Updating your PC

[Caesare]

A few days ago I got a used desktop computer from a guy. It's fairly old, from 2015, and it didn't come with a monitor.

I've used only laptops for years. I kinda wanted to see if it could be serviceable as something used strictly for computer games, internet pornography and other lighthearted shenanigans. I don't like to put a bunch of games on my laptops or browse questionable sites cuz I use it almost strictly for boring stuff, typically work related.

Desktop is called: Envy 750-414
No monitor as of yet.

The technical stuff:
i5-6400 processor
12 GB DDR4-2133 SDRAM memory
1 TB hard drive
128 GB SATA Solid State Drive
Intel Graphics 530

Is this worth pursuing for PC games? I'd be fine with a lower end, sort of midgrade PC. I believe I could get some shit done with a setup of that quality. There's a lot of PC stuff that I missed in the past 2-6 years that I'd love to try out, and I don't think I'll need the most up to the minute, cutting edge tech to get this done. The stuff I'm interested in really isn't overly graphic intensive, but I think halfway decent performance is possible on titles that have been out for a couple years now, no? Question is, would it be worth it to spend any kind of $$$ on a pc that's halfway to being an antique as far as computers go.

EDIT; Did more looking around online at computer parts and stuff saw some interesting things. Browsing online while feeling particularly impulsive, and I went and bought crap, hopefully won't regret this too much when the mood wears off.

What I ordered:

GEFORCE GTX 1660 graphics card
EVGA 600 watt power supply

EDIT:

Saw that my parts arrived this evening and I wanna open everything up and start on it but I don't have even a whole hour to really get into it, got plans all evening won't be home until 2am. I don't wanna mess with anything until I have ample leisure time to work thisSo when I finally make it home I told myself I'm not going to bed until I finish and can power the PC on and see everything is working the way it's supossed to.

I thought I did it around 5AM after a lot of inadvertent dosing off, but nm that I finished.

Since the PC I got didnt include a monitor, I plugged it into a television with an HDMI cable, powered the computer on, it came to life, I could see the new graphics card come to life all colorful, turned the TV on, put it on the right input, it said waiting for signal....

then the PC powered down. Dejected and exhausted, I went to sleep.

I'm not a very computer savvy individual though I can read directions, apply them, and troubleshoot when needed, but I've been using laptops for a very long time so I haven't done any type of upgrade to a PC in probably 15 years.

I know there's a lot of helpful and smart kf users who love this kind of stuff, any takers wanna help Coleman F. fix his pc thru tips and helpful comments? I'd even appreciate a handful of well timed motivational statements

TL/DR can anyone help me out here. I know I'm Close, I can feel it .

Some background info:

Graphics card fit in perfectly and lit up when the computer briefly powered up.

Power supply fit in perfectly, but when I removed the old power supply, there were only 5 connections I had to unplug. The new power supply is connected in 5 places as well but there's all these extra bundles of wires, many of them have 2 and 3 connectors coming from the same wire bundle but typically only one connector is actually plugged into anything.


Thanks for reading and I'd greatly appreciate any and all help you're able to suggest, no matter how small, trivial, or seemingly obvious. I'm not great at this stuff so any help at all will go a long way.

 

[Daddy's Little Kitten]

Does it start up or did it die?

 

[murgatroid]

I empathize with your situation. It can be a stressful nightmare troubleshooting something like this. I would wait a while until you have the motivation, time, and energy to commit a lot of time to this. The best advice I can give off hand is you want to make a change and test it, one move at a time to try to isolate the source of the problem.

Have you tried it with only the new power supply sans graphics card? If that doesn't work:

Have you removed the new parts, put the old parts back in and got it working again?

PS: One more thing, sometimes you might not realize you make a really tiny mistake that is messing things up. Did you remember to connect power to the new gpu from the power supply? Most high end cards can't be powered from PCI express alone. I assume you know this but thought I would mention it just in case.

 

[Caesare]

The graphics card needed to be connected to the new power supply, so I kinda installed them together (probably a dumb move but this stuff is unfamiliar to me). I installed the power supply and connected it back to everything that I removed when pulling the old one out.

It seems like it's something stupid and minor that I overlooked due to the way it starts to power on for a moment right before shutting back down.

