Is this PC Upgrade kit worth the price?

[JustCall]

Hello,
I've always wanted to upgrade my PC, and found an upgrade kit for €219 (~$239), which includes:

- Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3
- AMD FX-4300 (with cooler)
​

- 4 GB DDR3
- All the wires needed

Is it worth it?

Thanks, JustCall.
​

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Your current Intel E8500 CPU scores 2313 on the Passmark benchmark:

PassMark CPU Benchmarks - High Mid Range CPUs

The AMD FX-4300 scores 4649

PassMark Intel vs AMD CPU Benchmarks - High End

That would probably be a noticeable improvement.

BUT----

Do you know for a fact that the new motherboard will mount properly in your HP case and that the existing HP power supply provides enough power and has the appropriate connectors for that motherboard?

Have you at least looked at other upgrade packages, possibly with Intel CPUs?

Are you restricted to a $240 budget?

Are you unwilling to buy CPU, RAM, and motherboard separately, rather than as a "package"?

 

[JustCall]

Do you know for a fact that the new motherboard will mount properly in your HP case and that the existing HP power supply provides enough power and has the appropriate connectors for that motherboard?

Have you at least looked at other upgrade packages, possibly with Intel CPUs?

Are you restricted to a $240 budget?

Are you unwilling to buy CPU, RAM, and motherboard separately, rather than as a "package"?

Power supply probably wouldn't hold it, and it doesnt fit in the case, but they are cheaper parts, and I can probably buy them from my next income boost.
Yes, looked at ones with Intel CPU's but I've heard that AMD has the best "bang for the buck".
I'd rather buy them as a package, because everything is already mounted on the motherboard, and I dont have much experience with hardware.

Thanks for your reply.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Yes, looked at ones with Intel CPU's but I've heard that AMD has the best "bang for the buck".
I'd rather buy them as a package, because everything is already mounted on the motherboard, and I dont have much experience with hardware.

Again: are you restricted to a $240 budget? If no, what is your top limit for these parts:

PSU, possibly
Case, possibly
Motherboard
CPU
RAM

AMD offering the best bang for the buck is less true than it was 10 years ago. They are competitive, but only at the lowest budgets.

Are you restricted to that one vendor you linked?

Regarding your hardware experience:

Installing a CPU and RAM into a motherboard is easily enough learned. Your bigger problem is evaluating all of your parts to ensure they are compatible with each other and getting them installed.

Your HP case might be proprietary (non-standard in some way) that would make it incompatible with your chosen motherboard or new PSU. The existing PSU might be incompatible with the motherboard as well.

There's too many unknowns here to just give you a green light on some random motherboard/CPU/RAM package. That package you picked might fit and be compatible with your existing case and power supply, but that's strictly a guess without knowing more.

You could pound on Google to see if you can find any success stories about upgrading using that case and power supply.

Additionally: how do you propose to reinstall and activate Windows? You're not likely to have success by simply connecting your existing hard drives to a new motherboard/CPU/RAM package. If your current Windows installation came with the HP, then that license won't be valid on a new motherboard package.

 

[JustCall]

Again: are you restricted to a $240 budget? If no, what is your top limit for these parts:

PSU, possibly
Case, possibly
Motherboard
CPU
RAM

AMD offering the best bang for the buck is less true than it was 10 years ago. They are competitive, but only at the lowest budgets.

Are you restricted to that one vendor you linked?

Regarding your hardware experience:

Installing a CPU and RAM into a motherboard is easily enough learned. Your bigger problem is evaluating all of your parts to ensure they are compatible with each other and getting them installed.

Your HP case might be proprietary (non-standard in some way) that would make it incompatible with your chosen motherboard or new PSU. The existing PSU might be incompatible with the motherboard as well.

There's too many unknowns here to just give you a green light on some random motherboard/CPU/RAM package. That package you picked might fit and be compatible with your existing case and power supply, but that's strictly a guess without knowing more.

You could pound on Google to see if you can find any success stories about upgrading using that case and power supply.

Additionally: how do you propose to reinstall and activate Windows? You're not likely to have success by simply connecting your existing hard drives to a new motherboard/CPU/RAM package. If your current Windows installation came with the HP, then that license won't be valid on a new motherboard package.

For the motherboard, CPU, and RAM, I'd like to keep it under $240, because my budget including the case and PSU is $300.

