Repurposing old machine

Arigaytor · Saturday at 3:27 PM

Recently got a old PC off my partner. About eight years old or so I guess. Specs listed below:

- Random Zebronics motherboard whose model number I still haven't found (H61 socket)
- Pentium G2020 (Intel 2000 HD as far as I know)
- 4 gigs of DDR3 (at around 1333mhz)
- A non functioning psu (I replaced it with a cheap zebronics 450w psu for around 700)
- A 500 gb seagate hard drive
- A 256 gb crucial ssd
- An optical dvd drive (haven't tested if it works)
- Mostly intact mATX case

The problem is that whichever OS i try to run on the system, it seems that the igpu simply isn't built for it. I tried windows 10, 7, ubuntu, linux mint, linux lite, sparky and even an old version of ubuntu from 2012.
The main thing I noticed was that whenever the graphics drivers were updated, whether directly from intel, xorg or windows update, the display would simply stop working and not display anything. Only software rendering/windows basic display drivers worked and whenever the rendering got too hard (I'm talking playing 720p video), the system would just crash (windows 7 ultimate).

So, what could I do with a machine like this to breathe some life back into it? I'm mostly talking gaming purposes and web browsing. Light esports and older story driven games obviously. (I already have a decent laptop with a 4060 in it so I don't really need anything at the moment but I feel like the old PC isn't exactly ewaste either.) Just looking to repurpose it for some light usage.

Was thinking of just chucking a used hd6670 in there since i saw a few on the forum but not quite sure whether the cpu would cause significant bottlenecks.

PS: My partner gave me the pc because they were going to build one of their own in a bit but due to other expenses it won't really be possible anymore to build a brand new system. They currently run a budget notebook with a ryzen 3 7320u and 8gb of ram which isn't really good enough for any sort of gaming (it struggles to mantain a stable 60 even on valorant apparently). So I'd maybe like to make the machine capable enough to play at least that title so that they can have something for the next two or three years to comfortably play on.

Any advice would be appreciated

kiranrss · Sunday at 10:59 AM

Try creating a windows install using rufus which doesnt run the hardware check that may work for you

Arigaytor · Sunday at 11:13 AM

kiranrss said:
Try creating a windows install using rufus which doesnt run the hardware check that may work for you

No, windows does run, but doesn't support the display drivers properly. Windows 10 never had support for intel 2000 so that's fine but even in windows 7 it's an issue. Also, my windows installs were all made using rufus in the first place. My issue wasn't that they didn't run but that anything too intensive would crash the igpu of the processor.

kiranrss · Sunday at 11:22 AM

Arigaytor said:
No, windows does run, but doesn't support the display drivers properly. Windows 10 never had support for intel 2000 so that's fine but even in windows 7 it's an issue. Also, my windows installs were all made using rufus in the first place. My issue wasn't that they didn't run but that anything too intensive would crash the igpu of the processor.

Then a gpu would be the only route see if the MB supports a higher processor which you can get for less than 1k

Arigaytor · Sunday at 11:25 AM

kiranrss said:
Then a gpu would be the only route see if the MB supports a higher processor which you can get for less than 1k

I could easily get a i5-3470 or i7-3770 but am not sure whether the current processor could handle some esport titles already so I guess I'll get a gpu first and then upgrade the cpu if necessary. Any suggestion for a cheap gpu (used or new) under 1k which would run most stuff okayish?

arup · Sunday at 11:44 AM

Arigaytor said:
The main thing I noticed was that whenever the graphics drivers were updated, whether directly from intel, xorg or windows update, the display would simply stop working and not display anything.

Looks like the iGPU is faulty. Try with a different processor if you can manage.

joy.das.jd · Sunday at 12:25 PM

arup said:
Looks like the iGPU is faulty. Try with a different processor if you can manage.

I think a used GPU should take care of it. No need of replacing the CPU. Even an ancient one like GT210/GT710 should be fine, I guess. But don't think of running any games off it.

Don't run any mainstream GPU on that crappy PSU.

Arigaytor · Sunday at 1:16 PM

arup said:
Looks like the iGPU is faulty. Try with a different processor if you can manage.

Is that even possible? For one part of the cpu to die while the rest runs mostly fine? And it does display somewhat so I don't really know what's up. I don't think even the bios would post if the igpu didn't work because I'm pretty sure motherboards like this don't have onboard graphics.

Arigaytor · Sunday at 1:22 PM

joy.das.jd said:
I think a used GPU should take care of it. No need of replacing the CPU. Even an ancient one like GT210/GT710 should be fine, I guess. But don't think of running any games off it.

Don't run any mainstream GPU on that crappy PSU.

Not even like old titles from like 2014 or something really light like valorant? That and web browsing are probably the only reasons I'm trying to fix the machine somewhat. Obviously I'm not going to throw in a 1660 super or something in there but would something like a used 1050 or even lower be a bad fit for the system?

kiranrss · Sunday at 1:28 PM

Arigaytor said:
I could easily get a i5-3470 or i7-3770 but am not sure whether the current processor could handle some esport titles already so I guess I'll get a gpu first and then upgrade the cpu if necessary. Any suggestion for a cheap gpu (used or new) under 1k which would run most stuff okayish?

See if there are any for sale in the forum you will have to check if your PSU will support the GPU power. If you have a electronics market where you live take the entire thing with you and see what works

You will have to negotiate though

Arigaytor · Sunday at 1:42 PM

kiranrss said:
See if there are any for sale in the forum you will have to check if your PSU will support the GPU power. If you have a electronics market where you live take the entire thing with you and see what works

You will have to negotiate though

No 8 pin on my psu so it'll have to run off the pcie slot only. The psu is 450 watts so I think it'll handle a 65w or lower pcie powered card pretty well

joy.das.jd · Sunday at 1:52 PM

Arigaytor said:
No 8 pin on my psu so it'll have to run off the pcie slot only. The psu is 450 watts so I think it'll handle a 65w or lower pcie powered card pretty well

The only GPU I would suggest for this configuration will be a 750 Ti which is rather hard to find. I think even the 1050ti needs a 6 pin power connector.

But cost of the GPU will be more than the entire pc. Better to get a display card and run it for basic tasks. GT 710 fits your requirement perfectly. You might even be able to play games like DAVE THE DIVER ( personally tested) on it. Highly recommended game, btw.

Arigaytor · Sunday at 1:55 PM

joy.das.jd said:
The only GPU I would suggest for this configuration will be a 750 Ti which is rather hard to find. I think even the 1050ti needs a 6 pin power connector.

But cost of the GPU will be more than the entire pc. Better to get a display card and run it for basic tasks. GT 710 fits your requirement perfectly. You might even be able to play games like DAVE THE DIVER ( personally tested) on it. Highly recommended game, btw.

It's fine imo, I don't really mind if the computer dies after a year or two, and 2k or so isn't a huge amount to risk for me personally. Just asking for reccomendations of a good used gpu at this point i guess.