I'm helping a friend set up a small gaming PC for their significant other using an old DDR3 system. We're thinking about investing around 500-600€ for upgrades. The plan is to upgrade the case, PSU, storage, and GPU for now, while waiting for RAM prices to drop before tackling a CPU, motherboard, and RAM upgrade. I was looking at options like the Arc B580 or RTX 4060, but I'm unsure how they would perform with a DDR3 setup. The system has a Gigabyte motherboard with an AMD 760G + SB710 chipset, though we don't know the exact CPU model yet. Are there any major compatibility issues I should be aware of? Also, what OS would work best after a GPU upgrade? I'm considering SteamOS since Windows 11 might not support the older CPU.
2 Answers
The B580 could be too advanced for an old CPU; it'll get bottlenecked easily. If your CPU is low-end, I'd suggest looking at something like the RX 6600 XT instead. It's a more sensible choice for that setup. Also, consider software like Lossless Scaling to improve gaming performance since CPU power is key these days. If your friend has a decent laptop with Thunderbolt or USB4, an eGPU setup could be a great way to go. Game streaming services like Xbox Live or GeForce NOW are also worth looking into for less demanding setups.
You might want to skip the B580. It requires a feature called re-bar that old DDR3 systems just don't have. Better to avoid that one altogether.
I totally get the concern about AMD GPUs—I’ve had some driver headaches too. And yeah, I don’t think he has a laptop that meets those connection requirements. But the game streaming idea sounds fun!