PC upgrade

H

harsvp

Broken In
Hello,

I'm looking to upgrade my current PC setup and need some suggestions. I have a limited budget.

Current specs:

1. Processor - AMD FX 6300

2. GPU - ASUS GT730 2GB GDDR5

3. RAM - Corsair Vengeance 12GB

4. Motherboard - ASUS M5A78L-M

5. Monitor - LG 22MP68

6. PSU - Corsair vs450

7. HDD - WD Green 1 TB

8. OS - Windows 7


I will be keeping most of the components the same and need suggestions for the following:


1. Which Windows version to upgrade to? - 10 or 11

2. I will upgrade to SSD and need to know which brand is good and what should be the storage size?

3. Which is a good low priced graphics card for this configuration which can run games released in the last few years?
(I was initially using Sapphire R7 250 but since it stopped working during the lockdown time, I had to downgrade to GT730)


Also, is it advisable to use the old HDD as an external storage device by adding an adapter? How reliable is it?

Thanks.
 
omega44-xt

omega44-xt

Gear up ...
Fill this
geek.digit.in/community/threads/asking-for-new-pc-help-answer-these-questions-first.149943/

"Limited" budget is as vague as it can get

1. I will prefer Win10, but if you opt Intel CPU with P+E cores, you need to use Win11

2. 1TB SN580 is 4.7k or so

3. Depends on budget, 3060 12GB is 25k or so. 6750XT is 34k. Or you can go the used route & get 3060Ti for under 20k.

4. Can use old HDD as internal HDD irrespective of 2.5" or 3.5". I don't recommend using 3.5" HDD as ext HDD. Can put a 2.5" HDD in a caddy to be used as ext HDD.
 
OP
H

harsvp

Broken In
1. What is the purpose of the computer? What all applications and games are you going to run? (Be exact. Which games? Which applications? Avoid the word 'et cetera.' Vague answers like 'gaming' or 'office work' will not work.)
Ans: I will use the pc for working on MS office, for watching movies, for playing games like - Forza Horizon series, WWE2K series, Mortal Kombat 1, Street Fighter 5 , Dirt 4 & 5.

2. What is your overall budget? If you can extend a bit for a more balanced configuration, then please mention.
Ans: 15K - 20K

3. Planning to overclock?
Ans: No

4. Which Operating System are you planning to use?
Ans: Win 10 (will use licenced version and not pirated copy)

5. How much hard drive / solid-state drive space is needed?
Ans: SSD 1 TB or more

6. Do you want to buy a monitor? If yes, please mention the screen size and resolution you prefer. If you already have a monitor and want to reuse it, then do mention the screen size and resolution of the monitor you have.
Ans: I will reuse my monitor - Size: 22 inch, Resolution: 1920x1080


7. Which components you DON'T want to buy? i.e. which components you already have and plan on reusing?
Ans: mouse, keyboard, RAM, motherboard, graphics card

8. When are you planning to buy the system?
Ans: November '23

9. Have you ever built a desktop before? Or, will this be done by an assembler?
Ans: Assembler

10. Where do you live? Are you buying locally? Are you open to buying stuff from online shops if you don't get locally?
Ans: Mumbai. I can buy locally or online.

11. Anything else which you would like to say?
Ans: I am currently using ASUS GT730 graphics card. Just want to know which is a better card to play games released in the last 5-6 years. I am ok to buy a second hand card and my budget is between 5-10k. If there are any that fits this price range then I will change my current card or else continue to use same.
Also I would like to use my existing 1 TB internal HDD as an external storage device since I will replace it with a new SSD. Is this reliable?
 
omega44-xt

omega44-xt

Gear up ...
Don't upgrade now & save money instead, you need 60-70k budget for a decent gaming rig (incl. GPU excl. monitor) which will run games for next few years. Sadly gaming is an expensive hobby.

You can get used 1660 Super for under 10k.

Still if you want something, check these:
pcpricetracker.in/b/s/affce123-f661-4494-96cd-09fdfef65eb4
12.5k for mobo, RAM, SSD
Use your existing cabinet, PSU & HDD.

Start searching for used R5 3600 for ~6k first, then GTX 1660 Super for under 10k or RTX 2060 for ~10k. That's the best you can do for 20k + 10k. Hold on to GT 730 till you get a used 1660S.

Use techenclave forum & fb groups.
www.facebook.com/groups/563181774532516
www.facebook.com/groups/secondhandcomponent/
 
quicky008

quicky008

Technomancer
i5 10400F - 9k
gigabyte h510 mobo- 6k
8 GB ddr4 3200mhz corsair - 1.8k
Used RTX 2060 with atleast 1 yr warranty-12-14k (try FB marketplace)

Recommend changing that old PSU as well. It may not hold up when subjected to increased power draw of the new peripherals of your pc.

It will exceed your current budget-you may save up a bit more and then try getting these components.
 
OP
H

harsvp

Broken In
I do not intend to change any components except my internal storage and operating system for now.

I will check for the second hand graphics card and buy if it's low priced or else continue with my current one.

Apart from WD Blue SN580 is there any other brand of SSD that is good?

