I built this PC around 2014 and stopped using it in 2019. Now I want to get back into PC gaming, mainly playing GTA V and Warframe at 1080p on a 100 Hz monitor. My current system has an MSI H81M-P33H motherboard, an i5-4440, an R9 290, 8 GB of DDR3 RAM, a hard drive, and a 650 W non-modular power supply in a Rosewill Thor V2 case. Since modern hardware is expensive, I would prefer to upgrade this system if it can still provide a decent experience. I am considering adding an SSD and more RAM, but I am also wondering whether I should instead spend around $400 on a newer used or budget-built PC.
4 Answers
I would start with the inexpensive upgrades rather than replacing everything immediately: 16 GB of RAM, a 1 TB SATA SSD, and a fresh operating-system installation. Check whether the memory is currently one stick or two, since matching two modules enables dual-channel operation. Also keep an eye on the R9 290's temperatures and the age of the 650 W power supply. If the SSD and RAM make the system usable again, you can postpone the larger rebuild until you actually need more performance.
If you are willing to spend close to $400, a newer platform may be the better long-term value. A used Ryzen 5 5600 system, or an inexpensive build with a modern six-core CPU, 16 GB of current-generation memory, an SSD, and a decent power supply, would be substantially faster and easier to upgrade later. Marketplace can be worthwhile, but check the parts list, test it under load, and avoid unknown or very old power supplies.
You could also look for a cheap used CPU upgrade. An i7-4770 or a compatible Xeon E3 v3 would give you four cores and eight threads, which helps with newer games and multitasking. Just confirm the exact CPU and BIOS compatibility first. The main limitation is that this is still an old platform, so CPU, DDR3, and GPU upgrades will not turn it into a modern gaming PC.
For those two games, you can probably keep the system going without spending much. Add another 8 GB of DDR3 so you have 16 GB, and install a SATA SSD—ideally a reliable model with onboard DRAM, though a basic SATA SSD will still feel dramatically faster than the hard drive. Your motherboard has SATA III ports, so you can get the drive's normal SATA performance. A newer GPU would help, but the R9 290 can still handle these games at 1080p; it is just old, hot, and power-hungry. If buying used, something around an RTX 2070 Super or RX 6600 XT would be a more sensible ceiling for this platform than a much faster modern card.
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