I built my PC about 7 years ago and it's served me well, but with life getting busy, I haven't been gaming much until now. Unfortunately, my setup is struggling to handle the newer games. I'm running an Intel Pentium G4560 CPU, Radeon RX 480 GPU, and 16 GB of DDR4 RAM, all on a B250M Gaming Pro motherboard. The storage is okay, and I think my power supply is decent, but I'm definitely looking to play some games again since I'm at home due to an injury. I've got $500-700 saved up and I'm wondering if I should just upgrade some parts or save for a new rig that I can build in about a year and a half. Any advice?
3 Answers
Your RX 480 is still pretty decent for light gaming! If you're looking for a budget upgrade, you could grab an i7 from the used market—like the 7700 for around $50-70—and a cheap cooler. A solid upgrade for about $100 total. But if you're ready to invest a bit more, going for an AM5 setup might give you better future-proofing for a GPU upgrade later.
If you're thinking about a new build in 1.5 years, it might be worth saving up more before you dive into upgrades. However, if you want to game now, the $700 you have could get you a solid start on a decent build. Look into AM5 components; even a basic CPU with some new DDR5 RAM and an NVMe SSD would make a huge difference! You can keep your RX 480 for a bit longer too and upgrade the GPU later.
Great tips, thanks! I’ll start researching some AM5 options.
Honestly, it sounds like your current PC doesn't have much of an upgrade path left. You could potentially upgrade the CPU, motherboard, and RAM to a newer setup while still using your GPU for now, but it might be better to save for a complete overhaul. Starting fresh would give you more options down the line, especially with the new tech coming out.
That makes sense, thanks for the insight! I'll start planning for a future build.
Sounds promising! I've been eyeing the 7700 too. I think that might be a good move.