No, I'm not restricted to the vendor, but I'd like to purchase from Dutch sites, I have listed some below.

bol.com | de winkel van ons allemaal | Welkom
Conrad - Uw online shop voor elektronica en techniek
NoRRoD.nl - Home - De winkel voor al uw computers, laptops, tablets en componenten.

Thanks for all, I'll search on Google tomorrow because I'm not home this evening.

 

[JustCall]

Couldn't find any experiences with installing this motherboard into the dc7900 case.
They recommend to use the Thermaltake Berlin 630 and the Thermaltake Versa G2.
Little over my budget, maybe I'll buy a cheaper one.

Last question:
Is this kit worth the money, or is it better to buy them seperate?

Thanks for your help.https://www.conrad.nl/nl/thermaltak...-630-w-atx-919256.html?sc.ref=Product Details

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Is this kit worth the money, or is it better to buy them seperate?

Those 3 parts (that motherboard, that CPU, plus 4 GB of RAM) can be had in the USA for about $177 from a reliable dealer. That's 160 Euros.

Which means virtually nothing to you.

You'd have to do your own shopping from your own sources to find out if you can buy those same parts separately for less than the advertised price of 219 Euros.

I have no idea if your vendor is reliable or if you can find better deals elsewhere as I don't know anything about European vendors or what they can supply.

Nor do I have any idea if that motherboard is in fact compatible with your existing case and power supply.

Gigabyte is a good motherboard brand.

If you decide you need a new power supply, I'd be quite careful about what I purchased. There are many inferior brands out there, but a half dozen or so that are OK. The power supply is a very important piece, so I'd be willing to over-spend a bit on that piece if necessary.

If you have say $90 to spend on power supply and case combined, you're better off spending most of that on the power supply, rather than on the case.

You aren't likely to need a powerful power supply, but you need to avoid most brands. Look for Superflower, Antec, Corsair, XFX, EVGA, or Seasonic. They are going to be decent to excellent quality.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

dc 7900 sff psu upgrade - HP Support Forum - 4125530

Look at the above link. It is a post on the HP support forums regarding your particular PC model. The topic is "dc 7900 sff psu upgrade".

Here is a quote from that link, regarding power supply upgrades:


"The power supplies and connectors to the motherboard are proprietary and there aren't any power supplies that HP offers with more wattage."

If that is true, you apparently CANNOT change motherboards because the power supply connectors are proprietary and are NOT compatible with a replacement motherboard. Nor can HP provide a more powerful power supply.

Based on that alone, I'd plan on buying a new case, power supply, motherboard, CPU, and RAM--effectively an entirely new PC.

You can try to confirm this incompatibility if you want to by posting directly on the HP forums, but it doesn't look good to me.

 

[JustCall]

Thanks for all the tips, where did you see the parts for $180? I can give it a try, and purchase from the USA if the shipping costs aren't too high.
And $90 for the case and PSU is pretty cheap too.

The vendor where I saw the upgrade kit is reliable, I have purchased multiple things on their site.

The dc7900 case doesn't look too good either. I'll probably buy a new one as you suggested.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

I priced the parts at Newegg.com, but I don't think they ship to Europe and that would be separate parts, not pre-assembled.

try Amazon.co.uk: Low Prices in Electronics, Books, Sports Equipment & more and Overclockers UK - Computer components, hardware & gaming PC if they can ship to you from UK.

You're better off saving a bit more money until you can get to maybe 400 or 500 Euros if possible.

You will need to buy Windows also. The Windows on your existing HP can't be transferred, assuming it came with the HP.

About all you would keep from the HP would be the hard drive, DVD drive, monitor, keyboard, and mouse. You would need case, power supply, RAM, motherboard, CPU, and Windows. I'd guess it's very very difficult to buy those 6 parts for 300 Euros without being dissatisfied. So, I'd simply delay and put a little more money in the pot every month.

If you do that, you may be able to get an Intel i3 CPU, which might be a better all-around idea.

Avoid the cheesy power supplies. You might have to pay 40 Euros on up for a tolerable one.

 

[JustCall]

You will need to buy Windows also. The Windows on your existing HP can't be transferred, assuming it came with the HP.

I'd probably install Linux, and switch to Windows when I have the money.

If you do that, you may be able to get an Intel i3 CPU, which might be a better all-around idea.

I dont know yet, maybe I'll go for an AMD cpu, or otherwise an i5. (If it fits with the mobo)

Thanks for now, and I'll see what I can get.