Hey everyone! I'm looking to upgrade my computer since it's struggling with light gaming and multitasking. I'm primarily playing Old School RuneScape with 117HD enabled, watching YouTube, and browsing the web. I occasionally play League of Legends too. I'm aiming to keep the upgrade budget under $600, but I'm open to spending a bit more if it helps with future-proofing. I initially thought about just upgrading the CPU, but it seems my motherboard might limit my options. I really like my smaller case and want to stick with that form factor. By the way, my current setup includes a Dell 32 4K UHD Gaming Monitor and a Dell UltraSharp 25 Monitor, an Intel Pentium G4560 CPU, a Gigabyte GA-H270N-WIFI motherboard, 32 GB of Kingston RAM, a Samsung 840 Evo SSD, an Asus STRIX RX 470 GPU, a Fractal Design Define Nano S case, and a SeaSonic Platinum 520 W power supply. Thanks for any advice!
3 Answers
Realistically, you might want to consider building a completely new system. If it were me, I'd keep your current PC as is and sell it to recover some costs. The market for older builds can be hit or miss, though you might be able to reuse some components like your case, power supply, RAM, SSD, and hard drives. But if you're looking at upgrading the CPU, motherboard, and GPU, you're basically looking at a new build anyway.
It sounds like you're really bottlenecked by your CPU and motherboard. If you're looking for a minimal upgrade, I suggest checking out some used parts. Try finding a B550 ITX motherboard; the Asus ROG Strix is a great choice and supports DDR4 RAM, so you won't need to replace that. You could also upgrade to the beefiest Ryzen 5000 series CPU you can find within your budget. AMD often offers better price-to-performance ratios, but keep an eye on availability!
Honestly, your components are getting pretty outdated for today's games. If you're set on upgrading without going overboard, consider picking up an i7-7700K paired with an RX 570 or RX 580. You can find these online for a decent price. A faster 2400MHz memory might be beneficial too, but it may not be worth the extra cost now. These upgrades will be the last best options for your system before needing a full rebuild.
Thanks for the tips! I thought the i7-7700K wouldn’t work with my motherboard. Is that correct? I saw that PC Part Picker indicates the i7-6700K is the max.
I appreciate the honesty. I've thought about that too! Just trying to weigh my options before jumping into a new build.