I need advice on what to do with my pc

[manodemo]

I have a pre-built PC and recently, as I have started playing more games, it seems that I can't play the games that I want at 60 fps 1080p.

Specs:
Processor: Intel Core i5-2400 3.10GHz
GPU: GIGABYTE R9 270 WindForce 2X OC
Ram: 16GB ram
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

I know some about the parts, but I am not familiar on upgrading and such, so I just need advice on what I need to do in order to run more graphic intensive games. I know my ram is fine, but does my CPU or my graphics card need to be upgraded? If they do then what should I upgrade them to? I have been thinking about building a new PC, but this PC has anti-virus software and other software that I don't necessarily want to give up, so I am leaning more to just upgrading it.

Thank you for any suggestions.

 

[1LiquidPC]

Hi there. Welcome to the forums. I guess first things first. Since you seem to be leaning on upgrading your current system, what kind of budget are you looking to spend? The 3rd Gen i7 series(Ivy Bridge) through a firmware update for your motherboard is newest CPU generation you would be able to go. What model motherboard do you have? What about your power supply? What case/cooling setup to you have? This type if info is needed to determine what kinds of upgrades you would need to consider for CPU/GPU upgrades.

 

[terry4536]

To upgrade a system that is roughly seven years old isn't the best use of your money. A meaningful performance upgrade would involve a new CPU, RAM, and motherboard (at a minimum). And more than likely a new power supply.

What is your budget?

 

[terry4536]

I would suggest a new build. And then use this PC as a back up, or as storage on a local ethernet network.

 

[cryoburner]

To upgrade a system that is roughly seven years old isn't the best use of your money. A meaningful performance upgrade would involve a new CPU, RAM, and motherboard (at a minimum). And more than likely a new power supply.

The graphics card only came out 5 years ago, so the system can't be quite that old. And CPUs haven't exactly become massively faster compared to the high-end processors that were available then, so there are processors available for that platform that could provide a decent performance upgrade, such as something like an i7-2700K / 3770 / 3770k. One of those will provide performance roughly comparable to something like a lower-mid-range Ryzen 2400G, without needing to replace the motherboard and RAM, and they can be found for around $150-$200 on the used market, at least in the US.

And for the graphics card, you could plug in something like a Radeon RX 570 or RX 580, to significantly increase graphics performance. Between the CPU and GPU upgrades, along with perhaps a $30 tower cooler for the i7 processor, you might only be looking around $350 to give that existing system a nice gaming performance boost, at least bringing it back in line for mid-range 1080p60 gaming.

And for most games, even that existing i5 processor would likely still be fine enough for all but the most demanding titles. Personally, I would start by just upgrading the graphics card. Put in something like an RX 580, and see how much that helps. Or grab a used GTX 1070 with even more performance for not much more. Some games that really hit the CPU hard may keep you from maintaining a solid 60fps, but you can always reuse the new graphics card with new components later should you feel the need for further upgrades.

 

[geofelt]

What kinds of games do you play?
If you want more graphics intensive games, then I suspect a stronger graphics card would be appropriate.

R9-270 is relatively weak. An upgrade to GTX1060 would be appropriate.

Try this test:
Run YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.

 

[jspring2]

I'd say it's time for a complete replacement. You can get something like this that's going to be an upgrade across the board.

https://www.amazon.com/MSI-Trident-8RC-005US-Computer-TRIDENT38005US/dp/B079NQMP96/ref=pd_sbs_147_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B079NQMP96&pd_rd_r=c9f79040-f073-11e8-8068-c76aa33ad5df&pd_rd_w=X1uV3&pd_rd_wg=oUwGt&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=7d5d9c3c-5e01-44ac-97fd-261afd40b865&pf_rd_r=K8Y3C8Y4W61SG2CWZB9W&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=K8Y3C8Y4W61SG2CWZB9W

 

[terry4536]

To upgrade a system that is roughly seven years old isn't the best use of your money. A meaningful performance upgrade would involve a new CPU, RAM, and motherboard (at a minimum). And more than likely a new power supply.

The graphics card only came out 5 years ago, so the system can't be quite that old. And CPUs haven't exactly become massively faster compared to the high-end processors that were available then, so there are processors available for that platform that could provide a decent performance upgrade, such as something like an i7-2700K / 3770 / 3770k. One of those will provide performance roughly comparable to something like a lower-mid-range Ryzen 2400G, without needing to replace the motherboard and RAM, and they can be found for around $150-$200 on the used market, at least in the US.

And for the graphics card, you could plug in something like a Radeon RX 570 or RX 580, to significantly increase graphics performance. Between the CPU and GPU upgrades, along with perhaps a $30 tower cooler for the i7 processor, you might only be looking around $350 to give that existing system a nice gaming performance boost, at least bringing it back in line for mid-range 1080p60 gaming.

And for most games, even that existing i5 processor would likely still be fine enough for all but the most demanding titles. Personally, I would start by just upgrading the graphics card. Put in something like an RX 580, and see how much that helps. Or grab a used GTX 1070 with even more performance for not much more. Some games that really hit the CPU hard may keep you from maintaining a solid 60fps, but you can always reuse the new graphics card with new components later should you feel the need for further upgrades.

This is a pre-built system with a locked processor. I seriously doubt that the motherboard is going to be capable of overclocking. That leaves the the I7-3770 as about the highest performing processor without upgrading the motherboard. But who knows perhaps there is higher end motherboard.

$263
Intel Core i7-3770 Ivy Bridge Quad-Core 3.4GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W BX80637I73770 Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4RE7MX6513

From the I5-2400 to the I7-3770, the turbo boost frequency would increase from 3.4 GHz to 3.9 GHz.

 

[cryoburner]

This is a pre-built system with a locked processor. I seriously doubt that the motherboard is going to be capable of overclocking. That leaves the the I7-3770 as about the highest performing processor without upgrading the motherboard. But who knows perhaps there is higher end motherboard.

Who said anything about overclocking? You don't need an overclocking-capable motherboard just to run an unlocked processor at stock clocks. My point was more that all of those processors should perform relatively similar to one another at stock, and at least on the used market, there's the possibility that the 3770 might not always be the least expensive.

And I probably wouldn't bother buying a "new" CPU from that generation, since those processors are old enough now that they are available on the used market for significantly less. The big computer hardware retailers are not likely to stock it themselves, and you might not even be getting an actual "new" chip from some third-party seller. Checking eBay, it looks like a used i7-3770 can actually be found for around $100 right now. Of course, you'll want to check what motherboard you have, and make sure that there's the option to update it to support 3000-series processors, if it doesn't already.

In any case, again, I think upgrading the graphics card would make the most difference in the majority of games.