Question Casual gamer considering upgrading

[dragonfly22588]

Hello right now I have:

CPU: Core i5 3470 Quad Core 3.2 GHz
Motherboard: ASRock H77M LGA 1155 Intel H77 Micro ATX
Ram: Patriot Viper 3 8 GB (2x4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1600
SSD/HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1 TB 7200 RPM 64 MB SATA
GPU: XFX R9 280 (3GB I beleive)
PSU: Antec Basiq BP 550 Plus 550W
Chassis: Rosewill Challenger U3 ATX Mid Tower
OS: Windows 10 64 bit
I bought and put together this computer about 7 years ago. The graphics card was an RMA I got about 3 years ago from XFX. I have not replaced anything since I got it. I'm a casual gamer nowadays playing games like World of Warships, Warthunder, Civilization 5, some strategy games. I have no complaints about how these games play on my computer. I mostly use the computer nowadays to browse the web and watch videos or stuff on Netflix. There is a game coming out called Total War: Three Kingdoms that I will be getting and I want to play it to a decent standard. It has a slower paced grand strategy component and a more real time battle component. The minimum specs posted for the game are: i7 8550 U 1.80 GHz,6 GB ram, Intel UHD graphics 620. Recommended is i5 6600, 8 GB ram, GTX 970/R9 Fury X 4 GB.

Do you think my PC would be capable of playing the game? If not or it would play it very poorly would a new PC that I put together between $500-$600 bring enough of an improvement to play it? How much would a PC in that range improve things for me? If I did upgrade I'd really be interested in the new SSD HDs. Also I bought my OS as a Windows 7 Home edition and at some point I was able to upgrade to 10 for free. If I do upgrade and don't plan to use my current computer could I still use my old OS and upgrade or do I have to buy another one? Thanks so much.

 

[Darkbreeze]

You are beyond the minimum requirements by a far margin, which are these.

Total War: Three Kingdoms Minimum System Requirements (Discrete Graphics) 720p / Low / 25-35FPS

• OS: Windows 7 64-bit
• CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0GHz or AMD Phenom 8750 Triple-Core 2.4GHz
• RAM: 4 GB System Memory
• GPU RAM: 1 GB Video Memory
• GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti or AMD Radeon HD 7850

So I'd think you should be fine. You ALMOST reach the recommended requirements for 1080p discrete graphics, but your R9 280 is below the threshold of a GTX 970, so obviously you are going to have to customize your settings to your liking. A little less eye candy will likely result in a few more FPS, and visa versa. You're definitely not going to be playing at 60FPS Ultra, but it should still do ok.