[ale] upgrading desktop

[DJ-Pfulio]

What's your budget?  What's the goal?

Is the Lenovo using standard PSU and case? If it doesn't have a standard case, most major "upgrades" are risky. Need all the screws and clearances to be right.  OTOH, a $30 case for someone who doesn't open it more than once a year to clean out the dust is just fine.

The easy way to provide info about your current box, is to run:  inxi -Fz and post that.

$214 for MB+CPU combo:
https://www.microcenter.com/product/5003878/-amd-ryzen-5-3600-with-wraith-stealth-cooler,-asus-b450m-a-csm-prime,-cpu---motherboard-bundle The only negative I see with this is a crappy Realtek NIC, so I'd need to spend $25 on a quality NIC.  The forums are full of people with Realtek NIC issues. I have a G3258 with a flakey Realtek NIC. Ended up disabling it and throwing in an old cheap Marvell.

I need to check a few other MB+CPU combos to see what's available.  Microcenter almost always has some

With a standard case, that MB+CPU combo just needs some DDR4 RAM and a GPU.  That's almost 18K passmarks in 65W.  5 yrs ago, that was Xeon server performance.  My Ryzen 2600 is just 13K passmarks.  Reuse everything else you already have.

There's little purpose in doing a little upgrade to an 8 yr old CPU unless it is only a CPU swap and the newer one is 2x faster - minimal. However, an SSD would make a difference for pretty much any system.  I'm a fan of the Samsung 8xx and 9xx lines. Just be sure to check the warranty TBW numbers so you know what you are getting. I have a
model: Samsung_SSD_860 size: 500.1GB in a laptop. It is a SATA interface with a 2.5inch form factor standard for laptops.  I've never seen a 3.5inch form in any SATA.  I have seen m.2 for both SATA and NVMe, but you don't have any m.2 slots, so that won't work.  My rule for SSDs is pretty simple.  If they don't have a warranty based on TBW (endurance) or they refuse to publish that data, then I won't buy.  Their are a number of SSD "brands" which do that.  I've had a few SSDs fail over the years. They were much cheaper than the Samsung.
I also have a model: Micron_1100_MTFD size: 512.1GB.  Micron is who I think WD and Crucial buy their SSDs from.  I would have preferred to get a Samsung, but needed the storage for a build and was already over the budget. The Samsung was $30 more at the time.

When I was researching SSD lifespans and linux information, so things jumped out.  I'm a simple person and only recall when I make a decision to avoid certain types, not the details. Those decisions are based on my needs which probably don't meet anyone else's needs.  Do your own research.  Plus, it has been 18+ months since my last SSD purchase. The SSD world could have changed in that time.

How big should an SSD be?  How can we say? For some systems, 16G is too much. For others 2TB isn't enough.

Because you didn't say what CPU is currently used, we can't tell whether any upgrade is worth it.

280W is probably fine for anyone not dropping in a $130 GPU that needs extra power, but it completely depends on the current CPU draw and how much storage there is.


On 7/28/20 12:16 PM, Bob via Ale wrote:
> 
> 
> Charles has me thinking about upgrading my 8 year old lenovo desktop.
> I'm thinking of increasing memory and installing an ssd.
> 
> I don't know much about hardware, so I'm hoping some of you might
> give me some advice and maybe keep me from doing something stupid.
> I'm not a gamer, so that might make things simpler.
> 
> 1)  Memory.  Currently, there are  two 4 GB ddr3 1600 memory modules
> in the two memory slots.  There is no graphics card in my desktop and
> the integrated graphics uses some of the memory.  I can upgrade to
> two 8 gb ddr3l 1600.  According to crucial.com, the crucial 16gb kit
> (2 x 8GB) ddr3l-1600 udimm are compatible.
> 
> I believe my motherboard can use either ddr3 or ddr3l.  Is there an
> advantage of one over the other?
> 
> (The power supply unit has been fine, but it's only 280 watts.  I
> don't know if that would affect the above choice or not.)
> 
> Microcenter has a variety of brands:  Neo Forza, G. skills ripjaw,
> crucial, ....  Are there brands to avoid?  Are there brands that
> you'd recommend?
> 
> 
> 2)  ssd.  This seems more complicated.
> 
> There are 4 empty pci express slots---one is x16 and the others x1.
> I do not believe that the motherboard supports pcie ssd.  The
> motherboard does not have mSATA or m.2 slots.  So pcie ssd seems to
> be impossible. (I don't know what I'd ever use these slots for.)
> 
> The chipset on the motherboard only supports SATA at 3.0 gb/s.  There
> are 3 SATA ports and one e-SATA port.  (There has been no update to
> the bios/uefi firmware.)
> 
> One SATA port is connected to the optical drive, and the other two
> SATA ports are connected to the two 1TB HDDs Both drives have plenty
> of free space.
> 
> I don't know why I get slightly different info for the following.
> When I execute "sudo hdparm -I /dev/sda | grep SATA", the result is:
> 
> Transport:          Serial, SATA Rev 3.0
> 
> but on /dev/sdb, the result is:
> 
> Transport:          Serial, SATA 1.0a, SATA II Extensions, SATA Rev
> 2.5, SATA Rev 2.6, SATA Rev 3.0
> 
> The e-SATA port is connected to a usm hot-swappable bay where I'm
> supposed to be able to plug in a portable SATA drive.  The connector
> is supposed to be a standard SATA connector.  I have never used this
> bay so far.
> 
> It seems like I could either purchase an external SATA ssd and plug
> it into the bay.  I don't know if I would have troubles booting from
> that drive.
> 
> OTOH, I could remove one of the HDDs and put the SSD into either
> /dev/sda or /dev/sdb.  Presumably, I could put the HDD that was
> removed into an enclosure allowing it to be placed into the swappable
> bay on the rare occasions that it was needed.
> 
> 1)  Does it seem better to remove an HDD and put the ssd into that
> space vs. putting the ssd into the swappable bay?  Does it make a
> difference if the ssd is put into the drive where /dev/sda is or
> /dev/sdb?
> 
> 2)  Any suggestions on how large the ssd should be?
> 
> 3)  Are there brands to avoid or brands that you would recommend?
>