Upgrade hints for older PCs – save money and get Windows 11 for free (guide)

Upgrade hints for older PCs resulted from many readers’ requests. They still use a desktop or mini-tower and don’t want to lose their hardware investment because of a lack of Windows 11 compatibility.

As you know, Windows 10 End of Life is on 14 October, which means there will be no more updates or security patches, making paddling in the wild, wild web (WWW) quite dangerous. Read Windows 10 EOL (end of life) options – risk it, upgrade if you can, or buy a new computer.

Rather than create an extensive PC buying guide, let’s look at your upgrade options. If you are tech-savvy, you can DIY; if not, take this guide to a local PC store (getting increasingly rare).

We will limit our upgrade hints to PCs less than 10 years old.

What is a PC?

• A desktop of a mini-tower case*
• At least a 200W power supply with a 20-pin connector and optional 4-pin extender*
• An ATX (full size) or micro or mini-ATX (smaller variant with fewer expansion slots) motherboard
• A processor – Intel or AMD
• DRAM – DDR4 or DDR5 and at least 8GB for Windows 11*
• Storage: A 2.5 or 3.5” spinning SATA hard disk or PCIe SSD (solid state drive)*
• A video card with HDMI output (this may be built into the motherboard)*

* These items are usually reusable if you select the right motherboard and processor.

Basic upgrade

Usually, all you need to do is replace the motherboard and processor with a Windows 11-compatible one.

Few new motherboards have the old 8 and 16-bit ISA slots because Video, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Sound card and hard disk controllers are integrated. If you need an ISA slot board, it will likely be a generic Chinese-made board from eBay.

Here are a few current options for reusing all your other parts. Models change quickly, so you may want to take your PC to the computer store to check.

The motherboard socket dictates which processor you can use

Intel

Intel has a guide here. You will likely be able to buy only 12th, 13th, or 14th-generation boxed CPUS.

Processor	Socket Used	Approx Price
Intel Core i3, 12-14xxx Processors	LGA1700	$100-200
Intel Core i5, 12-14xxx Processors Series	LGA1700	$200-300
Intel Core i7, 2-14xxx Processors Series	LGA1700	$400+
Intel Core i9, 12-14xxx Processors	LGA1700	$800+

Intel socket LGA1700 motherboards range from $150 to $400.

AMD

Current processors  include

• Ryzen 3 – AM4 socket (will use DDR4 memory) from $110
• Ryzen 5 – AM4 socket (will use DDR4 memory) from $200
• Ryzen 7 – AM5 socket (must use DDR5 memory) from $400
• Ryzen 9 – AM5 socket (must use DDR5 memory) from $800

We advise sticking to Intel i5 or AMD Ryzen 5 for maximum compatibility with your existing components. You must install the CPU cooler fan that comes in the box. It is a press/clip-on thing.

AMD AM4 motherboards range from $150-200, and AM5 from $200-$400.

Trusted motherboard manufacturers

• ASUS
• MSI
• Gigabyte

RAM – should you need to replace it

RAM must be the same speed, e.g., matched pairs. 128-pin DDR 4 will work with lower speed processors, and DDR 5 is for higher speed. You can put DDR5 in most DDR4 motherboards

DDR4/DDR5

• 8GB from $30/50 (but you need two for 16GB)
• 16GB from $50/65 (use 2 x 8GB)
• 32GB from $100/125 (use 2 x 16GB)
• 64GB from $200/260 (use 2 x 32GB)

Labour

If all goes well, most computer shops will charge about 2 hours’ labour. That could be as little as $150 to as much as $300. Confirm their hourly rate first and get an estimate of costs upfront.

Where to buy components

• MSY
• UMART
• MWAVE
• SCORPTEC

Your local PC repair shop will need to make a margin on purchases, so take prices as a guide.

The elusive free Windows 11 upgrade – do this well before October.

Once the PC is running as a Windows 10 device and fully patched, you can verify free upgrade eligibility Download the PC Health Check app.

CyberShack’s view: Upgrade hints are easy if you have done it before!

I have upgraded old metal hundreds of times, and provided you are careful, it generally works. All you need is a Philips head screwdriver, some time and patience. No high-voltage bits are inside, and static precautions comprise washing your hands first.

If you are game, the computer parts specialists will give you the best value. But be careful—few allow returns once the part is removed from its box. Get all the pieces from one supplier and ask them to make sure they are compatible.

Don’t try to do too much in the first round. Just get it going with Windows 11. Later, you can upgrade storage, etc.

PCMAG has an article on How to Build a PC