How much needs to be spent for a noticeable PC upgrade & would it be worth it?

B0bbyEwing

PC is really quite old. A few components have been upgraded along the way but Mobo & PSU are certainly the same as day 1 in 2010.

By noticeable upgrade, I can look at stats on a screen all day long after someone tells me "go google" but that's all they are - numbers on a screen. I'm talking about a noticeable performance difference. Not a difference where you go - hmm I wonder if that's quicker than my old machine, it feels like it might be, I'm talking about where you go - yep that is 100% more responsive no question.

AMD Phenom II 1055T 2.80Ghz

16GB RAM

1TB SSD w/ Windows 10 Pro

Recently added a Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti 4GB GDDR5 GPU which I picked up quite cheap as I was going to be running 30GB .mkv files through Handbrake & was told this would help.

Anything else of significance just ask.

The sticky part may be my usage…

I don't game.

All I'll be using it for is what I'm doing right now - browsing. Some mild video editing. I'm not talking huge effects & 'content creating', I'd just be taking videos & using either Movie Maker or Sony Vegas 12 and chopping unwanted portions out.

I have many hard drives with many TBs of data that need running through and streamlining. There'll be an absolute ton of duplicates. This job I expect to take 1-3yrs in full & that's if I knuckle in.

And I've already mentioned Handbrake - although that's for about 10TB worth of files & once those are done then they're done (as in the chances of 'needing' Handbrake after that will be slim).

I currently have my setup in a big PC tower. I see this tiny things on the market these days. No idea how good they are or their limitations. I'm not saying that I want one of those, just that any replacement doesn't have to be a large PC tower, although it can still be.

I know i could go out & spend £2000 and have something that ticks the box, but that's not the question. It's about getting something noticeably faster but at as small a price point as can be.

And the answer, with my usage, may well be to just carry on using what I've got. I don't know, that's why I'm here - because you guys know more than me.

Vitor

Budget roughly £600–£750 for a new Ryzen 5 or Core i5 system with 32GB RAM and an NVMe (not SATA) SSD. It will be obviously and immediately faster than a Phenom II system, particularly in browsing, file scanning, video editing and CPU-based HandBrake encoding. Do not spend money upgrading the existing motherboard platform or continue relying on a 2010 PSU. You might be able to reuse the case as a full tower makes more sense if several internal hard drives that must remain connected.

Plus a new rig will allow use of Windows 11 with full support, Windows 10 is on ESU until Oct 2027.

Neil_Jones

If you were gaming then the rest of the system would be a bottleneck to that 2016 GPU. When you do replace the computer the GPU would become the bottleneck. But as you're not gaming it doesn't really either matter either way.

Pretty much anything you buy today would be better than what you have, but it depends on your budget. You can keep the case if nothing else. Cube cases that take standard components are available, something like this:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/CiT-Panelling-Micro-ATX-Controller-Dual-Ring/dp/B0CQ8STN6H

Need to note that memory prices are sky high at this time.

Frozen_up_north

A friend was in exactly the same situation with an old PC, similar vintage and also a tower case.

He found a relative was upgrading from a less old PC which he acquired for a modest sum. It is about 4 or 5 years old with (I think) a Ryzen 5, 16 GB RAM and 3 or 4 assorted drives, two of which are SATA SSD drives. The whole PC is Windows 11 compatible, yet was still on Win 10. He removed the extra drives to leave a single 500 GB SSD and installed Windows 11 from scratch without any issues. He is going to use one of the larger spinning disc hard drives externally in a USB 3 cadi for backup.

What he ended up with is a bargain "standard office" spec PC for a fraction of the cost of a new one.

There is no need to waste space using a computer case the size of the old towers. Something the size of a Dell Slim Desktop PC, which is roughly 12" x 12" x 4", will give you plenty of space and has typically 8 or even 10 assorted USB ports and a couple of video ports.

A new desktop PC from a well known brand such as Del, will cost around £800 for an i5, 16 GB RAM, 500 GB NVME drive and Windows 11 Home. HP have the OmniDesk Slim Desktop PC, Intel Core i5, 16GB, 512GB, currently on offer £659 from hp.com

Less well known brands may be cheaper.

FWIW, I have a Dell Optiplex that I bought direct from Dell 3 years ago, it was expensive (around £900) but I like the standard office config and it has worked just fine, as I guess many off the shelf desktop PCs are likely to do.

debitcardmayhem

You only need a base unit , I would budget c500-600, too many choices to suggest any and I am not looking myself at the moment

just bought a Geekom mini , but on the back of what you have you could use your existing pc as a NAS using your discs, that's what I decided with my old one.

Cisco001

upgrade by yourself.

CPU + motherboard + RAM. possible PSU if you feel it too old.

PCPartPicker Part List: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/wj6TmL

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5500 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor (£76.99 @ AWD-IT )
Motherboard: Gigabyte B550M AORUS ELITE Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard (£79.94 @ CCL Computers )
Power Supply: Cooler Master MWE Gold V3 550 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply (£58.94 @ CCL Computers )
Total: £215.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2026-07-24 10:52 BST+0100

16GB/ 32GB RAM - used DDR4 3200 or 3600. 8GB stick is at £20 - 22 at CEX. new one too expensive

Win 11 - cheap key from some website…

min spend £200 or £260 if yo get new PSU

Vitor

Install a lightweight Linux such as Puppy Linux and that machine will be good for another decade or more.

Cisco001

If you want something upgradable in future

Ryzen 5 9600X £165

Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE £30

1 x 16GB DDR5 (used) £125

B650/ B850 motherboard £120

PSU £60

B0bbyEwing

So very very roughly, £500-£700ish +/-.

"Pretty much anything you buy today would be better than what you have, but it depends on your budget. "

I don't have a budget as such, which is why I worded the question as to how much I'd need to spend to see something noticeable.

This is going to be a poor example but it's the only one I can think of - I could have a 0-60 in 8sec car & be asking about replacing it. I could get a 0-60 in 7.5sec car & not really notice the difference but if I got one that did 0-60 in 3.5sec then I would.

So I could go out & buy a 'better' machine but whether that machine is noticeably better or just better matters.

So to get back on budget, if someone came & said - you could get something for £200 that's noticeably better then that could be a go but if it was you need to spend £700, which is the top end of what's being mentioned, then I'm more likely to just sit tight, make do with what I've got & buy a machine somewhere down the line when I could maybe increase the amount I'd be willing to spend.

Hope that makes better sense?

Boohoo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82080056#Comment_82080056

The way things are going with AI I could be 3 or more years before prices come down according to what I have read.

By that time people could be using Windows 13.

B0bbyEwing

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82080087#Comment_82080087

Will prices even come down?

Doesn't seem to happen with things like fuel. Cost of a barrel goes up, fuel at the pump goes up. Cost of a barrel comes down, fuel at the pump stays as it is or budges an absolute smidge.

This whole thread is more of a curiosity than anything. I wasn't actually wanting to buy a new machine right now, although if the answer had come in as - this machine for £200 would do the job then I'd have probably actually considered it.

My PC works for the time being. It's just slow in some aspects (Handbrake for one. Video editing another. That initial getting going with a browser - I've noticed that side lagging lately) but it still works.