Question Gaming Pc Upgrade Budget ($300/$350)

[Keenan_5]

Current PC- Dell Inspiron 3847
Specs- https://downloads.dell.com/manuals/...spiron-3847-desktop_reference guide_en-us.pdf
GPU- EVGA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti

I wanted to upgrade my cpu and motherboard, but i also want to upgrade my whole system. Keeping the cpu to save money to upgrade more things is fine, but upgrading the motherboard is my top priority. For my cpu cooler i would go for the classic Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo and for my ssd i would go for Kingston A400 SSD 240GB/120GB. The power supply i would want is a EVGA 500W and for my ram i would like 16GB.
Case?..

 

[Obakasama]

Which CPU do you actually have? The PDF shows the original system had several options.

As it is, whichever CPU you currently have in that PC limits what motherboard you can upgrade to if you intend to keep the current CPU. If you upgrade the motherboard and still want to keep the current CPU, you're still limited to the same set of CPUs (the 4th gen Intels) already available to you (the i7-4770k being the fastest).

You can't upgrade the motherboard and use your current CPU, then get a 6th/7th/8th/9th gen Intel CPU to replace it because these CPUs won't be compatible with your motherboard (or any motherboard your CPU is compatible with). These newer CPUs require different motherboards and DDR4 RAM.

With that in mind, think about what it is you want to achieve with the upgrade. It may mean saving more for longer to go for the core upgrade of CPU, motherboard and RAM.

 

[cryoburner]

Knowing the exact specs of your system might help, since as was said, they only listed a vague list of options in that manual. That case appears to be a MicroATX form-factor though, so you would need a MicroATX motherboard if reusing that case. There is no point in upgrading your motherboard if you are not upgrading your CPU though, as a motherboard upgrade on its own won't have any significant effect on performance. What CPU does the system have?

Assuming you are in the US, you could get something like a 6-core, 12-thread Ryzen 2600, B450 MicroATX motherboard, and a 2x8GB kit of DDR4 3000 RAM within that price range. Maybe not if you plan on also replacing both the PSU and adding an SSD for $350 though.

 

[Keenan_5]

Cpu- intel i3-4170
Storage- 1tb hardrive
Ram- Samsung 4GB DDR3 non ECC PC3-12800 1600Mhz
Psu- 300w (Brand IDK?)
Motherboard- Dell 88DT1
Gpu- EVGA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti

That's the full specs of my system.

 

[cryoburner]

Yeah, I don't think moving that processor to a new motherboard would make much sense, as it's a 2-core, 4-thread chip that's fairly low-end by today's standards. If anything, it would make more sense to pick up a used 4000-series i5 or i7 processor off ebay and put that in your existing motherboard, which could help performance in more heavily-threaded games. I'm not sure that it would be worth investing in 16GB of DDR3 at this point though, as any desktop processors released over the last few years requires DDR4.

It might be better in the long-term to move to a more modern platform that provides more room for future upgrades, like AMD's Ryzen, or Intel's 8000/9000 series. Doing so might stretch your budget a bit though, as you would probably want at least a new CPU, RAM, motherboard and likely power supply for that, in addition to the SSD you wanted (You would likely want 240GB at minimum if you want some of your most played games on there, in addition to the OS and applications). I would probably pass on getting a 212 Evo though, as any CPU that would fit around this price range would likely get along fine on its stock cooler.

 

[Keenan_5]

Yeah, i totally agree with u i'm thinking of getting a AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and for the motherboard im thinking of buying a GIGABYTE B450M or a ASUS Prime B450M, but i hope u decide for me.

 

[KeyMB]

Yeah, i totally agree with u i'm thinking of getting a AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and for the motherboard im thinking of buying a GIGABYTE B450M or a ASUS Prime B450M, but i hope u decide for me.

Not sure I’d suggest having someone else pick the stuff you’ll buy. I’d be doing my own research and figuring out what I need by myself. Then getting little help from the fine folks here at Toms