I have a desktop originally purchased around 2014 and would like to spend less than $600 upgrading it or replacing the necessary parts. My main goal is to move to a more secure operating system, since my current hardware does not officially support Windows 11. I also want to keep playing older games such as XCOM 2.
I'm not very experienced with PC hardware, but I can follow build guides. My current system has an Intel Core i7-4770K, 16 GB of RAM, an H97-D3H motherboard, an AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT with 8 GB of VRAM, a 1 TB hard drive, a 120 GB SSD, and a 2 TB Samsung 860 EVO SSD. What hardware would be compatible with this system, and would it make more sense to upgrade individual parts or build a newer budget desktop?
1 Answer
Before spending money on upgrades, consider whether Windows 11 is absolutely required. Your RX 5700 XT and 16 GB of RAM are still perfectly capable for older games, so the main limitation is the dated CPU and motherboard. Rather than replacing only one part, you would likely need a newer CPU, motherboard, and RAM, which can take up a large part of a $600 budget.
A Linux gaming distribution such as Bazzite or CachyOS could be a practical alternative. Steam and Proton allow many Windows games to run on Linux, and your existing hardware would be a reasonable starting point. Try it from a USB drive first, and back up important files before installing anything.
I hadn’t seriously considered Linux before, but I’m open to it. Can Linux run most Steam games, and what would be a good way to get started without risking my current files?