I'm currently using an i3 10100F and I'm wondering if I should upgrade to an i5 10th gen or even consider an i7 10th gen. Alternatively, I'm also thinking about building a new system using older Ryzen components like the R5 3600 or R7 2700. I have a tight budget of under $200 for upgrades. I mainly play online games like Dota 2 and have noticed some stuttering, even on medium settings. Here are my specs: an i3 10100F, Gigabyte H410 S2H v3, Kingston 8x2 2666MHz RAM, RX 580 8GB, 512GB NVME SSD, and a 256GB SATA SSD.
4 Answers
If it were me, I'd skip the i5 and go for an i7 directly. The 10700F is a solid choice. The K variant might be a bit faster, but it tends to be pricier. It should perform really well for gaming at this stage.
Honestly, I don't think upgrading to just an i5 is going to give you the boost you want. If you could jump to something like a 10600K or 10700K and upgrade your GPU to something like a 6600 XT or 3060 Ti, that could make a real difference. However, if you’re looking for a budget solution, your whole system might need a rebuild. I’d suggest saving up a bit more for a decent AM4 setup instead, which you can often find used for around $500-$600.
Before making any decisions, check your RAM usage while gaming. If it's close to maxing out, consider upgrading to 16 or 32 GB. But just so you know, a new motherboard, CPU, and RAM could cost more than your $200 budget.
When it comes to upgrades, Intel options are a bit limited. I made the switch from an R5 2600 on a B450 mobo to a R5 5600, and the performance difference was significant. With AMD, you have a broader range of upgrade possibilities.
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