I built this PC for about $150 from used and salvaged parts so I could move on from an old laptop. I mainly want to play the Fallout games, Dishonored, titles from around 2013–2020, and various indie games—not demanding new releases.
The current parts are:
- Asus H97M-E motherboard
- Intel Core i5-4690K
- Palit GTX 1060 6GB
- 16GB (2x8GB) HyperX DDR3
- 120GB Kingston SSD and 250GB Samsung SSD
- 500GB Hitachi hard drive
- Chieftec A-80 700W power supply
- Mars Gaming case with five 120mm fans
What upgrades are worthwhile while keeping the motherboard? Would this CPU hold back a significantly faster graphics card, and are there any especially sensible improvements for the games I want to play?
2 Answers
Changing to a newer Ryzen platform could be better value if you find a cheap used CPU, motherboard, and memory bundle, but it is not necessary for your stated games. With the parts you already have, I would keep the GTX 1060 unless you find a very good deal, add more fast storage if needed, and upgrade the graphics card only after checking actual performance in your games.
For the CPU, the practical upgrade is a used i7-4790K, assuming you can find one cheaply. It gives you four cores with Hyper-Threading and higher clocks, but the improvement may not justify a high price. The motherboard's CPU options are limited to compatible fourth-generation chips, with a few fifth-generation models depending on BIOS support.
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