Gaming Discussions

[dallasb]

I have an 

PC > HP Compaq 6005 Pro SFF

Hard Drive > 2TB

CPU: 2x AMD Athlon II X2 B24 3.0Ghz

GPU: ATI Radeon HD 4200 256MB Shared Memory (Came with this)

(Upgraded to > "MSI"/AMD Radeon R7 240 2GB LP)

PSU: 240W HP Brand

Ram: 4GB DDR3 Ram (Came with 1x4GB)

(Upgraded to 8GB DDR3 Ram (1x4GB Kingston, 1x4GB Original)

Motherboard: Hewlett-Packard | Model: 3047h | AMD 785G Chipset

Ok now that I have states my Specs, I want to start this off by saying I game.. Yes.. Game.. I've had this PC since 2013, and I've been using these specs (the original specs, I just recently upgraded the Ram and GPU) ever since. and I've gamed with over 40-100FPS (averaging FPS from all games I've played). Now that I've upgraded the GPU and Ram, I game with over 50-200FPS (averaging FPS from all games I've played). Now this post is a public post on why people are saying you can't game on specs like these. Though I've been doing so for the past 6 years and with no problems. I bought this PC for $90 on the Walmart website. I would love to see all of your answers on why people say that.

(Please keep the comments civil I don't want to start a war in the comments, this is just a Q&A, I asked the question, Now I would love to hear the answers from the community who are mostly known for AMD Products)

(And I don't know if I posted this in the correct place, If I didn't, sorry for that, I couldn't find the place for this type of post)

[jcfb]

Upgrade your cpu. I bet you can get a Phenom II X4 for like 20€

From what I see online the best you can get on that PC is AMD Phenom II X4 B9x series like a B93, B95, etc.

[jamesc359]

I guess ultimately it depends upon what games you're playing and what your expectations are. That is to say what resolution and quality settings you play at. I played semi-modern games on a Phenom X4 9750 and an HD7850. When you're a budget gamer you make do with what you've got.

That said I agree with jcfb. Something like an AMD Phenom II X4 B95 could be had in the US for around $20USD. Which would be a huge upgrade over the Athlon II X2 B24. Just be careful you don't overload your power supply if you do upgrade. 240watts isn't a lot.

[dallasb]

Thanks for the reply, I know that cpuboss or gpuboss isn't always reliable, but I went to compare the 2 cpu's and my current cpu over powered the AMD Phenom II X4 B95? I'll keep that processor in mind, but I'm just curious on why cpuboss shows my cpu is better when I can tell AMD Phenom II X4 B95 has 2 more cores than mine. And my GPU that I bought for $45 (MSI Radeon R7 240, it said it recommends a 450W PSU, but I can't upgrade my PSU bc the motherboard that came with the computer is only compatible with this current PSU, and the case is considerably small. So the only way for me to upgrade my PSU, is for me to get a new Motherboard and a new Case. 

Thanks again jcfb too for the reply.

Edit: I just looked on amazon and it says the CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 B95 is $62.95

[jamesc359]

GPU boss only has single threaded benchmarks listed for your current CPU, that skews things quite a bit.

I understand where you're coming from with your current case/PSU restrictions. I was there once myself. I ended up buying a better case so I could use a regular ATX PSU.

Does your motherboard use a proprietary power connector? If so you might be able to buy an adapter. I've never used one myself so I can't really advise beyond that sometimes it is possible.

Ultimately upgrading is optional and you shouldn't feel as though it's necessary as long as you're happy with how your system performs. Also sometimes when a system is older it isn't always worth it when you have to put forth a lot of time and effort into replacing your core components. Don't let us push you into something you're not comfortable with. 🙂

If you still want to I'd suggest looking on Ebay for a used CPU. Amazon isn't the best place to buy used computer parts.

[dallasb]

Thanks for the reply,

I am currently fine with the specs I have, and I don't know if my motherboard does use a proprietary power connector. And I totally agree with you about not suggesting upgrading a PC with such a small case, I personally think it's better for me just to buy a new PC or build a new one with all new parts. 

[colesdav]

Yes I agree you can use older hardware, CPU and GPU to run new AAA games today.
I still run a modded  HP Envy 15 (2009) laptop which has an upgraded i7-920XM processor, Full HD 1080p screen, 16GB RAM, and new motherboard with an ATI Mobility Radeon 5850 Mobile Processor. It can run Crysis 1 at ~ 30 FPS at reduced quality settings.

The ATI Mobility 5850 GPU on the laptop really struggles with modern titles so I removed the wireless card and connected an EXP GDC Beast wireless port to eGPU adapter and I connect an AMD GCN 1.0 R9 280X 3GB or GCN 1.0 HD7970 OC 6GB GPU.

The above eGPU combination can run most newer AAA titles and reasonably high settings.
It is also ~ good enough to run an Avermedia Live Gamer Extreme GC550 Capture card if I use OBS recording.

If you are prepared to experiment / modify your older hardware you can keep gaming with it, and learn new skills in the process.

[jamesc359]

colesdav wrote:

If you are prepared to experiment / modify your older hardware you can keep gaming with it, and learn new skills in the process.

I fully agree. Older hardware is a low cost/risk way to get some hands on experience.