Thanks.
 
SaiyanGoku

SaiyanGoku

kamehameha!!
Your motherboard doesn't supports nvme drives, Getting a sata ssd is your only option. IMO, save money to get a new config later. Or, just get a Crucial BX500 240 GB SSD and then when you upgrade, this can be converted into an external SSD for taking backup of important docs.
 
OP
H

harsvp

Broken In
SaiyanGoku said:
Your motherboard doesn't supports nvme drives, Getting a sata ssd is your only option. IMO, save money to get a new config later. Or, just get a Crucial BX500 240 GB SSD and then when you upgrade, this can be converted into an external SSD for taking backup of important docs.
Click to expand...
240 GB is very less space. I would rather go for 1TB since I don't plan to do a complete upgrade anytime soon.

Also, can't I use my existing HDD as an external storage once I install the new SSD?
 
SaiyanGoku

SaiyanGoku

kamehameha!!
harsvp said:
240 GB is very less space. I would rather go for 1TB since I don't plan to do a complete upgrade anytime soon.

Also, can't I use my existing HDD as an external storage once I install the new SSD?
Click to expand...
You have enough sata ports. Why would you remove the HDD? Just use it for storage. Use the SSD for OS and programs. Whatever games you want to play on your current hardware will behave same on HDD and SSD.
My C: drive is currently using ~70 GB (out of 1 TB). I don't install games on it. If I have to create a Windows 10 VM, then the usage jumps to ~ 100 GB. Do you need more than this?
 
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OP
H

harsvp

Broken In
SaiyanGoku said:
You have enough sata ports. Why would you remove the HDD? Just use it for storage. Use the SSD for OS and programs. Whatever games you want to play on your current hardware will behave same on HDD and SSD.
Click to expand...
SaiyanGoku said:
My C: drive is currently using ~70 GB (out of 1 TB). I don't install games on it. If I have to create a Windows 10 VM, then the usage jumps to ~ 100 GB. Do you need more than this?
Click to expand...

Ok so help me understand this since I'm a noob.

I'm using WD Green HDD which is low energy and low performance device. So I'm assuming it also affects gaming performance.

If I install a better SSD and use it for OS and programs, and use the HDD for storage and save games, will it improve the gaming performance? Also, I'm using the HDD for the last 10 years, so not sure how long will it last.
 
SaiyanGoku

SaiyanGoku

kamehameha!!
harsvp said:
Ok so help me understand this since I'm a noob.

I'm using WD Green HDD which is low energy and low performance device. So I'm assuming it also affects gaming performance.

If I install a better SSD and use it for OS and programs, and use the HDD for storage and save games, will it improve the gaming performance? Also, I'm using the HDD for the last 10 years, so not sure how long will it last.
Click to expand...
If you are concerned about gaming, the biggest bottleneck would be the CPU and GPU. There will be no change in gaming performance in your case. SSD will improve the system responsiveness, not FPS or load times. If your HDD dies and you really want to keep using the PC for whatever reason, just get a new drive later. Don't waste money on higher capacity sata SSD for this PC.
 
omega44-xt

omega44-xt

Gear up ...
harsvp said:
Ok so help me understand this since I'm a noob.

I'm using WD Green HDD which is low energy and low performance device. So I'm assuming it also affects gaming performance.

If I install a better SSD and use it for OS and programs, and use the HDD for storage and save games, will it improve the gaming performance? Also, I'm using the HDD for the last 10 years, so not sure how long will it last.
Click to expand...
No

OS will be snappier because of SSD, so will heavy programs like Photoshop which takes a min or more to start from HDD. Win10 requires an SSD & 8GB RAM to function smoothly, even though its minimum requirements are much lower.

Similarly, if a game is stored on SSD, its loading time improves drastically. There might be certain other instances where SSD is useful in games, like I have observed few years back that in some open world games, if I travel from one corner to another too fast, sometimes the game will be stuck for a second or two to load assests. I observed this when I was playing Destiny 2 on HDD, then moving the game to SSD solved it. Some games are just poorly optimised though, so even though I stopped seeing this in almost all maps, in one mission's one certain area still had that 1s loading delay (which I assume is due to poor code).

To be clear, the game's fps won't improve. Although there are some new games which ask SSD for storage, such games might frequently hang up to load assets as HDD is just not fast enough & game was coded with SSD in mind.
 
OP
H

harsvp

Broken In
That's a lot of helpful information. Guess I'll have to compromise on the gaming experience, which is fine since I don't want to spend much on my old system.

I'll get a low storage SSD to atleast get a quicker system and use my old HDD as a secondary storage device.

Also, are these good SSD to buy? -

www.amazon.in/Western-Digital-Internal-Performance-Creators/dp/B09ZYPTXS4?th=1

www.flipkart.com/crucial-bx500-sata-ssd-240-gb-desktop-laptop-all-one-pc-s-network-attached-storage-surveillance-systems-servers-internal-solid-state-drive-ssd-bx500-240gb-2-5-inch-ssd/p/itm419ff27343247

Thanks for your help guys!
 
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