Looking to Upgrade

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Freerunner

Member
With the help of this site several years ago, I built my first computer. It has been working fine until recently and I am now looking at upgrading it. I am currently running Win 7, although will eventually upgrade to 10. I use this computer mostly for streaming Netflix, surfing, Office 365, and Quicken. I know it's over built but am OK with the extra power. The hd is beginning to show signs of failing, so I'm wanting to replace that as well as the MB but am open to other suggestions. Keeping in mind what I am using this for, money is really not a concern. Also, I'm hoping to now have to replace the case and make the changeout pretty easy. Below are my current specs:
CPU: Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor
MB: Foxconn BloodRage GTI LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7
Memory: CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
HD: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"
Display: ASUS VW246H Black 24" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 1000:1 (ASCR 20000:1) Built in Speakers
GPU: XFX HD-489X-ZSFC Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Optical: Sony Optiarc Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner with LightScribe LightScribe Support Model AD-72141S-OB
Heatsink: Prolimatech - Megahalems CPU Cooler - 775 / 1366 / 1156 - Rev B
Fan for Heatsink: COOLER MASTER R4-C2R-20AC-GP 120mm Case Fan
Case: COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower
 
johnb35

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
Is it a retail license of windows 7 or an oem license? If OEM, you will need a new copy of windows. To be honest, if machine is working out for you except for the failing hard drive just replace it until machine goes kaput on you. Then upgrade.
 
johnb35

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
The newer 64mb cache caviar black or yes you can get an SSD drive. You can get a Samsung 850 evo 250gb for about $100.
 
F

Freerunner

Member
I guess I should have asked your opinion. I am under the impression that an SSD drive is much faster. Your thoughts?
 
johnb35

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
Do you want faster boot times and somewhat faster applications starting? Then get an SSD.
 
johnb35

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
I wouldn't clone the drive if you think the original one is failing. Windows would have to be reinstalled along with all other software.
 
Quinn O'Brien

Quinn O'Brien

New Member
It doesn't sound like you should change any parts other than your storage. All of your parts are completely fine for streaming and browsing. A solid state would make streaming and browsing more enjoyable. If all you really do is streaming then get a solid state 100%. If you save movies/pictures to your computer a lot then the speed of the ssd wouldn't be worth it because you'd have no storage. If you don't store much on your computer the you should absolutely just get a solid state. then a year down the line when some anomaly happens to make your computer unusable you should just build a new one. I'm a strong believer of just using a computer until it's obsolete or unusable and then just rebuilding rather than upgrading. You save money in the long run. Especially for you, you aren't a gamer or video editor that needs to change parts to keep getting top performance. You just need quality of average use. That'd come primarily from a decent processor and a solid state, ram a little bit as well. Your ram and memory are already fine. Don't bother changing your motherboard either. You can change your case if you just want it to look cool though. All in all I say get a ssd and maybe a case. Save your money for when your computer explodes in a few years
 
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Freerunner

Member
Quinn, thanks for the feedback. Good info. One thing. Since I last posted, I went ahead and upgraded to Win 10 and replace hd with Motorola ssd, but found out my gpu doesn't fully support Win 10 (I'm assuming because of the age). I'm OK upgrading, but that doesn't exactly line up with what you're saying; I think. Interested in your thoughts.
 
Quinn O'Brien

Quinn O'Brien

New Member
Freerunner said:
Quinn, thanks for the feedback. Good info. One thing. Since I last posted, I went ahead and upgraded to Win 10 and replace hd with Motorola ssd, but found out my gpu doesn't fully support Win 10 (I'm assuming because of the age). I'm OK upgrading, but that doesn't exactly line up with what you're saying; I think. Interested in your thoughts.
Click to expand...

