I recently picked up an old HP Compaq 8300 Elite for just $30. It's got an i5-3570k processor and 8GB of RAM, but I removed the old AMD Radeon HD 6450. The motherboard supports up to an i7-3770K, and I'm planning to install a 500W power supply along with a GTX 1060 6GB, which I found for under $80 in several listings. I'm also considering upgrading the RAM to 16GB (DDR3). Given my tight budget, I'm wondering if it's worth upgrading the motherboard instead, and if so, could anyone suggest some decent motherboards for under $50? I have some basic experience with PC building through YouTube, coming from a third world country, so any additional advice would be greatly appreciated.
2 Answers
Ditching the 3570K for a 3770K isn’t necessary. Consider looking for an RX 580 instead of the GTX 1060; they perform similarly, and if you find an 8GB version under budget, it's a solid choice. Just make sure you don’t skimp on the power supply—get a decent one, like the MSI MAG A-BN series. Also, if you’re switching to an SSD, that’ll speed up your system significantly!
If it looks legitimate, that’s a steal! Just ensure it’s in good shape before buying.
Honestly, for $30, that build you got is already looking pretty rough. If you're aiming for modern gaming, you'll probably need at least DDR4 RAM and a newer CPU at some point. For what that machine can handle currently, 16GB of RAM and a better CPU might not make much difference in gaming anyway, so I'm not sure an upgrade is worth it.
I didn’t get it for gaming! I just needed something to do basic tasks. Should I really look at upgrading the motherboard?
If you're not gaming, then you might be fine sticking with what you've got for now. An upgrade could still help if you want better performance later.
I spotted a used RX 580 8GB for about $80, but I hesitated thinking it was a scam. Should I go for it?