Upgrading an old(ish) computer

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Paradoxi4l

New Member
Hey guys, I'm looking to upgrade a computer I've had for a few years now, but before I go crazy and start spending money and buying parts, I'm looking for suggestions and I'd like to make sure everything is going to be compatible.

Current System:
Motherboard: Foxconn M61PMX
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 ~2.6GHz
GPU: AMD Radeon HD 6670
HDD: Barracuda 7200.11
PSU: HEC-400 AD-TF
RAM: 2 Gigabytes of DDR2 that I want to replace.
OS: Windows Vista

Now I'd like to replace the motherboard, as I can't upgrade the ram too much as it is, and I would like a new processor as well. The thing is, I'm not sure what will work and what wont. I know that I'll need an AMD processor and a Motherboard compatible with it, but when it comes down to chipsets and such I'm lost.

Any suggestions/tips/help will be greatly appreciated :)
 
Gaming system, sorry. Lower end of the budget as I'm trying to buy a bunch of things at once, but if a more expensive part would be more ideal I can put off buying for another few weeks and save the extra cash.

I've been looking at a few things that I'll link, and then I have another few questions as well.

Motherboard: http://ncix.ca/products/?sku=62403&vpn=GA-990FXA-UD3&manufacture=Gigabyte&promoid=1202

Ram: http://ncix.ca/products/?sku=55444&vpn=CMX8GX3M2A2000C9&manufacture=Corsair

Processor: http://ncix.ca/products/?sku=76934&vpn=FD6300WMHKBOX&manufacture=AMD&promoid=1202

Is it worth paying for the 2000MHz ram or would I just be wasting money there?

Are there any special requirements to look out for when I eventually want to purchase a SSD?

With all the new equipment, should I be looking into purchasing a new PSU or cooling system? (I'm not sure what kind of fan I'm running right now)

Assuming I can't purchase everything at once, what should I start buying first? Or is everything going to be dependent on something else I'm purchasing?

Sorry for all the questions, the more I know the better :)

EDIT: I'm not dead set on any of the products I linked, I was just browsing and liked what I saw.
 
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It looks to me like your Foxconn is mATX, and you were looking at the 990FXA which is an ATX case. So assuming your case is mATX, the 990FXA won't fit inside it.

I think honestly, with stuff like that, I'd get yourself a new system. You could probably use the hard drive from your old system for file storage depending on whether it is IDE or SATA (if it's IDE then get a new hard drive) and the same for your optical drive, and maybe the case (can you let us know what form factor it is please - ATX or mATX. If you don't know, take a picture of it), but the rest I'd get rid off.

You still haven't really specified a budget, so just did a good build. You can save money. By the way, it's better to buy everything at once than it is bit by bit.

** = get this regardless if you're building a new PC or upgrading your current one.

Case (which you may or may not need) http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139011

** Processor http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504 (better than the FX-6300)

** Motherboard http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128544

** RAM http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231455

Hard drive (which you may or may not need if your old hard drive is big enough and SATA) http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840

DVD drive (which you may or not need if your old drive is SATA) http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

** Power supply http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139048&Tpk=cx600m&IsVirtualParent=1

** Graphics card http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161405

** SSD http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820171567

** OS (wave goodbye to Vista!) http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986 or if you want Windows 8 http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832416552 doesn't matter which one you get, both are better than Vista.

The whole build, including Windows 7, comes to just over $1000. If you're able to upgrade your current PC and don't need to buy a case, hard drive or DVD drive, then you could save a few hundred bucks.
 
With that build, would I be able to use my current GPU for now, or would I have to replace it immediately?

My HDD is a 1T SATA drive so it's fine.

DVD Drive is fine.

I can put off the SSD until I can afford it, as well as the new OS which I plan on upgrading eventually no matter what.

My budget is really flexible, if it costs more than I have it just means I save more haha, I don't need this immediately.

2cfeg3m.jpg


Yuck, I gotta clean that out. Didn't look bad till I took a picture haha.
 
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Yes, the PSU is 100% going. Would my current AMD Graphics card run with the new Intel Motherboard? Not sure how that works, and I'd like to put off replacing that because my girlfriend bought it as a gift last year haha.
 
Yes it would work. It uses PCI Express 16x which is on all modern motherboards, regardless of manufactures. There are rare cases when it's not but almost all have that. It'll hold you back but it will still play games at moderate to lowish settings depending on how new the game is.
 
Yeah your current card would work with all the stuff I posted, but if you're going to upgrade most of your system, I think you should upgrade the graphics card too if you want more performance in games. There's no reason why you couldn't buy a new card later though.

The graphics card is what matters the most for games.
 
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