Budget 0-20k PC Upgrade Advice

balagopus

Recruit
Hi Everyone,
It's my first post here so please feel free to point out if there are any mistakes so that I can fix them.
So my parents had an ancient system that they use for their office purposes - mainly browser based, it has an Intel pentium e5400, 2gb ddr2 ram and 160gb hdd. Recently we got another system from a relative for free, it has an Intel Pentium G2030, 2gb ddr3 ram and 160gb hdd. It had windows 7 installed, I formatted and reinstalled windows 7 because for some reason windows 10 and windows 8 boot usb just doesn't load. I tried linux, but it had graphics driver issues as the screen resolution was not detected and I couldn't find any drivers for intel. It was working fine for a few weeks, till we got a printer. After I installed the printer drivers the system felt really slow, massive slowdowns and crashes, the browser doesn't open up even after reboot. I reinstalled windows but had no improvements, it practically became unusable.

So my question is will getting another ram, preferably 8gb ddr3 and probably an ssd as well improve this situation at all? Also looking for ddr3 rams in amazon and flipkart, are the Indian brands reliable enough or are they a gamble? Is there anything else that I need to look into?

Also if any more info is required kindly tell me so that I can add
 
Well, here are some things to note:

- The main problem you will run into in terms of PC speed is the lack of cores and threads on your CPU, and in terms of RAM for using modern browsers along with printing operations running as well; 2GB is extremely limited. I suggest having at least 8GB minimum. The cheap ones on Amazon have mixed reviews most of the time and you would be better off getting a used dual-channel kit (4GBx2/8GBx2) from someone here (make a WTB post), locally, or on Indian PC FB groups.
- The HDD is honestly fine in my opinion but the speed will definitely increase by a huge margin if you upgrade to a SATA SSD. Maybe grab a cheap Crucial or ADATA SATA SSD, either new or open box ones from a local shop.
- In terms of OS, your CPU seems quite limited in options. I wouldn't suggest continuing with Windows 7 due to security vulnerabilities as your use-case is using the internet on the thing, but rather running a lightweight, debloated (check Chris Titus WinUtility on YouTube) Windows 10 after a RAM upgrade OR a Linux distro like Linux Mint XFce/MATE. I've run Linux Mint on quite ancient laptops and never had any issues with drivers. Anyway, you ought to consult Linux forums for driver issues before you try to install it and I am sure you would get apt help as they are very active.
 
Thank you for the reply, for the RAM are there any specifications that I need to look into other than ddr3. The board is H61 from Asus and from what I have seen online it supports maximum of 1333Mhz, most of the RAM online is 1600Mhz, but should just work in the lower speed without much problems. I am also skeptical of buying RAM from just brands online especially with the no returns policy of Amazon and Flipkart, but because where I live PC shops are not that common, so was just considering it and was wondering if anyone here had any experience with it. I checked for RAM in facebook marketplace in my locality but cannot find any. Can't create a post here yet and I respect the rules. Probably will look into some local shops if I can find any to see if they have any better brands. Also I forgot to add the Hdd might be in bad shape as well because in crystal disk mark, the status was caution, I don't know how serious it is, I can't remember what the errors were right now, but one was uncorrectable sector count - it wasn't a high number but googling it said that it could be serious. So I am considering getting an SSD. I was looking into the Crucial BX500 240GB for that.

As for the OS, windows 10 and windows 11 refuses to boot from usb at all for me to try and install it, sometimes it the monitor just says input not supported, sometimes some other error. As for linux, I tried linux mint and ubuntu, both had resolution of just 800x600 cannot increase it at all, tried a few solutions online but didn't work so had to go back to windows 7 with the legacy updates tool to get a few installers working. Will probably try again after I can get some RAM.