Got a PC for free with no real knowledge on the specs. Couple years old with very little use, hope to use it on mainly sim-racing but looking for input on what to upgrade. Also recommendations on a monitor would be appreciated
Got a PC for free with no real knowledge on the specs. Couple years old with very little use, hope to use it on mainly sim-racing but looking for input on what to upgrade. Also recommendations on a monitor would be appreciated
35 Comments
The graphics card is a bit outdated but should be fine. Do upgrade the SSD tho, 128gb is a bit small and ssds aren’t very expensive.
For IRacing or Assetto Corsa and what not, that is more than adequate. Should run most sim racing games at near-max to max settings.
My main recommendation would be to get a bigger SSD.
That’s better than my pc ðŸ˜
You’ll want a monitor with high refresh rate. A 1440p is nice but a higher tier 1080p is better. Plus, you’ll want surround sound for racing games. A full out system or head phones – it depends on your budget.
Lower end of high end from about a decade ago. Still more than viable for most games but will drag in some scenarios. More than enough to get started.
This was an awesome PC back in 2017. Definitely upgrade storage
You have a LEGEND of a pc… RIP 10 series 🫡🫡🫡
Good pc for 1080p gaming with low settings on newer games, upgrade the storage to a SATA or NVME SSD and you atrgood.
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For free that’s not a bad machine. You’ll be able to play most modern games with medium settings.
Great for freebie even if it needs some maintenance to get running right (cleaning out a build up of dust for example).
Specifications are not cutting edge by modern standards or by the standards of when it was released but if by sim-racing you mean something like iracing then it should run without needing to upgrade anything.
As for upgrades you will probably be limited by the motherboard as I suspect the installed OS is an OEM one that will have a dummy spit if you change that out however:
I suspect there may be a faster CPU option (check the used market once you know what is compatible – google the model number as a starting point for that) available.
The quantity of the ram is probably enough but doubling it would not hurt (A matching kit would be the ideal here but you might be able to get away with a second different kit).
A 1TB HDD is a decent size for when it was built but now might be on the small side if your interests lean toward more modern games.
The 128GB SSD is maybe enough for the operating system alone and will allow for fast boot times but nearly everything wants to save data to C drive so that will fill up fast.
In both the HDD & SDD’s cases a capacity upgrade via replacement or addition is not going to be particularly difficult.
That video card (or GPU) will probably be plenty for older games at 1080p but an upgrade would be recommended here for the same reason as the HDD – modern games want modern parts to perform at it’s best – and while the CPU upgrade probably would not need a larger PSU (Power supply unit) I expect upgrading both the CPU and GPU will increase power draw above what the unspecified PSU can manage (If for example its a 400W PSU and the system needs 500W under load then you are going to run into problems).
As for monitor I have no specific recommendations aside from picking one within budget that does want you need it to do – if for example you want to play games at 1080p but also wand more work space for desktop use than a 1440p monitor might work (higher resolution monitors can display a lower resolution image but not the other way around).
Hope that helps and good luck !
GTX 1070 will be an awesome starter gaming GPU, 1080p, Medium-ish settings.
that CPU is a bit older, but should be fine as long as you don’t play any crazy CPU intensive games.
Upgrade the SSD. It’s an older build, and the firs thing that’ll go is the HDD or SSD.
It’s a decent PC. Will play most games at 1080p/60
However it will not run Windows 11 without hacking the installer. So you will not be supported or have the latest security patches after October.
Hot daum. That’s pretty sweet fro a free PC. It can still game.
Upgrade path: A bigger 1TB SSD. That’s it! Nothing else would be value for money.
A better graphics card would have diminished returns compared to what you already have.
More Ram, would be the same story but not totally out of the question.
And a 7700K processor for 2-5% difference it not worth it.
“Its an older code sir but it checks out….i was about to clear them”
Honestly not a bad 1080p rig I’d say come up
A little dated, but can run almost everything at 1080 60fps. You can upgrade that card, perhaps a 3060 or AMD equivalent but not sure if cpu will bottleneck all performance
Upgrading is an option but at some point you’re stuck maximizing the potential of the motherboard. Like installing a newer CPU that fits into the same type of socket. Sadly it probably wouldn’t be a very great improvement.
If you were to upgrade anything I’d suggest replacing the 1070 GPU with a 3060 Ti GPU. That would be your easiest and most noticeable upgrade.
I suggest doing your best at utilizing what you have while you save up for a new MOBO, CPU and RAM combo. The CPU is going to hold you back the most.
A good tip for you is to take the manufacture year of your hardware and adding 5 years to it. Anything game/program up to this 5 years and before the PC should be able to run fine.
MSI NetWork Manager Killer Red.
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Either the CPU isn’t compatible with Windows 11 or it’s just inside the compatibility range. Either way, it would be an excellent Linux machine if that’s the case.
I have this same PC, but with the GTX 1080! It’s still doing well enough. Keep in mind the motherboard (GD30Ci) won’t allow for any higher speed RAM, but did have an extra M.2 slot so you don’t need to actually replace the C drive, just pop in a larger SSD as your D or F drive. I also added a few fans as if I recall it only came with a single exhaust fan (bleh).
Decent pc. Its unfortunate its a 7th and not an 8th gen i7 but its good for most games at 1080p
It’s terrible, you wouldn’t want it. Give it to me instead. Plz
Not bad but not good
It’ll play older titles well and newer titles poorly. It’s old but not junk. Don’t expect to play anything new above 1080p. It’s a pc you can have fun with if you aren’t chasing high end graphics in modetrn games.
2060 super or 2070 used and enjoy dlss
Dandy PC for free!!!
Upgrade to a larger SSD/NvME, and get a better GPU if you can.
Also, make sure to dust it out really well and consider re-pasting the thermal gel.
But even in its current state, it’ll play some games for you. Even modern titles.
I have had that exact computer since 2017. It still runs fine. If you play games on an office monitor, you literally can play almost anything you want at max settings. Some newer games are exempt, but not many. It’s still a great PC. The SSD is a bit low and could use an update, or connect a new one and run only the OS and programs from the C drive.
Otherwise, it’s solid. Tech has come very far since then, but to really utilize the latest and greatest, you need the entire setup to match, including monitors. Otherwise it’s largely overkill. It was only a couple months ago I upgraded to a i7 14th Gen, 4070 gpu, 32 GB ram, and a 1440 monitor with better refresh rates and response times. To be honest, it barely makes a difference, I really cannot tell the difference with the games I play. It felt like a waste of money tbh.
So take that free PC with pride and get the hell off this sub. You will be left feeling a severe sense of fomo and inadequacy for literally no reason. People on here know what they are talking about for sure, but it’s the difference between someone who is extraordinarily sensitive to frame rates and others who genuinely don’t care. Don’t let their pickiness bring you down.
This will run many games well. Some releases in the past 3 years will struggle but this is quite good considering it was free.
That’s the pc I gave my friend when I upgraded. It’s a good one
PC from 2017, if it’s free take it and use it.
Damn, that’s amazing for free.
Old but manageable PC. Not the greatest nowadays, but also not that bad. But for free? Fuck yeah
It’ll game, needs a ssd upgrade for your sanity.
Can play older games real good. Newer games not so much
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