Old Computer Upgrade

[Nefarious]

Hey All,

I have a custom built desktop PC that's 11 years old and I've noticed one of the GPU's is dying or dead. It has 2x HD Radeon 6700's that work with crossfire technology. Recently, I've noticed my PC was randomly turning off or losing video signal and I believe I've identified the culprit to be the top GPU.

Was hoping to secure an older/better GPU to replace both existing cards. I use this PC for everyday work stuff as well as some classic games like Silent Hunter III, Civ V, etc. Eventually, my gaming rig will replace this machine but I'd like to keep this one going for a bit longer. It has a 900W PSU so it should be able to take a decent upgrade HOWEVER - There are size restrictions for this case, So newer cards will probably not fit if they are over 7 or 8 inches. The current cards are 7 inches long.

OS Name   Microsoft Windows 10 Pro
Processor   Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU         950  @ 3.07GHz, 3060 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 8 Logical Processor(s)
BaseBoard Manufacturer   EVGA
BaseBoard Product   131-GT-E767  - https://www.evga.com/products/pdf/131-GT-E767.pdf
Installed Physical Memory (RAM)   16.0 GB DDR3
 

[Meatwad]

How hard would it be to just swap everything to a larger case and then get longer video cards?

[oboe]

How hard would it be to just swap everything to a larger case and then get longer video cards?

I agree with Meat's idea here of migrating to a larger case - it will open up a lot more options for more powerful cards.  Might be a good time to add more storage too; switch to SSDs if you don't already have one...

[Meatwad]

I was given this PC because they was throwing it away because it was dead.

Intel Core i7-3820
ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. SABERTOOTH X79 Rev 1.xx
32gb ram

the tower is similar to this but the full tower version that is discontinued  https://www.newegg.com/p/2AM-000X-00288

You know the only problem was that the power button in the case went bad. Cheap fix since I replaced it with another one from a parts case. Worked perfectly after that. 

[Nefarious]

How hard would it be to just swap everything to a larger case and then get longer video cards?

I agree with Meat's idea here of migrating to a larger case - it will open up a lot more options for more powerful cards.  Might be a good time to add more storage too; switch to SSDs if you don't already have one...

Ok. Ordered a new case.

I'll update when I can.

[GasTeddy]

Just FYI, I run AH with this kind of antique mill:

Operating system: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro N for Workstations (10.0, Build 19045)
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3770 CPU @ 3.40GHz 4/8 0,0v, overclocked to base speed 4.10, running games 4.92GHz
Motherboard: MSI Z77 MPower (MS-7751)
RAM: 16 GB @ 1600MHz
Hard disk1 (main disk): TS1TSSD220Q (931,5 GB/Fixed hard disk media)
Hard disk2 (storage): TOSHIBA DT01ACA100 (931,5 GB/Fixed hard disk media)
Hard disk3 (internet): HUAWEI TF CARD Storage USB Device (0.0 bytes/)
Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 (4 GB)
Monitor: STK S2-TEK TV (1920x1080 / 42,1 Inch)
Razer Cortex for optimizing
MSI Afterburner to slightly overclock the GPU

Runs AH easily over 100 fps. My son plays War Thunder and Enlisted, they run fine and he never even activates Razer or Afterburner.

[Drane]

When you get a video card, try to buy one with full 16 PCIe lanes since you only have PCIe 2.0 on that motherboard.

Some newer low end video cards only have 8 lanes which could make them slow on a PCIe 2.0 motherboard.

[Nefarious]

When you get a video card, try to buy one with full 16 PCIe lanes since you only have PCIe 2.0 on that motherboard.

Some newer low end video cards only have 8 lanes which could make them slow on a PCIe 2.0 motherboard.

Could you recommend or link a good card? Seems like the search results are all over the place for me.

[Spikes]

There are size restrictions for this case, So newer cards will probably not fit if they are over 7 or 8 inches. The current cards are 7 inches long.

All you gotta do is buy this bad boy and you'll have a case for your new rig too

https://www.corsair.com/us/en/p/pc-cases/cc-9011148-ww/obsidian-series-1000d-super-tower-case-cc-9011148-ww

(it fits a full eATX system as well as a Mini-ITX system) 

Another option - I assume it's just the hard drive bays that create the limited space? It's usually pretty easy to get a Dremel and cut them out unless it's a nice case with some value...

[Nefarious]

Another option - I assume it's just the hard drive bays that create the limited space? It's usually pretty easy to get a Dremel and cut them out unless it's a nice case with some value...

I'll have to take a look. That's not a bad idea actually.

[Drane]

Could you recommend or link a good card? Seems like the search results are all over the place for me.

For a graphic card that you could transfer to a newer cpu/motherboard when you upgrade that, I would recommend these minimum specs:

PCIe 4.0 x16
8GB memory or more
For AMD - Radeon RX 6700 or RX 7700 (or better)
For NVidia - RTX 3060 or RTX 4070 (or better)

A good performance reference is Tom's Hardware GPU Hierarchy chart https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gpu-hierarchy,4388.html

I usually compare shop on Newegg and Amazon, occasionally Best Buy has good deals.

Oh, one brand I personally avoid is XFX, every XFX card I have ever owned died right after the warranty ran out.

[Shuffler]

Uhhh if you do an old computer upgrade, doesn't that require an older computer? I mean... if you took a newer computer and did an old computer upgrade, wouldn't that be going backwards?



This also reminds me of the time I changed all the screws out on a computer. I was laying under it looking up while doing the job. When finished, I got up and setup the computer only to realize it was all screwed up

[Drano]

That's just screwy!

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

[Nefarious]

For a graphic card that you could transfer to a newer cpu/motherboard when you upgrade that, I would recommend these minimum specs:

PCIe 4.0 x16
8GB memory or more
For AMD - Radeon RX 6700 or RX 7700 (or better)
For NVidia - RTX 3060 or RTX 4070 (or better)

A good performance reference is Tom's Hardware GPU Hierarchy chart https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gpu-hierarchy,4388.html

I usually compare shop on Newegg and Amazon, occasionally Best Buy has good deals.

Oh, one brand I personally avoid is XFX, every XFX card I have ever owned died right after the warranty ran out.

I have a 1080ti in my gaming rig, perhaps the thing to do is buy a new card for my gaming rig and move the 1080 to my work (older) pc.

thoughts?

[Eagler]

I have a 1080ti in my gaming rig, perhaps the thing to do is buy a new card for my gaming rig and move the 1080 to my work (older) pc.

thoughts?

The newer cards are longer than a 1080

I had to get a new case so my 3070 fit

Eagler