Computer Hope
Hardware => Hardware => Topic started by: Ajfer03 on August 03, 2018, 11:36:27 AM
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Hey everyone, so I have a decent entry level gaming computer that is being held back by the older processor that is in it. The motherboard is an ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe, so it has support up to AM3 processors. It uses DDR2 RAM and I only have 4GB of it, so I will probably be upgrading it to 8GB. So,I know it is older hardware, but my graphics card is new, my SSD and hard drives are new, my monitor is new my case is new, and my PSU is new as well. So my question is, is it worth it to get a decent AM3 processor and upgrade the RAM to 8GB, or should I just save up to buy a new motherboard that supports socket AM4 and DDR4 memory that I have been looking at?
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Simple answer is 'NO' because tech is moving so fast that a used PC with a better mother board will cost less than a new thing that might give your old machine a good boost.
Do you want your desktop to do better with games?
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That does make sense Geek, will be investing in a decent PC for Christmas!
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The answer also depends upon which resource(s) you're limited by: time, money, knowledge of building a PC, and so on. What is your main goal? Adequate response to games, compute problems, disk access, what?
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Let's do a bit of back of the napkin math here.
" is it worth it to get a decent AM3 processor and upgrade the RAM to 8GB, or should I just save up to buy a new motherboard that supports socket AM4 and DDR4 memory that I have been looking at?"
For memory, I don't know what you've got in there- (eg. 4x1GB or 2x2GB sticks). However, 4x2GB Sticks of DDR2 look to go for around 30 dollars or so.
For CPU, The Athlon II X4 640 looks to be the fastest CPU you can plop in there. I've found some forum posts where users with the motherboard were able to use The Phenom II X4 940, which is a little better, but it's not on the official support list.
The Athlon II X4 640 gives a PassMark Score of 3317. Phenom II X4 940 gives 3597, so not a big difference. (Don't know how it would compare to what you've got now).
The Chip looks to go for around $60 or so. That's $90 to upgrade both the RAM and the CPU, which isn't that bad. Of course prices may vary in different regions. I was going off eBay pricing for the CPU and Amazon for the DDR2 memory. Either way, the upgrade is going to be cheaper than buying a new PC. The question is whether you would prefer to put that amount towards a new PC in the future instead.
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I have some issues on this PC where it will crash (usually when stressed) and there is a BSOD but its all distorted and torn apart and there is a little bit of the previous screen left on the BSOD screen (the game I was just playing, video editing etc). I have come to believe this was a processor issue because in Linux mint, if the processor microde driver is not installed it wont crash either. I think I will play it safe and buy the new hardware, but I might just get the upgrade anyways.