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Old 1st March 2020, 21:01   #1
Daveluck
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Default Old pc upgrades

Evening,

So bear with me on this and be gentle...

I have an old PC...2008 but it's bullet proof.

It's been through various house and office moves and it's always been rock solid.

It's had a few basic upgrades. It's had a couple of graphics cards and another 4gb of memory. It's all good but...

I need to modernise her a bit. I'm after bluetooth, usb 3 and usb c.

Clearly it doesn't support usb3 on the motherboard and the PCI cards I've found for only give me one or the other and then they are at the back. I have a spare 5.25 bay with and I also have a front panel card reader ( no audio ) which could be swapped out.

I've also got a couple of sata connectors spare on the motherboard and a plethora of spare 3.2 and 5v power cables.

So is there a PCI card that will allow me to connect a usb 3 and USB c front panel. I was hoping there would be an appropriate connector on the card.

Or maybe a self contained unit that will plug into the spare sata connectors?

Do such a beasts exist?

Bluetooth I was thinking just a mini dongle plugged into one of the existing 8 usb 2 slots.

Am I right in assuming my 2.4ghz wireless keyboard and mouse are not Bluetooth and so I would have to also keep the dongle that came with them?

Cheers

Dave
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Old 1st March 2020, 23:57   #2
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https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hima-5-25-i...a-868085541814




any good?


Bluetooth would be easier with a dongle
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Old 2nd March 2020, 07:35   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rogue View Post
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hima-5-25-i...a-868085541814




any good?


Bluetooth would be easier with a dongle
Would be if I had the usb 3 connections on my motherboard....

...but it's a good place to start from.

Edit. Well done Rogue, thanks to you 8've found this
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07Z61JX...o_xx_P3065_200

Not quite what I want but it's getting there

Last edited by Daveluck; 2nd March 2020 at 08:38..
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Old 2nd March 2020, 13:09   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Daveluck View Post
Would be if I had the usb 3 connections on my motherboard....

...but it's a good place to start from.

Edit. Well done Rogue, thanks to you 8've found this
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07Z61JX...o_xx_P3065_200

Not quite what I want but it's getting there

USB3 is backwards compatible so you can plug into your existing ports but it will just run as fast as the ports on your mobo will allow.
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Old 3rd March 2020, 20:28   #5
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Honestly that PC is of an age where I'd recommend doing a CPU/motherboard upgrade rather than trying to use PCI/USB3 adapters.
You are very likely to run into bottlenecking from the PCIe interface so will not see the full performance potential of USB 3.
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Old 3rd March 2020, 21:02   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mbonwick View Post
Honestly that PC is of an age where I'd recommend doing a CPU/motherboard upgrade rather than trying to use PCI/USB3 adapters.
You are very likely to run into bottlenecking from the PCIe interface so will not see the full performance potential of USB 3.

I would tend to agree but i don't think speed was the primary factor but more a choice of ports
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Old 3rd March 2020, 21:13   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mbonwick View Post
Honestly that PC is of an age where I'd recommend doing a CPU/motherboard upgrade rather than trying to use PCI/USB3 adapters.
You are very likely to run into bottlenecking from the PCIe interface so will not see the full performance potential of USB 3.
Agree
Also, when you decide on your upgrade, make sure you have a flash drive at least for the operating system. The price has really come down and they're transformational when you've been used to an old tired standard hard drive.
PS Incidentally, can anyone help as to why the 'Thank' button has disappeared on all threads on the forum when I'm logged in?
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Old 4th March 2020, 08:57   #8
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Morning,

Thanks for all your replies.

So it's definitely not about speed! This is an old workhorse pc. I'll fire it up every now and then to do some spreadsheeting and wording.

Mostly I use a tablet these days.

Whilst I'm expecting some improvement re data rates the primary objective is for power and the ability to plug in some of the more modern kit that is now coming in. Higher amps at the connector.

Just really to eek out a few more years. I've had computers in my house since a zx81 but this old thing has been about the longest and just keeps chugging away. I've grown quite attached the old girl!
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