After having a Stream Deck and then installing Linux on an old laptop for my wife, I decided to try and resurrect an old desktop I built in 2016. Wondering if it worth upgrading the graphics card, or is the whole thing too old to be of much use.
Parts
| Type | Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD FX-8350 4 GHz 8-Core Processor | - |
| CPU Cooler | Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler | - |
| Motherboard | Asus M5A99FX PRO R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard | - |
| Memory | Corsair Vengeance Pro 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR3-2133 CL9 Memory | - |
| Video Card | Sapphire 100292L Radeon HD 5450 1 GB Video Card | - |
| Case | Cooler Master HAF XB EVO ATX Desktop Case | - |
| Power Supply | EVGA 700 B1 700 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply | - |
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-12-31 21:26 EST-0500 |
In case the above is not viewable
PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/BVTxh7
CPU: AMD FX-8350 4 GHz 8-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Asus M5A99FX PRO R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR3-2133 CL9 Memory
Video Card: Sapphire 100292L Radeon HD 5450 1 GB Video Card
Case: Cooler Master HAF XB EVO ATX Desktop Case
Power Supply: EVGA 700 B1 700 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-12-31 21:33 EST-0500
Edit to add: No Man’s Sky is my most played game. And I was looking at an 8gb Radeon card as an update, if that upgrade would make the system usable, then I will do that. Otherwise I will save for a Steam Machine.
Edit 2: I knew I had a better graphics card, when I got home from work I found it. It is a [ASUS GeForce GTX 970 4GB GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 SLI Support Graphics Card STRIX-GTX970-DC2OC-4GD5](https://www.newegg.com/asus-strix-gtx970-dc2oc-4gd5-geforce-gtx-970-4gb-graphics-card-double-fans/p/N82E16814121899?item=N82E16814121899)
That FX is still bare-minimum usable as a CPU, however I should warn that you’ll be using a lot of power at full send, as Bulldozer was never known for its power efficiency.
Just pair something like an RX 580/590 or RX 5500 XT, or your aforementioned GTX 970 to it if you want decent graphics on it, though.
And in terms of long-term support, the Polaris and RDNA1 card I mentioned is still actively supported with a modern driver stack via Mesa in Linux where your GTX 970 is officially cut off for driver support now as support ended with version 580, and open drivers were sabotaged for Nvidia on 900-series and newer due to locked-down VBIOS, so reclocking is a nogo, where 700-series and older fully supports open drivers as Kepler and Maxwell 1 were the last Nvidia GPUs to have an unlocked VBIOS.
Also, I would upgrade the PSU to something a little beefier that’s at least Gold-rated, but that’s just my opinion on that.