What really confused me are all the extra connectors on the new power supply. What are they all for? I assume they're unneeded for my particular setup but it's kinds unsettling seeing all of these unused wires everywhere.

Another thing that may be of use:

On the instructions for the new power supply, it says this "connect the peripheral "molex" 4-pin connectors for fans, pumps, legacy components and other devices/adapters.

The two fans I see, one has a 3 pins, the other has 4, both are plugged into the motherboard. I dont know if this step is telling me to leave them be or what. I found an excess wire that fit into the motherboard where one of the fans was plugged in but the other didnt have anything that would fit besides its original connection. I just left that one alone bc it was ready getting really late.

@murgatroid thanks for the advice, Im gonna troubleshoot piece by piece as you suggested if I dont see some obvious mistake I neglected.

@Daddy's Little Kitten it started up briefly, the side case was still off so I could see the graphics card light up, then it shut down again in just under a minute.

 

[A Cardboard Box]

Don't buy old PCs. Just build a new one. It's adult legos.

 

[MrTroll]

Can you post a picture of the motherboard with the case panel removed? That might help to narrow down the problem.

 

[HeyYou]

Yeah, the problem with old PCs/PCs given prebuilt is that it's very difficult to troubleshoot something like this. Any one of the parts could be faulty or have issues. With newer PCs you can usually pinpoint it as a problem of the person building it rather than a defect in the parts. The fans or that four pin connector are definitely not the issue, there's usually two spots on the motherboard for a case fan and the fan you attach to your CPU. That's for any extra fans you may install.

Personally, I would assume it's the power supply if it's starting up then shutting down. Could be the motherboard.

 

[Caesare]

Don't buy old PCs. Just build a new one. It's adult legos.

I know, I know . But the way I figure, it's worth it even if it doesn't pan out the way I hoped because I got it for a steal. I'm hoping to, possibly, try and set it up with a few middling enhancements. The new video card and the power supply is the first wave. Ram is good enough for now (12gb), no good reason not to add more ram tho its not really expensive and it can fit 32gb in the slots IIRC. The last expansion of this aging machine will be the replacement of the CPU. Did some checking online, there are options that won't be prohibitively expensive and they will add a not insignificant amount of power over the existing cpu. I believe I can do this without spending an offensive amount of bread. If I can sort out this video card obstacle, I feel like everything's going to work out fine, barring any unforeseen circumstances that is.

I don't need cutting edge, top of the line hardware to adequately enjoy the things I play. If this ends up working out, I'll be satisfied for quite awhile.

In the future though, whenever I decide to go through this again, I'll keep what you said in mind.

 

[A Cardboard Box]

I know, I know . That's what my plan was all along but when this deal came along and I saw it was only a few years old, I figured it was worth it even if it didn't pan out the way I hoped because I bought it for a steal. And with a few mediocre upgrades it would be just what I needed without spending a bunch of money.

I don't need cutting edge, top of the line hardware to adequately enjoy the things I play. If this ends up working out, I'll be satisfied for quite awhile.

In the future though, whenever I decide to go through this again, I'll keep what you said in mind.

A few years is decades in tech. Your shitbox quad core i5 is nothing compared to the cheap LAST GEN 6 core coffee lake i5s, not to mention the newest i5s. A few years ago the RTX 2080 didn't even exist. You are like 3 tech cycles behind and literally burnt your money up for nothing. You spent hundreds on a paper weight.

 

[Takodachi]

Don't buy old PCs. Just build a new one. It's adult legos.

is it really that easy? I've always bought the parts I want for my PC and ask a friend to build it for me, because I'm too paranoid and I get the feeling I'll fuck something up... and thermal paste, since he works on building and fixing PCs he always has thermal paste at hand, so thats like 20 bucks less that I can spend on games.

 

[Pissmaster]

In general, prebuilts from companies like HP in the past have come with random proprietary or bizarre bullshit so that upgrades have to go through the manufacturer. I don't know if that's all the case with yours, but that's more or less why upgrading old prebuilts isn't a popular idea. I had one in 2000 that I tried to get a RAM upgrade for, only to find it needed something called RDRAM, which made upgrading it more expensive than it was worth. It's the only time in my entire life I've ever heard of RDRAM.

