Is Upgrading My CPU and GPU Worth It?

It's awesome that you're excited to upgrade! Just a heads up, switching from the i5 9400F to the i7 8700 isn't really a significant leap—you're still getting 6 cores, and while the i7 has double the threads, it might not be a game-changer unless you're into heavy multiplayer games like Warzone. However, the 5060 Ti is a solid upgrade and should definitely improve your gaming experience! Maybe consider holding off on the CPU upgrade until you can replace the motherboard as well, since you're on a pretty basic chipset right now.

While your upgrades will technically work, you're maxing out an old platform. If you're investing money, why not aim for a more modern setup? I suggest looking into a Ryzen 5 7600 or Intel i5-13600F for much better performance while using less power. Pair that with an RTX 4070 or RX 7800 XT for future-proofing. It'd be worth it to upgrade your motherboard and RAM too—going for DDR5 can really enhance your system. If your budget is tight, even the Ryzen 5 5600 with a B550 board would feel like night and day compared to what you have.

You probably didn't see any AMD CPUs because your H310 motherboard can’t support them. But your 600W PSU should be fine. Honestly, just swapping CPUs may not be the best investment; saving up for a complete upgrade, including the motherboard, CPU, and RAM, will give you a much better return. There are some great step-by-step guides on YouTube if you decide to go all in!

Upgrading from a 9th gen to an 8th gen CPU doesn’t make a lot of sense in the long run. I'd suggest upgrading your CPU, motherboard, and RAM all at once, ideally to an AM5 platform. Investing in older tech like LGA1151 doesn’t seem wise since it's outdated.