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View Full Version : Is it worth upgrading to SSD on my old PC?



BobaFettK
03-26-2014, 05:13 PM
I built my own system several years ago with much help from the folks in this forum. I rarely use my machine for gaming anymore between owning several consoles and having two children. Mostly I'm looking for a faster boot (Windows 7 Home) and overall performance with web browsing, Office software, and iTunes. I was thinking about installing a SSD and updating my current 500 GB SATA drive to a 2 GB for file storage. Given my current system, would this be a worthwhile investment? Or would I be better off starting from scratch with a new motherboard, processor, etc? Here are the specs:

GIGABYTE GA-EP43-UD3L LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128380

Rosewill RCR-IC001 40-in-1 USB 2.0 3.5" Internal Card Reader w/ USB Port / Extra Silver Face Plate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820223103

EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130318

2x CORSAIR XMS2 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5 (8 GB total RAM)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184

ARCTIC Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 with 92mm PWM Fan
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134

Western Digital WD Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor BX80570E8400
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case with Upgraded USB 3.0
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-520HX 520W ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139001

SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model SH-S203N LightScribe Support - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151154

zburns
03-28-2014, 10:31 AM
Hello BobaFettK,

I have not been ignoring your post/inquiry; I have spent considerable time 'looking to the future' on intel cpus. In recent years, looking at cpu specs was a simple task of pulling up a consistent laid out Intel Spec Sheet regards a particular cpu. Today, there are many 'incoming' cpus via Intel. Just going thru the specs is time consuming. Worse, it is somewhat confusing, because one wants to recommend a valid product for the desired result.

Many new Intel processors differ from their older versions by only a small number of features. Here is a current spec sheet on a particular version of the i7-3770k (unlocked cpu for overclocking): http://ark.intel.com/products/65523/intel-core-i7-3770k-processor-8m-cache-up-to-3_90-ghz

For comparisons, here is the spec sheet on your existing cpu: http://ark.intel.com/products/33910/intel-core2-duo-processor-e8400-6m-cache-3_00-ghz-1333-mhz-fsb

The layout of the spec sheets on both the new 2013 version and the 2008 version are similar which gives you the opportunity to compare feature for feature. While the 'consistent' set of specs vary in magnitude generally plus some extras, the ever growing new additions to specs, ie. the 'Graphics Specs' thru the 'Trusted Technologies' is a much larger addition of new features as compared to your version.

It is easier to look at these spec comparisons such as 2008 vs 2013 to get an idea of the improvement in cpu performance.

At least this gives you an idea of today's performance versus your present unit performance. Sort of a starting point to think about.

BobaFettK
03-28-2014, 02:47 PM
Thanks for your reply. I'm a bit confused about your response. Are you suggesting that a new motherboard and processor are in order rather than a simple hard drive upgrade? My main question right now is not about which processor to choose IF I update the whole PC, but rather if it is possible to simply install a solid state drive in my current PC. Thanks again.

zburns
03-30-2014, 10:06 AM
Hi BobaFettK,

Sorry for the confusion. Here is the reasoning ! Here are six urls on the topic of replacing old hard drives from the 2008 era (apx). I have read them quickly and have no recommendations at the moment because I need to look at these urls in more detail, and, perhaps, more urls, than the six provided.

Here are the six urls, 'applicability unknown' ! ! ! :

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-upgrade-hard-drive,2956.html
https://www.google.com/search?q=ssd+speed+test&oq=SSD+sp&aqs=chrome.2.69i57j0l5.6564j0j7&sourceid=chrome&espv=210&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8

http://techreport.com/storage/
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1950871/moving-vista-windows-ssd.html

https://www.google.com/search?q=Samsung+ssds&oq=Samsung+ssds&aqs=chrome..69i57.13307j0j7&sourceid=chrome&espv=210&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8
http://www.anandtech.com/show/2738
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The first url by by Toms Hardware, is probably the most useful one; note that they deliberately build old systems, ie. from 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and test the compatibility of SSD insertion for each year. No comment on the other urls until I have taken a more through 'look'.