Looking to upgrade an existing computer

[hgheiberger]

Hello,

I have recently decided to upgrade my computer during the upcoming Black Friday Sales. As of now, I am using a prebuilt computer with all the specifications in the link below (Nothing has been changed). I am hoping to upgrade it to a point where I could run practically any game at a minimum of 1280 x 720 with 30 fps. As this shows, I don't care necessarily about how good the graphics are but instead whether the game can run. For now, I have been able to run most games at these settings, however, there are a few newer ones that are still unplayable. What would be the cheapest upgrades I could do for this computer in order to reach my goal, with all parts remaining compatible. Also please include links to these items and whether I should buy them now or wait until Black Friday (I am new to computer building and am not certain where to start)

Thanks for the help,
The_hunter2012

Link to current computer:
https://www.cnet.com/products/hp-pavilion-500-314-tower-a8-7600-3-1-ghz-8-gb-2-tb-us/specs/

Budget:
As much as it takes to get the requested preformance

 

[julienruc]

Hello,

I have recently decided to upgrade my computer during the upcoming Black Friday Sales. As of now, I am using a prebuilt computer with all the specifications in the link below (Nothing has been changed). I am hoping to upgrade it to a point where I could run practically any game at a minimum of 1280 x 720 with 30 fps. As this shows, I don't care necessarily about how good the graphics are but instead whether the game can run. For now, I have been able to run most games at these settings, however, there are a few newer ones that are still unplayable. What would be the cheapest upgrades I could do for this computer in order to reach my goal, with all parts remaining compatible. Also please include links to these items and whether I should buy them now or wait until Black Friday (I am new to computer building and am not certain where to start)

Thanks for the help,
The_hunter2012

Link to current computer:
https://www.cnet.com/products/hp-pavilion-500-314-tower-a8-7600-3-1-ghz-8-gb-2-tb-us/specs/

Budget:
As much as it takes to get the requested preformance

It would help to work with a budget, but in the meantime - you can look at this 500$ budget build (you can keep your current 2Tb 7200rpm HDD):

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 3 1300X 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($124.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI - B450M PRO-VDH Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Team - L5 LITE 240 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($29.99 @ Newegg Business)
Video Card: Asus - Radeon RX 570 4 GB ROG STRIX Video Card ($159.89 @ OutletPC)
Case: Cooler Master - MasterBox E300L MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair - CXM (2015) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $494.73
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-11-15 03:50 EST-0500

This is what I would recommend to be a lower end modern PC build capable of achieve medium graphics in most games at over 60fps (to account for drops). I've gone for 8Gb but the Motherboard includes 4 slots if you wish to upgrade to 16Gb in the future.

With an upgrade of 100-200$, you can get a more solid build, which can be considered as mid-end as of current standards.

 

[hgheiberger]

It would help to work with a budget, but in the meantime - you can look at this 500$ budget build (you can keep your current 2Tb 7200rpm HDD):

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 3 1300X 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($124.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI - B450M PRO-VDH Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Team - L5 LITE 240 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($29.99 @ Newegg Business)
Video Card: Asus - Radeon RX 570 4 GB ROG STRIX Video Card ($159.89 @ OutletPC)
Case: Cooler Master - MasterBox E300L MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair - CXM (2015) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $494.73
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-11-15 03:50 EST-0500

This is what I would recommend to be a lower end modern PC build capable of achieve medium graphics in most games at over 60fps (to account for drops). I've gone for 8Gb but the Motherboard includes 4 slots if you wish to upgrade to 16Gb in the future.

With an upgrade of 100-200$, you can get a more solid build, which can be considered as mid-end as of current standards.

Would there be anyway to just upgrade what I have now to get my desired performance. For example, someone recommended I upgrade either my memory or CPU. I feel if I am getting to the point of buying nearly a whole computer, I should just drop the $800 on a good one. As for my budget, cheaper is better but I can go up to what is necessary. What would you recommend I upgrade?

 

[julienruc]

Boy, I don't know man. An upgraded CPU will be highly bottlenecked by that GPU. And same thing vice versa.

Which R7 is this? Because if it's the R7 370, u could I guess keep it for another year. Should be fine for CSGO, LoL and perhaps Fortnite on medium-to-low.

In which case u could just upgrade the CPU, Mobo and RAM only and keep the current case you have.

What's the PSU in your case? This might need to be changed.

 

[hgheiberger]

Boy, I don't know man. An upgraded CPU will be highly bottlenecked by that GPU. And same thing vice versa.

Which R7 is this? Because if it's the R7 370, u could I guess keep it for another year. Should be fine for CSGO, LoL and perhaps Fortnite on medium-to-low.

In which case u could just upgrade the CPU, Mobo and RAM only and keep the current case you have.

What's the PSU in your case? This might need to be changed.

The PSU is a 300 W meaning that I would most likely have to upgrade it. As for the R7, I haven't been able to determine what model it is. I have attached some photos of my efforts with the hope you will see something I don't. Another person recommended this upgrade:
Storage: Toshiba - OCZ TR200 240 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($39.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus - Radeon RX 580 4 GB Dual Video Card ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill - Capstone 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $239.87
Would this upgrade help me reach the performance I am trying to achieve?
Picture 1: https://prnt.sc/ljdi2f
Picture 2: https://prnt.sc/ljdi5y