.

A SSD for Windows, apps and games is essential. You can use the old HDDs for storage.

If the PC is 6-7 years old then I would advise a new power supply.

The CPU cannot be overclocked but the board can, so you can drop an overclockable CPU in later if you wish. Alternatively spend an extra £20 on the i5-6600k, but then you'll also need a custom cooler (add another £30).

16GB DDR4 is a little more than they probably need but RAM prices are in a very good place at the moment so it's prudent to think ahead.

The motherboard currently comes with a free copy of Doom! :)
 
StarShock said:
Just to confirm, do you mean the NVidia 7950 gt circa 2006 or the amd hd 7950 circa 2012? :P
Click to expand...

Fairly important difference, and one we need clarifying :)


Cern said:

Notes:

I have put the GTX 960 into the build as a price guide, but you should consider the AMD RX 480 which is due to be released soon at a similar price point and with much better performance.
Click to expand...

As above though, if it is an AMD 7950 that is already in there, then the GTX 960 doesn't offer that much, and we need to wait and see what the Rx 480 delivers.

Some Doom Benchmarks here: http://kotaku.com/doom-pc-benchmarks-not-hellish-at-all-1776755400

which include the AMD 7950, and at 1080P Ultra still manages over 30fps minimum.
 
Armageus said:
Fairly important difference, and one we need clarifying :)




As above though, if it is an AMD 7950 that is already in there, then the GTX 960 doesn't offer that much, and we need to wait and see what the Rx 480 delivers.

Some Doom Benchmarks here: http://kotaku.com/doom-pc-benchmarks-not-hellish-at-all-1776755400

which include the AMD 7950, and at 1080P Ultra still manages over 30fps minimum.
Click to expand...

I put the GTX 960 into the build as a place holder, because the RX 480 at a similar price point is likely to be an infinitely better choice. I'm not suggesting the GTX 960 itself is the way to go (although it's a decent card and won't disappoint at 1080p).

So yep, the 7950 makes a fairly decent stopgap until the RX 480 arrives (assuming its the AMD 7950 but I'm starting to think it might be the Nvidia 7950 since the OP describes it as "old").
 
Cern said:
...(assuming its the AMD 7950 but I'm starting to think it might be the Nvidia 7950 since the OP describes it as "old").
Click to expand...

My original assumption was that it was the NVidia one, just as that would date it to the same age as the Q6600 cpu. Though now I'm really curious as to which it is :p
 
Swampyseifer said:
However, my father does play games occasionally so it would be ideal if the PC was able to play the new Doom, he isn't worried about it being in high detail and 4k! Literally barely enough so it runs smoothly at low settings.
Click to expand...

Been playing plenty of Doom over the last couple of weeks with a 970 @ 1080p, and most of the time I catch myself looking at the fps it's around 140. On Ultra, with a few settings I don't like turned off, like Depth of Field, Motion Blur and Chromatic Aberration. In heavy battles I've sometimes seen 100+. So even a 370/950 would be plenty for 1080p 60Hz, even on Ultra. Still, buying into a 4GB card at least would be beneficial for the future. Of course if it's the AMD 7950 you have, then as others have said - keep for now.

Personal Settings:

4cSdGyY.jpg


Z2DSqIM.jpg


gpAUZ0i.jpg
 
hey all...thanks for all your replies.

so, I've had to check the gfx card and I got it completely wrong from the top of my head! Its actually an ATI Radeon HD 4870 512mb.

Good call to replace the psu because of its age, I hadn't really considered that.

They'll keep the monitor although that is probably even older. Its a very old LG flatiron monitorI think, 19" with a DVI connector. It has this funky touch-switch thing to turn it on and off. It would be nice to get something to take better advantage of the gfx output but its the cost.
 
Swampyseifer said:
hey all...thanks for all your replies.

so, I've had to check the gfx card and I got it completely wrong from the top of my head! Its actually an ATI Radeon HD 4870 512mb.

Good call to replace the psu because of its age, I hadn't really considered that.

They'll keep the monitor although that is probably even older. Its a very old LG flatiron monitorI think, 19" with a DVI connector. It has this funky touch-switch thing to turn it on and off. It would be nice to get something to take better advantage of the gfx output but its the cost.
Click to expand...

Well, seems silly to me to spend all that money upgrading everything else to really nice components and then hamstring things with a flaky old monitor.

In many ways the monitor is the computer, because it's what you spend all your time looking at and the resolution it runs at has an important influence on what GPU (and CPU) you need to drive it for your intended usage.

You can get a very capable 24" 1080p monitor for around the £100-£120 mark (or around £80 if you're happy with 22"), lots to choose from.
 
your computer is upgradable, just need more ram and a better graphics card, doubt anyone has tried doom on a q6600 build as those people will already have newer stuff, i am being biased as this is what i like to do, but £100 in to that computer should do for now.
 
Hey all...so I should be ordering the PC later this week. I've had a go and tweaking a list so that's a similar levels to Cern's above, but was a bit cheaper so that I could include windows and a monitor. Also included a few extra little bits like cables and a Bluray drive.

I admit that I don't know a lot about hardware so do point out if I've put in something oddski

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £870.09
(includes shipping: £13.20)
​
 
The i3 6300 (nonT) runs way faster.

But I've just had a play,


My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £896.06
(includes shipping: £13.20)
​


​


£24 cashback because of the cpu+board - https://toptechcashback.com/gb/en/pages/cpumb/qualifying

AMD 4GB card and a Freesync monitor.

A 550W PSU as I doubt you will ever do Crossfire and you certainly cant SLI on this motherboard.

What you doing about a case?
 
Thanks for the ideas....although I'm a little worried that perhaps I'm making this build too expensive.

This is a 70yr old who is going to be playing Doom. Does he really need it to be running at 1080p at a silky smooth fps with the graphics up reasonably high. I might sleep on this and spec up a lower end PC tomorrow...

We're using the old case. It should be fine to use.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom