PC upgrade Question...

...I'm sorry if this is in the wrong forum. Please move if warranted.

@@bree, @pparks1, @f14tomcat, @kato897, @Paul Black, and all you other outstanding members I failed to mention.

I am thinking of upgrading my PC. You can see from my limited specs what I am dealing with.

I have very limited, to no knowledge regarding computers. Thus, I am asking for your advice and suggestions.

#1 - I don't use my PC for anything important, or task imperative. I currently have a 1TB spinner, with only 24 GB used.

...Here is the question. Should I go with an off the shelf production machine (with all the promotional bloatware), much like I have now (although clean).

Or, would you advise me to perhaps consult with a custom builder like 'Puget Systems' @pparks1), I think you are knowledgeable of them.

This will be my last PC. And the cost of a custom build is not an object. But, is it really worth it?


Thank you sirs, for any reply you may wish to leave. I appreciate any and all advice. Please, forgive my ignorance.

Take care of yourselves and family, during this trying time.


Sorry guys, I made a hell of a mess trying to edit/post this. ;(

If you already have a SSD per your PC info, what's this PC not doing well for you? Is it lacking in some way?

Do you have a decent monitor, keyboard, and mouse ......... those can make a difference in you PC experience.

Deleted my previous post after seeing you have a SSD - it's the boot drive presumably.

Thank you Steve, No, the current one does not have a SSD. If I stated that, it was a mistake. It is a 1TB HHD. My apology my friend. I will try to find and correct that error.

~~~~~

Mr. TC, thank you for your solid words of wisdom. I indeed appreciate you more than you know. I will be leaving this to my daughter, who due to Covid works from home. I want it to be expandable to suit her future needs. Personally, I do nothing but have fun jacking with my current machine. Hell, I've tried to mess it up, and can't! Haha. But I want her to have flexibility if/when needed.

@WXC,

I would buy a SSD for this PC to be used as the boot drive if you're going to give it to your daughter. I'd suggest getting minimum 256 GB SSD, and possibly adding an additional 8 GB RAM.

steve108 said:

@WXC,

I would buy a SSD for this PC to be used as the boot drive if you're going to give it to your daughter. I'd suggest getting minimum 256 GB SSD, and possibly adding an additional 8 GB RAM.

Thanks Steve,

I will indeed purchase an SSD for this old box, and up the RAM to 16 GB min..

The new one, I am willing to go BTTW on it.

Thank you buddy... keep rock'in!

@WXC,
I haven't kept up with new PC components or built a PC in 4-ever, so will defer the Ferrari of PCs recommendations to others and I shall just observe and try to learn.

steve108 said:

@WXC,
I haven't kept up with new PC components or built a PC in 4-ever, so will defer the Ferrari of PCs recommendations to others and I shall just observe and try to learn.

Thanks Steve, certainly I shall do the same.

~~~~~~

To all you Guys and Gals (no offense), that normally post to this 'Custom Builds' room... please forgive me for not tagging you by name. It was not meant as an insult. I would love to hear anything, anyone has to offer!

Thank you kindly

Your current i7-3770 is no slouch, but coming up on 9 years since introduction.

Is everything inside the case in the 7 to 9 year old category?

If yes and you can afford it, I probably would upgrade, even if satisfied with the status quo.

If you put an SSD in the current machine, it would be noticeable, but not a night/day difference. Likewise, for mundane tasks, you wouldn't be stupefied by the performance change offered by a current CPU, motherboard, power supply, and RAM.

But I'd likely do so regardless out of age concerns if nothing else.

I investigated Puget 10 or 12 years ago when pondering a new PC. I built my own instead of buying a pre-built, but as I recall they had a good rep and were in the upper tier of "boutique" builders. I have no idea if that is still true.

You'd likely be as satisfied with a new Dell or HP or Lenovo or Asus, but there's no reason not to use Puget as far as I know. They may well offer you greater control over the hardware choices, which could be advantageous. Puget might cost 300 or 500 more than a similar Dell, but for a "last PC", why worry about that?

ignatzatsonic said:

Your current i7-3770 is no slouch, but coming up on 9 years since introduction.

Is everything inside the case in the 7 to 9 year old category?

If yes and you can afford it, I probably would upgrade, even if satisfied with the status quo.

If you put an SSD in the current machine, it would be noticeable, but not a night/day difference. Likewise, for mundane tasks, you wouldn't be stupefied by the performance change offered by a current CPU, motherboard, power supply, and RAM.

But I'd likely do so regardless out of age concerns if nothing else.

I investigated Puget 10 or 12 years ago when pondering a new PC. I built my own instead of buying a pre-built, but as I recall they had a good rep and were in the upper tier of "boutique" builders. I have no idea if that is still true.

You'd likely be as satisfied with a new Dell or HP or Lenovo or Asus, but there's no reason not to use Puget as far as I know. They may well offer you greater control over the hardware choices, which could be advantageous. Puget might cost 300 or 500 more than a similar Dell, but for a "last PC", why worry about that?

Thank you @ignatzatsonic,

Yes, everything inside same. Runs perfectly, but trying to think a bit ahead.

Puget still has a solid rep, as for as I can find. I am certainly leaning toward them.

Of course, I know I need to touch this old machine a bit, no problem.

It's the future I am looking to.

Thank you for your informative post, and best wishes to you and yours!

W


...I might add; Not to get on Microsoft's butt too hard, but, I never, ever, had an issue with this old PC, until late July 2020, and magically there was a 'Preview' update forced upon it. The result?... 'Critical Error'. Well needless to say, I could not repair it, so I was out of pocket $125 bucks to the repair shop. Thanks Microsoft! :)

Other than that, just the Flash Removal KB, which caused a DISM error (0x800f081f), thankfully another member here @TekKI BOY, resolved that issue for me.