Snagged a friend's old gaming PC, need suggestion on any possible upgrades.

[WestC07]

Hi guys,

So basically I came across an old gaming PC today which was given to me completely free of charge. From what I can tell, specs are as follows:

-Some version of a Core2Duo CPU

-4GB DDR2 RAM

-ASUS P5N-E SLI Motherboard

-GeForce 7100GS 512MB Graphics Card

-650W Power Supply

-2EA 500GB 7200RPM HDD

Basically I'm trying to figure out what's the best graphics card I could throw into this configuration. From what I've read, a lot of people used 8800GT's with this Mobo, but those cards are now discontinued. It appears that 9800 GT are still available, though!

What about a GTX 650?

Or... can I run a newer graphics card?

I don't have high expectations from this system. Basically if I could run CSGO, Skyrim, Fallout, etc. at anything around medium settings I'll be fine.
Any suggestions? If you need any more info about the rig, I've got it in my living room I'll get whatever info I can pull from it.

Big thanks for any suggestions!

 

[spirit]

Depending on what the power supply is, yeah a GTX 650 would work. You need a quality power supply to run any kind of graphics card really.

Don't spend too much time and money on this old system though.

 

[WestC07]

Thank you for your quick reply, spirit!

This is the PS that's in the machine curently:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=891391&is=REG&Q=&A=details

Just as you said, I'm not looking to put a lot of time and effort into it, but I figured if I could throw a $100 card into it and have a (key word) "decent" little low/mid-range gaming PC I'll be alright.

So with a 650 and the given setup I should be able to have something somewhat decent, correct?

 

[spirit]

Yeah that power supply should be fine. I'd recommend getting a 7770 or a 7790 over a 650 though.

Which Core 2 Duo does this PC have?

 

[WestC07]

I'm at work now, but I will check when I get home.

In reading reviews for that Mobo it seemed like people were having issues running ATI cards on it because the mobo has some kind of Nvidia chipset on it. If that's not the case would the 7770 be a better card?

 

[PCunicorn]

You can not run crossfire on it, a single AMD (previously ATI) card will work on it fine. The reason so many people used 8800s on it is because about 6 years ago those were the highest end cards and that was one of the higher end motherboards, but now the 9800 and 8800 are very old and I would not get one just because the board is old. A 7770 is a fine card. Do you know when the PSU was put in the system? A PSU is supposed to be upgraded every 5 years, and that is a older system.

 

[WestC07]

First, thanks to both of you guys for the help, I really appreciate it. I owe you!

I'd imagine that PSU is probably right at 5 years old so it may be close to being on the fritz, but if I can throw a $115 7770 in there and have a decent little machine, then I'll be fine as long as you guys are confident it'll work okay.

Another question:
Which OS should I install? I have access to copies of XP, 7, & 8. Am I correct in thinking that I will probably get the best overall system performance (boot time/load times/FPS) if I go with XP? Or is Win8 optimized enough to where I'd still get good performance even though it's a newer OS?

 

[spirit]

A PSU is supposed to be upgraded every 5 years, and that is a older system.

Since when? That's a recommendation, maybe, but not really a necessity. So long as you're not having problems, leave it.

It's time to let XP now. Go for 7 or 8. Make sure you use 64-bit.

 

[WestC07]

Will do! Would you personally prefer 7 or 8? I hate the Metro dashboard app stuff that Win8 has, but supposedly it's going away and I think 8 is better optimized than 7, correct?

 

[spirit]

I use 8 myself and I like it, though 7 is a very good OS too.

Both of them will run perfectly fine on that PC. Sounds like you're not the biggest fan of 8, so maybe go for 7. Both of them will actually run better than XP on that PC, because XP wasn't really designed for hardware like that (though XP will still run perfectly well on it).

But as I said, it's time to let XP go now, and move on.

 

[PCunicorn]

Windows 8 is the newer, better OS, but the UI takes getting used to. You could always use Pokki or something like that to get a start menu. And pretty much everybody reccomends a good PSU be upgraded every 5 years. If you don't have the money right now, buy one within the year, anything from Corsair or Antec is fine.

 

[WestC07]

Okay guys, so here's the deal.

Turns out the power supply is actually a 550W but it is an Antec. Will I still be okay to run the 7770 on this machine?

Also, I had to remove the boot HDD to give back to my friend. The tower still has the 2EA 500GB 7200's but I don't have an OS on it so no way to get the RAM/Processor specs. I'm going to boot from a Puppy Linux live disc this evening and report back.

Thanks again for the help! Don't forget about me yet guys!

 

[WestC07]

Turns out the processor is a Core2Duo 6700 2.66GHz.

As stated previously, the PSU is a 550W Antec.

Will I still be okay putting a 7770 in there with the said processor and CPU? Any idea what sort of performance I can expect?

Thanks again everyone!