Best upgrade path?

[al3xanderw]

Back in 2014 I built a gaming pc, then rebuilt it in 2015 and again in 2018, mixing parts from different PCs to make a sort of Franken-tower. Currently the core setup is this:

AMD FX-6300 CPU
XFX R7 260X 2GB DD GPU
10GB DDR3 RAM
Gigabyte Am3+ motherboard
A few different HDDs

I just bought the XFX GPU and it seems to do well but obviously my FX 6300 is bottlenecking everything now. I would like to upgrade (and remain AMD for compatibility reasons) and am asking you all what you think the best upgrade path is. I produce music and game casually, and am looking to get 60+ FPS on these titles:

Rainbow six siege
Mechwarrior online (cryengine)
Modded Fallout 3 and NV
Assetto Corsa
BF1

As these are generally older games, if finding a cheap AM3+ compatibile CPU would be worth it for my purposes, I’d be happy to look into that. However I assume most here will beat me over the head about that and insist on a Ryzen.
Of course going with a Ryzen will mean a new MOBO, the CPU, and DDR4 RAM. If this is entirely necessary, I understand but I am trying to keep my budget as low as possible, so I’m not against the FX series. I am fine with buying used hardware as well. Any advice on this is much appreciated and thank you for taking the time to read it.

 

[Tumeden]

IMO the XFX R7 260X 2GB isn't even really worth buying, but if it's better then what you previously had then i guess under the circumstances. The GPU is actually still pretty outdated.

Personally I'd save up for a bit and go brand new if that's an option, I usually avoid saying this to everyone and try to recommend the next closest step in hardware for the least amount of money but by looking at your situation it'd be ideal to save and buy everything new at the same time.

 

[al3xanderw]

Before the XFX was an HD7770 and before that a 5450. I got the XFX used for 40$. I honestly don’t play any newer titles so having the newest hardware isn’t a huge deal for my purposes.

 

[Tumeden]

If you want to piece things together with parts from the scrap bin then try and find an amd fx 8320 for super cheap, and maybe pick up a solid state drive. If you want something that'll last you the next 3-5 years with modern games then you should save up for something newer.

 

[Tumeden]

Isn’t the 8320 only 3.2 ghZ compared to my fx 6300’s 3.5?

Yup, but you still get 5-7% increase in performance with the extra cores. Like i said you won't get much out of upgrading thing's that you have.. It's much better to wait and upgrade it all.

 

[al3xanderw]

I see your point and thanks for your answers. So may I ask what a good list would be for newer components that can run those games?

 

[Tumeden]

I see your point and thanks for your answers. So may I ask what a good list would be for newer components that can run those games?

Completely depends on your budget and what you're willing to save.

Someone had posted this build earlier, it would allow you to play any modern games for the next few years and leave room for upgrades if needed.

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/jbRWdX

 

[al3xanderw]

Considering I already have a tower, a gpu, drives, and a power supply unit, I would just need the cpu, a motherboard, and ram. For those 3 things I would want to keep it under 300. Again, I’m not interested in newer titles. Been playing the same games a long time.

 

[Tumeden]

You'd be looking at 200-300 for just a lower end ryzen cpu..

 

[al3xanderw]

How about the 2200G?
https://m.newegg.com/products/N82E16819113481?ignorebbr=true&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-Mobile&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-Mobile-_-pla-_-Processors+-+Desktops-_-N82E16819113481&gclid=Cj0KCQiAvKzhBRC1ARIsANEXdgwAB8JyjxWASV3nyVy613CJrrYALiMq34uEkCRr6AdcDD0cSwqmCC8aAt4cEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[Tumeden]

How about the 2200G?
https://m.newegg.com/products/N82E16819113481?ignorebbr=true&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-Mobile&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-Mobile-_-pla-_-Processors+-+Desktops-_-N82E16819113481&gclid=Cj0KCQiAvKzhBRC1ARIsANEXdgwAB8JyjxWASV3nyVy613CJrrYALiMq34uEkCRr6AdcDD0cSwqmCC8aAt4cEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Yeah... actually... that would be just fine.

 

[al3xanderw]

Looking into it more, I think you’re right about the XFX 760. It seems to just be slightly better than my old HD7770... maybe I need a new video card after all

 

[Tumeden]

Looking into it more, I think you’re right about the XFX 760. It seems to just be slightly better than my old HD7770... maybe I need a new video card after all

Yeah the only issue being, graphic cards are way more expensive then CPUs. If you're sticking with older games, then your CPU i think should be able to handle things fine for now, maybe put your money towards a GTX 1060. At least if you ever upgrade your system in the future the 1060 would still be good for a few years. With newer games the 1060 will bottleneck on the 6300 but you should be fine with older games. Furthermore your whole system could be bottlenecking on the HDD read/write speed, so a SSD for gaming would be beneficial if you don't already have one. Both of which would be transferable to a newer build if you ever decide to go down that road in the future.

 

[al3xanderw]

I found a refurbished rx480 8gb for 120$ which should be here in a few days. Seems like one of the best cards in its range, and apparently they usually go for 300

 

[Tumeden]

I found a refurbished rx480 8gb for 120$ which should be here in a few days. Seems like one of the best cards in its range, and apparently they usually go for 300

It's equivalent to the GTX 1060, so yes it's a very nice card and you struck a good deal.

 

[al3xanderw]

Thank you for your direction. I might have accidentally bought ANOTHER same spec part as what I have otherwise, haha. I’m picking your previous response as the answer.

 

[Tumeden]

Thank you for your direction. I might have accidentally bought ANOTHER same spec part as what I have otherwise, haha. I’m picking your previous response as the answer.

Hope it all works out, enjoy the new graphics card in a few days