Though I don't mean to discourage you or anything, that's just my anecdotal thoughts on prebuilts. Hell, if it doesn't work out for you, you could always use it as a Plex server or a MAME machine, that's what I'd do.

The graphics card needed to be connected to the new power supply, so I kinda installed them together (probably a dumb move but this stuff is unfamiliar to me). I installed the power supply and connected it back to everything that I removed when pulling the old one out.

It seems like it's something stupid and minor that I overlooked due to the way it starts to power on for a moment right before shutting back down.

What really confused me are all the extra connectors on the new power supply. What are they all for? I assume they're unneeded for my particular setup but it's kinds unsettling seeing all of these unused wires everywhere.

Another thing that may be of use:

On the instructions for the new power supply, it says this "connect the peripheral "molex" 4-pin connectors for fans, pumps, legacy components and other devices/adapters.

The two fans I see, one has a 3 pins, the other has 4, both are plugged into the motherboard. I dont know if this step is telling me to leave them be or what. I found an excess wire that fit into the motherboard where one of the fans was plugged in but the other didnt have anything that would fit besides its original connection. I just left that one alone bc it was ready getting really late.

@murgatroid thanks for the advice, Im gonna troubleshoot piece by piece as you suggested if I dont see some obvious mistake I neglected.

@Daddy's Little Kitten it started up briefly, the side case was still off so I could see the graphics card light up, then it shut down again in just under a minute.

Molex connectors are those four-pin old fashioned connectors that have been around for ages, and these days are often only used for fans. They look like this:

Old hard drives from before around the mid-2000s used them, and they're very basic ways of powering things. I fried a hard drive once by not having one completely plugged in. Fuck. But you probably won't need to mess with them outside of fans.

Yeah, the problem with old PCs/PCs given prebuilt is that it's very difficult to troubleshoot something like this. Any one of the parts could be faulty or have issues. With newer PCs you can usually pinpoint it as a problem of the person building it rather than a defect in the parts. The fans or that four pin connector are definitely not the issue, there's usually two spots on the motherboard for a case fan and the fan you attach to your CPU. That's for any extra fans you may install.

Personally, I would assume it's the power supply if it's starting up then shutting down. Could be the motherboard.

That's true. If your machine does start up for a second and then shuts off, it could be so many different things, especially since you aren't even seeing a POST screen. For all I know, your motherboard might just flat out not be able to handle the components, since it's a prebuilt that was designed to work with the PSU it shipped with.

Still, just post a picture of the inside of your machine please

is it really that easy? I've always bought the parts I want for my PC and ask a friend to build it for me, because I'm too paranoid and I get the feeling I'll fuck something up... and thermal paste, since he works on building and fixing PCs he always has thermal paste at hand, so thats like 20 bucks less that I can spend on games.

Nah not really, there are a lot of small dumb things that can go wrong and you have to scour a lot of places for parts. Just go to PCPartPicker and find a build that seems popular and in your price range. Or go to Costco and buy whatever gaming laptop they have on display, since gaming laptops have gotten pretty good these days.

 

[HeyYou]

A few years is decades in tech. Your shitbox quad core i5 is nothing compared to the cheap LAST GEN 6 core coffee lake i5s, not to mention the newest i5s. A few years ago the RTX 2080 didn't even exist. You are like 3 tech cycles behind and literally burnt your money up for nothing. You spent hundreds on a paper weight.

I don't think he cares about muh 60FPS killer app 4K shit, dude. I've ended up playing mostly mid-2000s games on my killuh rig and it feels like wasted money sometimes. What he has is completely fine for quite a few games.

 

[MrTroll]

A few years is decades in tech. Your shitbox quad core i5 is nothing compared to the cheap LAST GEN 6 core coffee lake i5s, not to mention the newest i5s. A few years ago the RTX 2080 didn't even exist. You are like 3 tech cycles behind and literally burnt your money up for nothing. You spent hundreds on a paper weight.

A Skylake i5/GTX 1660 will run literally anything at a reasonable resolution (1440 or below).

 

[A Cardboard Box]

is it really that easy? I've always bought the parts I want for my PC and ask a friend to build it for me, because I'm too paranoid and I get the feeling I'll fuck something up... and thermal paste, since he works on building and fixing PCs he always has thermal paste at hand, so thats like 20 bucks less that I can spend on games.

