Hey everyone! I'm having some trouble with my PC lately; my CPU and memory usage keeps hitting the ceiling. I'm experiencing serious buffering, especially when I'm gaming (like in modded Minecraft and Helldivers) while also having a browser open. I'm thinking about upgrading my PC, but my motherboard is pretty old, and I'm wondering if it would make more sense to build a new one instead. I don't know much about PC compatibility or building, so I'm a bit stuck. Right now, it seems my best option is a slightly better i5 CPU, and I think my motherboard only supports up to 16GB of RAM. Any tips on checking if I can upgrade my motherboard while keeping some of my current parts would be super helpful. Here are my specs for reference:
**CPU**: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4 GHz Quad-Core Processor
**Motherboard**: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard
**Memory**: Corsair Vengeance LP 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR3-1600 CL11 Memory
**Video Card**: MSI GeForce RTX 3060 Ventus 2X 12G 12GB Video Card
**Power Supply**: Corsair HX750 750 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
2 Answers
Honestly, it sounds like your setup is pretty outdated. I'd say go ahead and replace everything except your GPU. The RTX 3060 is still a decent card for now, so keeping that makes sense. I'd recommend switching to a motherboard that uses an AM5 socket for better future compatibility, and upgrading to 32GB of DDR5 RAM. You'll probably want to upgrade your GPU in the future since it could end up being the bottleneck after you sort out the rest, but for now, keep using it while you save up for an upgrade.
You really need a modern processor and motherboard. If you're focused on 1080p gaming, your 3060 and power supply are likely fine for the time being! Upgrading to a new CPU, motherboard, and RAM is essential. I recently bought a decent MSI Z890 Gaming Plus with an Intel combo for about $469. If you tack on around $100 for 32GB of RAM, you could build a solid modern PC for under $600. You’ll probably want some quicker storage too—they're pretty cheap now! Just keep in mind that new CPUs come with new socket types and memory requirements, so it’s a bit of an investment overall.
Wow, that's a solid deal you got there! Thanks for sharing it. I might look into that setup for myself.
Thanks for the advice! I was worried about the GPU becoming a bottleneck. How much do you think the overall upgrade will cost?