Computer Upgrades

So, my dad is going to start teaching at a new high school next year and the old school decided to give him an old Dell computer for working 20+ years at the same place. He has given me $200 to upgrade it and modernize it. Here are some specs:

RAM: 4GB
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce 9300
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo
Operating System: Windows 7 Pro 64bit
Hard Drive: 320GB​

These are the possible things to upgrade. The worst things right now I think are the processor and the RAM, but the motherboard does have 4 RAM slots, so I don't think RAM will be too hard to upgrade to 8 or 16GB. For the processor I want to go Intel, either an i3 or an i5. Otherwise, I have no idea. What should I upgrade and what should I leave alone?

​

 

Since the CPU is on socket 775, you can't swap the Core 2 Duo with an i3/i5/i7 because they weren't invented yet. You can still upgrade it to a Core 2 Quad or a Core 2 Extreme or a Xeon X5460 that are faster and have 2 more cores than the Core 2 Duo. I would upgrade the ram too from 4 to 8 Gb (16 Gb is too overkill for a system like that). Finally I'd add another HDD (at least 500 Gb) or replace the current with a bigger one (1 Tb). If he wants faster booting time I suggest you to replace the current HDD with an SSD (a 128 Gb is enough and doesn't cost a lot), keep the current HDD as a mass storage and add another HDD for other stuff (I think that 500 Gb is enough).
All this should cost:
- Intel Core 2 Quad Q9500 -> $20
Or
- Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6850 -> $60
- Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 -> $88
Or
- Intel Xeon X5640 -> $33 (the Xeon is better than the others)
Ram:
- 8Gb DDR2 (4x2Gb) -> $15-25
Storage:
- Kingstone A400 SSD 120Gb -> $37
- Sandisk SSD Plus 120Gb -> $39
- Seagate Barracuda HDD (500Gb) -> $41
- Western Digital Blue HDD (1Tb) -> $44

Be sure you have a good PSU that can handle all the new components
Hope this helped
--- Post updated ---
Later you can upgrade the GPU, but if your dad doesn't play games the card you currently have is fine.

 

Thanks! This helped a lot
--- Post updated ---

Do you think I could upgrade the motherboard and still keep some of the main components but be able to switch the CPU?

 

^ Your idea is to buy a new motherboard? That pc is a Dell machine, so it has proprietary parts and different spaces than normal computers (it can fit motherboards ONLY for that model). I wouldn't change motherboard, but the parts on it if it can support them.

 

Look into LGA 771 CPUs on LGA 775 mobos.

 

What is the model of the PC? Optiplex something i'm guessing (i need the number). I know the upgrade paths to the dell machines. They are somewhat limited however today.

 

Depends.
If it's not a BTX or SFF, mATX or ATX mobo will fit no problem.

 

If you watch the motherboards from Dell Optiplex computers they have different screw spaces than any standard ATX, mATX or ITX motherboards.

 

A quick search shows that Optiplex PCs use BTX form factor.
Which is mirrored ATX, so incompatible.

 

^ Exactly what I was saying.

 

I have an Optiplex GX 620. I can't switch out the MB without drilling other holes. It's obvious they didn't have standard boards.

 

It's not really the screw spaces that are different, more like they are the same, just mirrored.

 

^ Yeah. I didn't know how to say it properly

 

What currency?

 

USD

 

- Add a DDR5 GT 1030
- Swap the Core 2 Duo for a Xeon E5420
- Add a 1tb WD Blue
--- Post updated ---
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Grade-A-In...071735&hash=item1ca8a520a2:g:8~4AAOSwVGha2SMu
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...14125973&cm_re=gt_1030-_-14-125-973-_-Product (Do not purchese the slightly cheaper DDR4 model because it's much slower)

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...22236339&cm_re=wd_blue-_-22-236-339-_-Product