Looking for advice on upgrading old computer

[Newbie88888888]

Hi all - my desktop is about 10 years old now, and it's running super slowly / laggy. My com's specs are set out below.

I'm thinking of upgrading it, and hope to get some advice from the experts here. In particular, I'm thinking of upgrading the RAM and GPU, but am not sure how to look out for compatibility issues.

Any other advice in general on what to look out for / to be mindful of would be much appreciated.

Use cases are:
General use (word processing etc), you tube etc
Some gaming - hope to be able to play more recent games on acceptable graphics (not necessarily on best graphics settings)

Thank you.


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System Information report written at: 04/27/23 22:09:13
System Name: DESKTOP-SH74FOK
[System Summary]

Item Value
OS Name Microsoft Windows 10 Home
Version 10.0.19045 Build 19045
Other OS Description Not Available
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name DESKTOP-SH74FOK
System Manufacturer MSI
System Model MS-7982
System Type x64-based PC
System SKU Default string
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6500 CPU @ 3.20GHz, 3192 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date American Megatrends Inc. I.60, 23/2/2016
SMBIOS Version 3.0
Embedded Controller Version 255.255
BIOS Mode UEFI
BaseBoard Manufacturer MSI
BaseBoard Product B150M BAZOOKA (MS-7982)
BaseBoard Version 3.0
Platform Role Desktop
Secure Boot State Off
PCR7 Configuration Binding Not Possible
Windows Directory C:\WINDOWS
System Directory C:\WINDOWS\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume3
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "10.0.19041.2728"
User Name DESKTOP-SH74FOK\User
Time Zone Malay Peninsula Standard Time
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 8.00 GB
Total Physical Memory 7.97 GB
Available Physical Memory 1.15 GB
Total Virtual Memory 25.0 GB
Available Virtual Memory 6.47 GB
Page File Space 17.0 GB
Page File D:\pagefile.sys
Kernel DMA Protection Off
Virtualization-based security Not enabled
Device Encryption Support Reasons for failed automatic device encryption: TPM is not usable, PCR7 binding is not supported, Hardware Security Test Interface failed and device is not Modern Standby, Un-allowed DMA capable bus/device(s) detected, TPM is not usable
Hyper-V - VM Monitor Mode Extensions Yes
Hyper-V - Second Level Address Translation Extensions Yes
Hyper-V - Virtualization Enabled in Firmware Yes
Hyper-V - Data Execution Protection Yes

[Hardware Resources]

 

[kaixax555]

Laggy is usually down to software rather than hardware, a clean install would usually remove that "Laggy" feeling

I can only gather from your specifications that you have
Intel i5-6500
MSI B150M Bazooka
8GB DDR4 (no idea what speed what configuration)

Can you download HWInfo and screenshot it so that we can better advice on what to upgrade?

 

[kaputzzz]

U have a i5-6500 CPU and 8GB ram which is pretty low in today's standard... in today's standard 32GB should be the minimum amount of RAM u should have. Duno if u have GPU anot... do u know if u have a GPU or what model?

My current rig is similar to urs, also i5-6500 but i have 16gb ram which helps alot in keeping my system smooth.

If u dun need to play games, ur CPU is fine for general computing but if u wanna play games, u need a decent GPU either RTX 3060 or better or 6600XT or better... if u are gonna buy a GPU it would be better if u just buy an entire new system as ur CPU is getting pretty old. Make sure ur new system have at least 32GB RAM as RAM is crucial in ensuring ur system does not hit the memory resource limit and resort to using pagefile for memory resources which will cause "lag" and slow down ur system.

If u die die want to keep ur rig and play games, u could add another 8gb ram for like $50 maybe on the 2nd hand market and buy a RTX 3060 for $400 and u are good to go... just dont expect top tier performance

 

[abstrax]

Just upgrade RAM to 16GB, get a NVMe SSD(if ur m/b support) and a decent GPU eg. Nvidia RTX or AMD RX series will do. I suppose will speed up the system than b4.

 

[Newbie88888888]

Thanks all for your inputs.

@kaixax555 - I have downloaded HWInfo, please see specs below.