Thermal paste is like $6. Yes. It's really that easy. It's insanely easy. It's virtually retard proof and there are a million good guides online. The only think you need to make sure to do to not fuck up is wear an anti static bracelet so you don't accidentally your mobo or RAM

A Skylake i5/GTX 1660 will run literally anything at a reasonable resolution (1440 or below).

That's wrong though? Go play anything that isn't R6S on 2k res with that and show me where you can reliably get close to 60fps.

 

[Caesare]

Can you post a picture of the motherboard with the case panel removed? That might help to narrow down the problem.

Yeah I can do that. Give me a few mins.

Any one of the parts could be faulty or have issues.

The Tower itself was a little dusty when I opened it up, nothing severe, before I blew it out with my compressor. I added Steam and a game or two before I began this project and it felt like it was in working order but idk im not a scientist.

And the card/power supply is new.

I definitely understand your reasoning for building/buying brand new though. Maybe next time I'll shell out for the whole package.

 

[Caesare]

You are like 3 tech cycles behind and literally burnt your money up for nothing. You spent hundreds on a paper weight.

I'm aware that a few years is like an eternity in computer tech, but I figured it would be worth $50 bucks for a perfectly functional desktop computer. With a few little upgrades I think I can get it to suit my needs for the type of stuff I enjoy.

I'm not all that interested in playing every single AAA, top of the line game that comes out each month in max settings. I have an Xbox and Playstation if I want to try those kinda games. I like a lotta older stuff and I wanted to have a halfway decent PC so I could catch up on games I missed out on in the past.

The parts I ordered didnt cost much and if all goes well, I'll be able to play what I missed in high quality.

I appreciate your concern for my spending habits, however unorthodox they may be.

 

[Caesare]

I don't think he cares about muh 60FPS killer app 4K shit, dude.

Yeah, precisely this. And most of those new overly hyped games come out on xbox and playstation if I just had to have them. (Though they obviously wouldn't be up to the technological standards demanded by that fancy gentleman on such obsolete hardware.)

I've ended up playing mostly mid-2000s games on my killuh rig

These are the types of games I wanna go back and experience. There was a very long period where I was completely out of the loop in regards to games. From 2002 to around 2013 I only played solitaire and minesweeper. So much cool stuff that I missed out on. I'm gonna try some of that old stuff out, see what this paperweight is made of.

The stuff I'll end up getting will be old to most but brand new to me. I'd like to see if anything could top minesweeper/solitary in terms of graphical quality.

 

[Just Some Other Guy]

I'm aware that a few years is like an eternity in computer tech, but I figured it would be worth $50 bucks for a perfectly functional desktop computer. With a few little upgrades I think I can get it to suit my needs for the type of stuff I enjoy.

I'm not all that interested in playing every single AAA, top of the line game that comes out each month in max settings. I have an Xbox and Playstation if I want to try those kinda games. I like a lotta older stuff and I wanted to have a halfway decent PC so I could catch up on games I missed out on in the past.

The parts I ordered didnt cost much and if all goes well, I'll be able to play what I missed in high quality.

I appreciate your concern for my spending habits but I think you misunderstood my intentions.

You're fine. Despite what many think, the vast majority of pc users are rockin' parts from all over the place. 1080p60fps is still the norm, and super easy to achieve.

 

[Caesare]

Pictures of open tower: the graphics card is kinda blocking most of the motherboard. I can remove it if yall need a clear picture of just the motherboard. Notice all the haphazardly displayed wires, those are from the new power supply. The old supply had like 5, all in use. This new one has all these extras that dont seem to go anywhere. Im guessing they arent required for my setup but it's still distracting.

Let me know if you need a picture of something I missed or a close up. Is the lighting ok? I can adjust that as well if needed.

 

[Caesare]

I'm gonna tinker with it for awhile, see if I can get anything going. Thanks, all of you for the advice and recommendations. I thoroughly appreciate it! I'll be back in an hour or so to check this thread so please respond if you have anything else that might be worth trying.

You've all been very helpful and patient. Thanks again!! If I get lucky and figure this out, I'll be sure to mention it.