Worth the upgrade or not?

[ThaCrip]

I was thinking of getting a $50 or so PSU so i can basically use a old motherboard/cpu/ram setup as that would be a rather large upgrade from the current AMD Athlon 1.2ghz (266fsb) CPU setup i got which is basically obsolete being the newest versions of web browsers no longer support it because it lacks SSE2 CPU instructions as the browsers specifically complain about that.

 

the general setup i will be using 'IF' i get that $50 or so PSU...

 

-AMD Athlon X2 3600+ (2.0ghz (dual core))

-2GB of RAM

-ASUS A8N32-Sli Deluxe (motherboard)

 

just wondering what other peoples thoughts are on this or is there other possible options for that $50 to get a decent basic internet type of machine?

 

also, i am assuming that PSU is all i need as i have not tried to see if that older case will work on that ASUS motherboard listed above or not as the case is from a Alienware machine i got in 2001 (last PC i bought pre-built) and has a FIC AD11 motherboard in it but i have replaced the PSU on it before and i figure if that one fits the case is likely fairly standard? ; assuming all of that works... do you think this is worth investing $50 or so into for a basic internet PC or would i be better off holding off and investing that $50 or so into a newer PC in the future and then i can use my current PC as the backup? ; because at $50 or so i am thinking about it as i figure if i was spending $100 or so it would definitely not be worth it and at that point i would definitely be better off investing that into new computer hardware.

 

p.s. another thing i should mention is while that motherboard (ASUS A8N32-Sli Deluxe) etc still works i noticed some of the capacitors are starting to bubble up a bit (there don't appear to be any actual leaks though). do you think this would be a problem or are those likely to hold up for years (especially given the PC will only see occasional use and will be mostly powered off)?  NOTE: that ASUS motherboard seen a lot of power on hours (it was running pretty much 24/7) from basically when i first built it in March 2006 til i retired it in May 2012. so it's got a bit over 6 years of use on it. do you think it will be years, especially since the PC won't see a lot of use, before they act up?

[Jim K Global Moderator]

I wouldn't. If anything....I'd buy the cheapest PSU I could find. With the capacitors bubbling... It is on borrowed time anyway (unless you want to replace them which could be a fun project I guess).

 

But 50 bucks for that setup...noooooo

[ThaCrip]

Okay, thanks for the info.

 

what about this... https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438130 ; it's less than $30 and is 450watts which i imagine should be enough and seems like EVGA is a decent brand.

 

what's the most $$$ you would spend for this setup/scenario i am trying to do? ; or are you of the mindset i should just keep the $$$ and put it towards a newer setup down the road.

 

p.s. even assuming i went with that i would still have to play around with things just to make sure it's all going to work with just the PSU upgrade without having to buy anything else and see if that ASUS motherboard will fit into that case etc.

Edited September 29, 2017 by ThaCrip

[Jason S. Global Moderator]

if that motherboard has bubbling capacitors then i say this whole project is a no-go. even the CPU you'd be using is way outdated. it's got to be 10yrs old already...

 

i think youre better off just buying a completely new rig, and do it right from the get-go.

[ThaCrip]

@Jason S.

 

It's from March 2006 (which is when i built it). it does have some bubbling capacitors but the last i check none where leaking and the system was still nice and stable. the motherboard has been sitting in it's box since May 2012.

 

The CPU (AMD Athlon X2 3600+(dual core 2.0ghz)) is quite outdated but at least it should give useable performance in comparison to that one from 2001, which is fairly ancient(does not work with current browsers as you can't even load up the newest browsers on it), which is why i wanted to do it in the first place.

 

or let me ask you this... capacitor issue aside(like if they were good), do you think it's worth $30 or so to get a useable PC up and running? ; or is even this not worth it in your opinion and i would still be better off saving the $$$ and investing it into a new build say a few years from now etc.

 

also, lets say those capacitors do fail... that just means general system instability, right? ; like it can't damage any components? ; even if it did damage some components, i would be losing about $30 worst case because as things are now they are collecting dust.

 

thanks for your time as i am just trying to see what the general consensus is around here before making any decisions.

[Jason S. Global Moderator]

if those bubbling capacitors failed then it most likely means the entire motherboard would fail.

 

i just feel that you'd be throwing $30-50 at an ancient computer that really doesnt have a future. Why dont you spend a bit more for a PSU that you could eventually carry over to an entirely new computer?