I am generally aware that I'll need to upgrade my ram and GPU, but as my MOBO / set up is very old, I'm hoping to get some more specific advice to avoid compatbility issues (I'm quite a noob and have no idea how to check this).

 

[_DeS__]

Give budget and everything else will automatically fall into place.

 

[Newbie88888888]

Upgrading budget is around 500 - 700

Not sure if this budget is considered "high" or "low" - things seem crazy expensive nowadays.

 

[kaputzzz]

Bro we have such similar systems LOL

I guarantee u this CPU is solid... if u want performance increase, simplest thing is to increase ur RAM. Since u are using a single stick of RAM, ur RAM speed isnt in DDR mode, just buy another 8gb stick and slot in u will see a nice boost in ur system performance. If u are worried about compatibilty theres no need to worry as the RAM will auto configure to match the lowest speed of the RAM even if it is different brand. Just make sure it is DDR4.

For GPU the only limitation is ur PSU wattage and the case size. As long as ur PSU wattage is sufficient to power the GPU that u are targetting, u can run it with ur current system. If ur case is mATX or ITX u may need to be careful about the GPU dimensions as some cards cannot fit into these casings. If ur casing is ATX, then there is generally no issue with regards to the size of the GPU. Anyway, RTX 3060 is a low powered GPU at 170W TDP so most PSU should be able to run it without issues.

 

[alex22]

Fresh install of win10 and additional 8gb ram, maybe move onto SSD.
Imho the storage interface upgrade is the best.
No point to hv many partitions.
Reuse ur current hdd for storage, ssd for os partition
8gb for office work is enough mostly.

 

[Newbie88888888]

Thanks everyone for your time.

I will upgrade my ram (by getting another 8gb ddr4 as recommended) and perhaps look to get a second hand RTX 3060 / 6600XT (I assume there will not be any compatibility issues - though it seems that various forums seem to say the 3060 is better than 6600XT due to driver issues with the 6600XT). Wondering about the 3060TI too, though not sure how my PSU will hold up.

I'll have a think about the storage / SSD as well.

Any recommendations on specific brands / "models"?

For the GPU, there is a seller on Carousell selling an "RTX 2060 Super Inno3D Twin X2 OC - RTX 2060S 8GB GDDR6)" at $300, and the listing states it is "better than 3060". Would it make sense for me to go with that?

 

[kaputzzz]

Thanks everyone for your time.

I will upgrade my ram (by getting another 8gb ddr4 as recommended) and perhaps look to get a second hand RTX 3060 / 6600XT (I assume there will not be any compatibility issues - though it seems that various forums seem to say the 3060 is better than 6600XT due to driver issues with the 6600XT). Wondering about the 3060TI too, though not sure how my PSU will hold up.

I'll have a think about the storage / SSD as well.

Any recommendations on specific brands / "models"?

For the GPU, there is a seller on Carousell selling an "RTX 2060 Super Inno3D Twin X2 OC - RTX 2060S 8GB GDDR6)" at $300, and the listing states it is "better than 3060". Would it make sense for me to go with that?

U have to do ur own research on the specific GPU performance but from what i see, they 2060S performs quite similarly to RTX 3060, but 2060S only has 8GB vram vs 12GB vram on the 3060 so its one thing to consider. U could go for the ti version if ur budget allows, just becareful if u keep "top up abit" u may end up buying an entire new system with 4080 instead for $4k lol.

Anyways the 4060/4060ti should be coming out pretty soon u could wait to see if that may be a better deal for u in terms of price or performance.

 

[86technie]

Thanks all for your inputs.

@kaixax555 - I have downloaded HWInfo, please see specs below.

I am generally aware that I'll need to upgrade my ram and GPU, but as my MOBO / set up is very old, I'm hoping to get some more specific advice to avoid compatbility issues (I'm quite a noob and have no idea how to check this).

1) Update the motherboard BIOS (This will improve system stability as well as fix some issues)
Last BIOS update was 2018 so yours is out of date.

https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/B150M-BAZOOKA/support

2) Download Samsung Magician check if the Samsung 850 have new firmware.

3) Secure erase the SSD than install a fresh copy of Windows.