The first thing I'd like to point out is that your card isn't incompatible with Windows 10 because it is old, it is because AMD is lazy and decided not to update their drivers because they felt it wasn't worth their time. Now the thing is, graphics cards themselves aren't incompatible with Windows 10 (for the most part). What really renders a graphics card compatible with Windows 10 are the drivers support. And what I mean by that is whether or not updated drivers were released to support the operating system. This website http://support.amd.com/en-us/download is where you'd find all of the drivers for AMD's products. I searched your card for the most recent drivers and it turns out that the most recent driver available to support your card is for Windows 8. This isn't TOO bad because there are a few things that are cross compatible with Windows 7/8 with Windows 10. If you DO run into any issues with your card and Windows 10 then you have two options. Your first option is to ignore the things that aren't compatible. The other option is so just update your graphics card. Now, I am assuming that you don't really care much about insane graphics quality. IF you decide to update your graphics card, you'd first need to make sure that your power supply could handle it. To check if your power supply can handle it, you must first know the maximum power that your power supply will supply to you. Then you can go here: http://images10.newegg.com/BizIntell/tool/psucalc/index.html?name=Power-Supply-Wattage-Calculator to calculate your needed wattage by entering your computers specifications. Luckily, your current power supply is much more than ample for the non demanding hardware that you currently have. So, if you are looking for a quick and cheap fix, I recommend this card: http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-Rade...ie=UTF8&qid=1446674679&sr=8-1&keywords=r7+250. This card is nothing special but I'd assume it'd be everything you'd need. You can see a comparison between this card and your current card here: http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-R7-250-vs-Radeon-HD-4890. You'll notice that this card is a decent bit better than your current card and the most important thing, in your case, is that it supports Windows 10. Furthermore, Windows 10 will not be replaced with a new operating system (if my memory is correct, I believe Microsoft said they planned on only updating Windows 10 until the 2020s), so you won't have to worry about future incompatibility with this card either. Judging by your current computer specifications you won't have to upgrade or change your build for quite some time. Solid states don't really fail and you're rocking that now...so I'd say you're good. And just to put it out there: I don't know if anyone ever had you thinking about buying an APU (advanced processing unit; contains CPU and GPU as a uniform CPU), I recommend against it because of the new memory standard of DDR4. If you ever plan on upgrading/rebuilding I suggest that you get an i5 or an i7 Skylake CPU. They are a new line of Intel processors that, based on what I've read/heard, are such beasts that you won't even need a graphics card. The processors themselves are more than ample to handle some middle line gaming let alone simple streaming/browsing. Hope this helped! Sorry I went on such a tangent haha
 
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Freerunner

Member
WOW Quinn, thanks. Once again I appreciate the help. It was this site in 2009 that helped me build this computer, although I did mention that I might be gaming down the road. Didn't mind spending the money, thinking ahead. I just posted on "Desktop Computers" a question about adjusting fan speeds. But I think I'll take your cue and just get this other card you are recommending. So far everything i've tried with recommendations from this site has been dead on (2 computer builds and multiple fixes from my own stupidity). One other question. Will the change out be pretty seamless for me?
 
Quinn O'Brien

Quinn O'Brien

New Member
I don't believe that there would be any issues or complications. I don't BELIEVE that you even have to plug in an extra power chord into that GPU. You might have to plug in one 6 pin but i doubt it. Other than that you'd just need to plug it into your motherboard, uninstall your existing drivers, and install the new drivers. Then just update your drivers after you install them because the driver version that will come with their CD is an outdated one. NOTE: I implore you to make sure you uninstall your previous drivers before installing the new ones. Issues could pop up if two different drivers interfere with each other. Good luck to you my friend!
 
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Freerunner

Member
Actually, I have to perform a clean install of Win 10. So I am going to wait until I get this new card and then install and update. Thanks again. Oh yes, already learned from this site, always download the latest drivers from the manufacturer's site. Already have most on a thumb drive.
 
Quinn O'Brien

Quinn O'Brien

New Member
One last thing, if you have the spare money and you do plan on doing little bits of gaming, this card might server you a bit better: http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-...TF8&qid=1446703621&sr=8-1&keywords=nvidia+950. The last one I suggested is still a better choice if you don't really plan on gaming much down the line because it's cheaper. The nVidia card gives much more performance though, plus it has Physx, an interesting feature specific for gamers that nVidia cards are capable. AMD cards don't support Physx. The nVidia card I just posted also requires that you plug a 6 pin cable into it. Sorry I have such less charisma now. I am so tired. Good luck with your computer haha
 
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Freerunner

Member
Read my mind. That's why I "over" built the original computer. Once again appreciate the advice. Will get the second card you listed above.
 
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