Thanks to DeFi and GCrypto

If you've read my previous blog then this one is sort of a follow-up to it. Now that I have a new way to cash out my crypto easily, I decided to swap some of my MATIC for Philippine pesos to provide me with the funds to purchase these parts.

The computer being upgraded is my old unused desktop, which I built back in September of 2012, and now with a dying AMD Socket FM1 processor. Needing a computer in the living room for Internet browsing, communications, and light 2D and 3D graphics work, I initially thought of buying a mid-range gaming laptop for that purpose.

However, the cost of one is too prohibitive. Since I am also about to build a new high-end desktop 3D workstation before the end of the year, I felt that I shouldn't spend too much to upgrade this old desktop to bring its performance to a decent level, for its intended purpose. I need to stop myself from going overboard with this setup, or I might end up eating into my budget for my new workstation upgrade.

The motherboard still seems to have a lot of years left in it, with no bloated capacitors yet and other signs of impending electronic component failure. Plus, I have a spare motherboard that uses the same type of processor too, in case this one dies someday. So I'll be using Socket FM1 desktops for many more years to come, and although they're obsolete by today's standards, they're still quite useful for many kinds of computing tasks.

My plan for this machine is to put it in the living room, which is the best location for my video conferencing needs with clients and colleagues. With its clean looks and right furniture, it surely offers a more professional atmosphere than my bedroom.

Besides that, this computer would also be great for our video calls with relatives abroad, with its big 21-inch monitor and close proximity to the router. And we have our Sunday bingo game on Discord too, with other relatives here in our village, another good reason to share this machine with the others here.

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BUDGET AND COSTS

This initial upgrade phase was funded with some of my DeFi earnings for March and April as a liquidity provider of DeSci (decentralized science) tokens in a certain platform. Listed below are how many times and how much MATIC I converted to pesos to buy the parts with.

8.31 MATIC = PhP 524.33
11 MATIC = PhP 632.84
11.5 MATIC = PhP 687.78
4 MATIC = PhP 235.42
Total
34.81 MATIC = PhP 2080.37

And below is how much each part cost. Most are brand new and locally sourced, except for the processor, which is second-hand and ordered from China.

Parts purchased
Processor - PhP 377.20
Bracket - PhP 93
RAM - PhP 1147.52
Cooler - PhP 265
Total cost - PhP 1882.72

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The Upgrade Parts

Athlon II X4 638 (2.7 GHz quadcore processor)

The old processor installed in this system is an AMD A6-3650 and runs at a max. speed of 2.6 GHz. But it is a 100-watt processor and has been in use since September 2012 and has seen better days. Replacing it is an Athlon II X4 processor that is not only 100 MHz faster, but is also rated at 65 watts.

I could put faster and more powerful processors than this one I bought, but all the higher models run at 100 watts, which is a no-no for me as I want something that's more power efficient, while still being fast and powerful enough to do what I want to do with it.

_{The revived desktop running Puppy Linux}

Socket FM1 mounting bracket

I had to buy one because one of the original brackets on the motherboard was broken. Good thing the replacement was cheap and locally available. This thing is where the heatsink is attached.

Kingston HyperX Fury RAM 16 GB (2 x 8 GB)

The old system had 8 GB of DDR3 1600 MHz RAM installed, bought back in 2012 along with the other old parts of this old computer. Since computing nowadays, especially browsing on the Internet, is smoother with more RAM, I decided to upgrade it to 16 GB, with a pair of 8 GB DDR3 1866 MHz sticks. The computer now performs snappier than it had with just 8 GB.

Jonsbo CR-1200 CPU cooler

The original processor came with a stock heatsink and fan, and since it had been in use for ten years now, I felt that it was not functioning in optimal condition anymore. So I thought why not buy a new one for the new processor? I looked around in YouTube for some info and checked with favorite online stores and saw one that I thought was perfect for my needs and ordered it right away. It arrived on my doorstep three days later.

I can't remember what the operating temperatures were of the old processor, but with this new processor and new cooler, the idle temperature was at 19 to 22 degrees. When browsing and other light tasks, it was around 33 to 41 degrees. And on heavy tasks that put all four cores to work, temperatures were at past 40 and with a max of 53. The processor's specifications say that its maximum operating temperature is 70 degrees.

So I guess this cooler is performing at a very acceptable level, but I know I can get the temps down a bit more with some good thermal paste, but that's another thing to put on my future buy list for this old system. Since the machine is working fine in its current state, I'll hold off on any new purchases for now while the price of MATIC is not what it was back in March. Maybe next month again? We'll see, then.

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The Outcome

This is what the cooler looks like when the computer is on. Good thing I had the good sense to record it the first time I powered on my computer after installing all these parts. So, now you have a video to watch too, below.