Hardware side

1) Upgrade to either 16/32GB DDR4 RAM, example Corsair Vengenace DDR4-3200.
Take note for such RAM kit, this CPU when XMP is turn on it won't be able to hit DDR4-3200
due to CPU memory controller limitation.

2) Consider get a second hand GTX 1070 or GTX 1080 which ranges from $200 - $300.
Despite these cards are older but it's more compatible with this generation of CPUs.

If you want to upgrade the SSD consider get a Samsung 870 EVO 500 which retails around $7X

 

[TanKianW]

Thanks all for your inputs.

@kaixax555 - I have downloaded HWInfo, please see specs below.

I am generally aware that I'll need to upgrade my ram and GPU, but as my MOBO / set up is very old, I'm hoping to get some more specific advice to avoid compatbility issues (I'm quite a noob and have no idea how to check this).

LGA1151 is a pretty mature, solid and long lasting platfom with quite a few replacement mobo options even tIll this day, esp on the used market. You can even buy brand new compatible boards online. So for CPU, I will keep if you not a heavy gamer. In fact I run lots of production servers using this platform on my client side that is still up and running till this day.

If I wanna save cost, I will just buy a used mobo to standby or change out the mobo, buy a matching 8G RAM pair or just replace it with a new 2x 8GB kit since RAM prices are going down due to excess production.

(*Not sure if you have switched to SSD) Storage wise, I will change to a SSD likely still on SATA, which will uplift your pc speed by quite a bit. Last but not least, reinstall my Windows. I will avoid Win11.​

 

[alex22]

LGA1151 is a pretty mature, solid and long lasting platfom with quite a few replacement mobo options even tIll this day, esp on the used market. You can even buy brand new compatible boards online. So for CPU, I will keep if you not a heavy gamer. In fact I run lots of production servers using this platform on my client side that is still up and running till this day.

If I wanna save cost, I will just buy a used mobo to standby or change out the mobo, buy a matching 8G RAM pair or just replace it with a new 2x 8GB kit since RAM prices are going down due to excess production.

(*Not sure if you have switched to SSD) Storage wise, I will change to a SSD likely still on SATA, which will uplift your pc speed by quite a bit. Last but not least, reinstall my Windows. I will avoid Win11.​

I would pass on the display card upgrade tbh since most of the usage would be skewed toward work purposes and media entertainment

 

[TanKianW]

Just to add on to BIOS flashing.

For mature platforms unless you are installing new, I suggest not flashing the BIOS if it is not giving you any issues. The performance uplift is practically non-existence or negligible, unless it is a “new” platform or a platform still relatively buggy (AM4/5).

There is a reason why board manufacturers always warned against flashing BIOS (no matter how safe in today’s context) if the system is stable, unless you faced/experienced with some issues. Let’s just say I have killed more system when flashing BIOS on an older system than solving problems after flashing the BIOS. Flashing BIOS will always pose some risks. In fact, a lot of pc builders will just flash their BIOS without reading the changelogs, which itself is an oversight. I will only flash the BIOS when the changelogs affect my system or my use case (new CPU support, etc)

In contrast on a server platform, BIOS update is few but more rigorously tested for stability. And most manufacturers will not release BIOS update often knowing the users pursue stability more than just punny performance boost.​

 

[ragnarok95]

Just to add on to BIOS flashing.

For mature platforms unless you are installing new, I suggest not flashing the BIOS if it is not giving you any issues. The performance uplift is practically non-existence or negligible, unless it is a “new” platform or a platform still relatively buggy (AM4/5).

There is a reason why board manufacturers always warned against flashing BIOS (no matter how safe in today’s context) if the system is stable, unless you faced/experienced with some issues. Let’s just say I have killed more system when flashing BIOS on an older system than solving problems after flashing the BIOS. Flashing BIOS will always pose some risks. In fact, a lot of pc builders will just flash their BIOS without reading the changelogs, which itself is an oversight. I will only flash the BIOS when the changelogs affect my system or my use case (new CPU support, etc)

In contrast on a server platform, BIOS update is few but more rigorously tested for stability. And most manufacturers will not release BIOS update often knowing the users pursue stability more than just punny performance boost.​

Or flash bios only when the board marker issue a urgent flash bios notice, like the current X3D issue. And i agree with you, you don't really have to flash the bios to the latest when everything is working fine currently.

