GPU is dead. Upgrading this old system

dragnandy

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 28, 2008
Messages
198
Hey all. To start off, I have my first baby (computer) that just recently died because the GPU gave out. This has lasted me 7 years, and as much as I love it. I'm going to build a new PC from scratch, but I don't want to toss this one out. Just restore it.

Here are my parts.

GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3L
ATI Radeon HD4870 512mb version
Intel Core 2 Quad 6600 @ 3.0ghz
650W Corsair PSU
And then standard HD, RAM, and so on.

I plan on getting a new GPU and SSD. I'm guessing I'll still be able to use newer gen GPU with the motherboard and its PCI Express x16. What about SSD? This has SATA but I'm not sure if SATAIII works.

Since I'm going to build another PC from scratch when I get more funds, can you all recommend me a GPU that is <$100 USD? I'm assuming it'll have better performance than the 4870, right?

And what about SSD? Any recommendations? I'm not sure about the size I want, but I guess I'll be putting the windows OS on it. Do you think its worth putting games on SSD, too?

Thank you all in advance!
 
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For a graphics card, a 750TI or R7 265 should be a nice upgrade for around $130 these should be a notable increase over the 4870 as they are 3 tiers above, according to the Tom's Hardware graphics card Jan '15 guide.

As for an SSD, I am partial to the Samsung Evo 250 GB. Good software for data migration from the old drive to the new drive and the 850 Evo has a 5 year warranty. It will still be good in a gen 2 motherboard.
 
Do all SSD work on "2nd gen" motherboards?

And I read that the 750ti needs a 6-pin PCIe connector. Would this still be compatible with my mobo?
 
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Do all SSD work on "2nd gen" motherboards?
Yes. You won't get the full transfer performance out of them but you will get the full random read/write speeds which really are the main reasons to have a SSD. Yes it's worth putting some games on the SSD.
And I read that the 750ti needs a 6-pin PCIe connector. Would this still be compatible with my mobo?
The 6Pin PCI-E connector isn't located on your motherboard. It's located with your power supply. It's the exact same power connector you're using to power your HD 4870 card.

But yes either of the cards that m_isom linked to should be compatible with your system.
 
nooooooo, why do you want a 750Ti? you have 650W power supply which is powerful enough to power anything, so get a used 280(x), you should be able to find one for that price with in a week or so.

Yes, SSDs will run with any board that has SATA (even if it's SATA II)

I'd buy an after market cooler too to overclock that Q6600
 
I do have an aftermarket cooler, but i'm just running the q6600 @3.0ghz.
I figured that the gtx750ti would be much better and make the cpu bottleneck anyways, so an even better gpu wouldn't help that much.
 
It depends on the game whether or not the CPU will really bottleneck. talk2troy has shown that a Q6600 and a Radeon 280 3GB can go great together when playing Tomb Raider for example.
 
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