What will $500 get in regards to a cpu?

[SMKR]

Paid 2500 for his setup he currently has pictured here years ago and it's time to get him another upgrade.

What will $500 get him compared to the specs pictured?

[Tx Redneck]

What's he doin with it that it's not meeting the need for?

Saved and Texan by the Grace of God, Redneck by choice.

[Tx Redneck]

Tbh, I'd start by tossing a 2gig stick of ram in it and see if that alleviates any slowness.

http://www.microcenter.com/product/2..._(Apple_Memory)

Saved and Texan by the Grace of God, Redneck by choice.

[stang2be]

I agree with trying the memory upgrade first. I've got a Dell E520 with the e6300 with 3gb of ram running XP and its really rather peppy. For internet surfing, paying bills, etc should do the trick for most. Since its got the full 1gb ram it should already have some sort of dedicated graphics card. Probably an NVIDIA 7200/7300. If he needs more cpu power those will take a Q6600 Core 2 Quad cpu

[CexMashean]

If you buy anything to "upgrade" that computer, you should be shot.

[Tx Redneck]

Why is that Magnus? Is a dual core not enough for basic office and web surfing?

Fwiw, that info was obtained via text, it's not an assumption.

Saved and Texan by the Grace of God, Redneck by choice.

[CexMashean]

He'd be buying a memory now, on borrowed time before hdd, capacitors, or something else goes out.
$300 would buy something that'd far surpass that machine. Why spend 1/6th of that budget on just trying to keep it alive and relevant?

[Tx Redneck]

I'll concede there's potential for failure...

Saved and Texan by the Grace of God, Redneck by choice.

[SMKR]

Thanks B for the text and help so far, that memory should be delivered Tuesday. I will install it then as well as perform the other recommendations.


Playing devils advocate and assuming that does not help much, is this a good replacement? If not, what would you get? (Using NewEgg models offered as a baseline)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883220341

ASUS M11AA-US002S
General Spec

Brand
ASUS

Model
M11AA-US002S

Processor
Intel Core i3-3220T 2.8GHz

Processor Main Features
64 bit Dual Core Processor

Cache Per Processor
3MB L3 Cache

Memory
16GB DDR3 1600

Hard Drive
3TB 7200RPM

Optical Drive 1
24x DVD-RW

Graphics
Intel HD Graphics 2500

Ethernet
Gigabit Ethernet

Power Supply
300W

Operating System
Windows 8

Motherboard

Chipset
Intel H61

CPU

CPU Type
Intel Core i3

CPU Speed
3220T(2.80GHz)

L3 Cache Per CPU
3MB

CPU Main Features
64 bit Dual Core Processor

Graphics

GPU/VPU Type
Intel HD Graphics 2500

Graphics Interface
Integrated video

Memory

Memory Capacity
16GB DDR3

Memory Speed
DDR3 1600

Hard Drive

HDD Capacity
3TB

HDD RPM
7200rpm

Optical Drive

Optical Drive Type
24x DVD-RW

Audio

Audio Channels
8 channels

Audio Features
SonicMaster

Front Panel Ports

Front USB
2 x USB 2.0

Front Audio Ports
2

Card Reader
6-in-1 Card Reader

Back Panel Ports

PS/2
1

Video Ports
1 VGA, 1 HDMI

Rear USB
2 x USB 3.0
4 x USB 2.0

Rear Audio Ports
1 x 8 channel Audio I/O

S/P DIF
1 port

Expansion

PCI Slots (Available/Total)
1 x PCI
2 x PCI-e x 1
1 x PCI-e x 16

Mouse

Mouse Type
USB Mouse

Keyboard

Keyboard Type
USB Keyboard

Physical Spec

Dimensions
6.8" x 14.2" x 15.8" (W x H x D)

Weight
17.4 lbs.

[SMKR]

found this one, how does it compare?

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7890733&CatId=7696

[stang2be]

16gb ram is way overkill esp for using i3 integrated graphics. For most users will see more "performance" by going to an ssd boot drive then a platter drive for raw storage.

Newegg one is a better deal for a few bucks more go from 4 to 16gb ram and from 500gb to 3tb hard drive.

The ivy bridge i3s are decent cpus. I just built a rig for my nephew with a 550ti for a cheap gaming rig

[stang2be]

Here's from just grabbing some decent but reasonable parts at microcenter with tax comes out around 490-550 depending on your cpu/board combo

Antec 300 Case $57.99
Kingston HyperX 8gb DDR3 1333 $59.99
Thermaltake TR2 500W power supply $42.99 (27.99 after rebate)
LG 24x DVDRW 15.99
Windows 7 home premium oem $99
Toshiba 1tb 7200 rpm 59.99

Then take your pick of an intel or amd cpu/motherboard bundle that meets your needs and what available.

just my .02

[bjtheman1]

Walmart in Little Elm off El Dorado had 3 desktops on clearance, all still new in box prices were from $300-400. I can't recall all the details but I know there was an Acer, Gateway, and Emachines. They included a monitor as well

[CexMashean]

Anything here.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=30000007%20600090100%204020&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&Order=PRICE&PageSize=20

[SMKR]

Tbh, I'd start by tossing a 2gig stick of ram in it and see if that alleviates any slowness.

http://www.microcenter.com/product/2..._(Apple_Memory)

Saved and Texan by the Grace of God, Redneck by choice.

This 2gb stick of ram just came in. I assume I just pull the case off, pry it out and stick the new one in? Put it back together, power on and we are in business, right?