Hey everyone! I'm quite new to understanding PC components and building systems, and I bought my desktop off Facebook Marketplace a couple of years back. It's served me well, but I'm realizing its limitations as I dive deeper into music production. I primarily use Ableton Live and I've hit a ceiling on how many tracks I can manage at once due to my current PC setup, which also causes noticeable latency issues. I'd really like to enhance my workflow to a more professional level. I do play some older games, and while I would love to run newer titles in the future, it's not my primary focus right now.
At the moment, I have an MSI B85M-G43 motherboard and an Intel Core i5-4460T CPU, both of which feel outdated, especially for music production. On top of that, I have 16GB of RAM and a decent SSD, but my graphics card, a GTX 960, is also limiting. From what I understand, the strongest CPU I can upgrade to for my motherboard is the i7-4790. However, it seems like if I really want a robust system, I'll need to upgrade my motherboard as well down the line.
So my main question is how to proceed with upgrading. I want to make improvements without spending too much at once. Is it worth getting the i7-4790 for now and planning a motherboard upgrade later? Or would that just be a waste of money for a minor upgrade? Should I save up for a new motherboard and CPU combo together and make do with what I've got for now? I appreciate any tips or discussions; I'm definitely a bit lost here!
1 Answer
First things first, where are you located? Also, what's your budget looking like right now? The i7-4790 could be an upgrade, but honestly, it's not the best option anymore. Current-gen stuff might be pricey, but considering a mid-range like a 12th-gen i5 could be a smarter move as it will give you better performance for music production and gaming.
I’m in the USA and ideally, I’d like to stick to around $200 for now, which I know isn’t a lot. I did look into those 12th-gen CPUs and realized how outdated my motherboard is! So I get now that newer motherboards won’t be able to use DDR3 RAM, right? What should I realistically expect to invest for a full upgrade?