[xendrome]

You could get on Ebay and find a used Dell Optiplex with double the specs of what you listed for $100.

[Mindovermaster Moderator]

10 minutes ago, xendrome said:

You could get on Ebay and find a used Dell Optiplex with double the specs of what you listed for $100.

That or go to 1Sale. They have a lot of refurbed computers for cheapo.

[ThaCrip]

@Jason S.

 

Hell, that does got me thinking on what you said there... which gets me back more towards the $50 range as i can get a Seasonic 500-600 watt or so range for that price and likely the exact same model i have in my computer at the moment (which i think is a 520watt) which will be 5 years old in November, which will make it the longest lasting PSU i have had, as they  (my past PSU's and different brands) typically fail not long after the warranties are up as i have had one with a 2 year warranty fail not long after that and one with a 3 year warranty failed about 4 year mark or so.

 

the PSU that was 3 year warranty was the one that was originally used on that ASUS board i am trying to get up and running at the moment and it was $110 back in March 2006 (Enermax Liberty brand, which had to be decent at the time given the price etc) and then had a cheaper Rosewill with the 2 year warranty on that board after that. but from what i heard before i bought the Seasonic one that i currently have is that brand has one of the lowest failure rates in general and so far it's going strong.

 

also, if i get that 600 watt range PSU, to use on a future build, i might use that PSU in my main PC and put my current PSU, which it's 5 year warranty ends in November, into the old setup i am trying to revive as this way it's like i get another 5 years from now of of warranty powering my main PC.

 

p.s. i have had more PSU's die on me than hard drives (i.e. 3 vs 1)

 

@xendrome

 

Hell, that also got me thinking as you brought up another option i have. but even going down this line of thinking...

 

it mostly depends on what kind of CPU and RAM amount ill get (and can i use my old Radeon 5670 512MB card in it to which is what i planned on putting into the Athlon X2 CPU thing here) for that $100 or so as for that price range i might be better off just saving the $$$ and investing it into a future main PC and using my current one (with the bubbling caps) as the backup at that point as i am mostly trying to get a passable PC for general internet etc as a backup to my main PC

 

because i guess it's mostly trying to find best-bang-for-the-buck. like for $30-50 for a PSU to revive the current hardware i got and potentially using that PSU in a future build could save me a little $$$ down the road.

[Jason S. Global Moderator]

$80 shipped - Silverstone 700W modular PSU

[ThaCrip]

That's nice, but it's only got a 1 year warranty which given my luck with PSU's is a bit of a red flag, especially for that price. Seasonic brand generally have 5 year+ warranties and they are similar in price or cheaper (i would rather avoid PSU's that don't have at least 3 year warranties but preferably 5+, unless of course the PSU is cheap enough and is fairly reliable as i heard a PSU is not something you want to skimp on for a computer you want to be stable). the one i got is not modular though so cables are sort of everywhere.

 

but speaking of wattage... i assume anything around 500-600 or so is pretty safe for most computer builds(?) because when i build a new computer i am not planning on having a monster GPU or anything in it as it will mostly just have roughly 3-4 hard drives, the motherboard/CPU etc and a likely, a good, but power efficient GPU or so as my two most recent video card purchases (Radeon 5670 512MB and my current one i got in July is Geforce 1050 Ti 4GB, both powered from PCI-E slot) got their power from the PCI-E slot which means they can't use more than 75 watts on the GPU at the most.

 

p.s. who knows, depending on how that 1050 Ti 4GB card i have holds up in a 1-2-3 years or so i may stick with that as long as i can as i feel that's why my current setup will buy me at least a couple more years if not more.

[Jason S. Global Moderator]

yep, it was just an example. ive had a Silverstone PSU for 5yrs, and it's been rock solid. i was just showing that you could get a solid PSU for under $100, and it'll easily carry over to a brand new build.

[xendrome]

This is like putting new tires on a car with a blown engine and busted out glass all around.

[ThaCrip]

Given the general comments so far, which seems to say avoid spending any $$$ on that old hardware, ill probably hold off on things and wait especially since, at least for now, even slightly older browsers should work for very basic internet like if i needed to order something online if my main PC goes down which it should be okay for a while i would think.

 

thanks for the advice. if anything else comes up ill probably reply here