 

[Newbie88888888]

1) Update the motherboard BIOS (This will improve system stability as well as fix some issues)
Last BIOS update was 2018 so yours is out of date.

https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/B150M-BAZOOKA/support

2) Download Samsung Magician check if the Samsung 850 have new firmware.

3) Secure erase the SSD than install a fresh copy of Windows.

Hardware side

1) Upgrade to either 16/32GB DDR4 RAM, example Corsair Vengenace DDR4-3200.
Take note for such RAM kit, this CPU when XMP is turn on it won't be able to hit DDR4-3200
due to CPU memory controller limitation.

2) Consider get a second hand GTX 1070 or GTX 1080 which ranges from $200 - $300.
Despite these cards are older but it's more compatible with this generation of CPUs.

If you want to upgrade the SSD consider get a Samsung 870 EVO 500 which retails around $7X

Thanks all for the useful replies. Definitely looking to upgrade the ram to 16GB. But I will probably stay away from updating the BIOS due to some of the warnings (don't want to risk it).

@86technie - on your recommendation for GTX 1070/1080, do you mean that there is a risk of the RTX 3060 not being compatible on my mobo? Is there any way i can confirm / check for compatibility issues? If possible I would still prefer upgrading to a RTX 3060 which I feel may be sufficient for the next 5 years or so before I do a full upgrade next time.

 

[NightRaven49]

@86technie - on your recommendation for GTX 1070/1080, do you mean that there is a risk of the RTX 3060 not being compatible on my mobo? Is there any way i can confirm / check for compatibility issues? If possible I would still prefer upgrading to a RTX 3060 which I feel may be sufficient for the next 5 years or so before I do a full upgrade next time.

the 3060 (or any other gpu for that matter) should work just fine without compatibility issues. but the concern here is that the i5 6500 is too weak to keep up with the 3060 in games (ie cpu bottleneck), resulting in lower than expected performance which could end up about the same as if u had bought a cheaper card like the 1070/1080 instead. if u are still adamant on going for a 3060 or 6600/50xt, id say the 6600xt is the better pick as it is generally faster and cheaper used; with regards to the software, most of the claims of amd having driver issues are just parroting what it used to be 5 years ago, but actually nowadays nvidia and amd drivers are on par in terms of stability and imo amd's software is more polished and modern than nvidia's.

id suggest u add the 8gb of ram and clean install windows (not just reset, but reinstall windows from the media creation tool) first, usually the slowdown comes from updates over the years and u seem like ur using a really old build of windows. of course, make sure u install on the ssd and backup ur files first.

 

[_DeS__]

Ryzen 5 5600 or 5600x $2xx-$3xx
A520M or A620M motherboard $1xx
8Gb Ram $5x
Balance budget source for graphic card.

 

[86technie]

Thanks all for the useful replies. Definitely looking to upgrade the ram to 16GB. But I will probably stay away from updating the BIOS due to some of the warnings (don't want to risk it).

@86technie - on your recommendation for GTX 1070/1080, do you mean that there is a risk of the RTX 3060 not being compatible on my mobo? Is there any way i can confirm / check for compatibility issues? If possible I would still prefer upgrading to a RTX 3060 which I feel may be sufficient for the next 5 years or so before I do a full upgrade next time.

Is not say not compatible but the CPU won't catch up.
Especially the fact RTX 3060 is a PCIE 4.0 graphic card with resizeable bar feature.
Since the motherboard doesn't support PCE4.0 and resizeable bar thus it won't tap on RTX 3060 full potential.
So a GTX 1070/1080 will be more suitable.

As for BIOS update which I have done many times even for spoilt motherboard.
What others are cautioning is risk of bricking the motherboard.

BIOS update improve system stability, RAM compatibility, Intel security updates etc.
Many users don't update the BIOS unless there is a need.

However for older motherboard example Intel 4th Gen, need to update BIOS to support newer Windows 10.

If you don't want to do BIOS flash is OK but rest assured you won't brick it.
Unless you somehow turn the PC off during the updating than the motherboard will be brick.