[SOLVED] Looking to upgrade Radeon R7 200 on an FX-6300

[Otis.]

I sense the answer is "what's the point?", but thought I'd ask anyway.

I built this as a budget gaming PC about 8 years ago, but have used it very little the last few - my daughter is getting ready to go off to college soon, so I'm thinking about getting back into PC gaming. Nothing high-end for now, mostly emulated MMOs, but I'd like to maybe add in some of the 2k games, possibly some flight simulator/RTS games. Then in a year or so, I'm going to invest in either a higher end gaming laptop or PC build.

So I'm trying to figure out whether there's a decent GPU upgrade that might give me a bit better performance with this older CPU, and preferably without spending more than around $400 to $500 or so. Here are the primary specs for this PC:

CPU: AMD FX-6300
GPU: Radeon R7 200
RAM: 16GB
MOBO: ASUS M5A78L-M/USB3
POWER SUPPLY: EVGA 500B (500W)

The hard drive is not an SSD.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Dj0gany]

I rarely recommend this, but i would just buy PS5 if you are looking for a temporary "upgrade".
With the given budget and GPU situation, i think its impossible to upgrade this system.
You would need a new cpu/mobo/ram/gpu, possibly powersupply, and $500 is just not enough for all of those things.
I mean you can upgrade your CPU/MOBO/RAM/PSU to smth like this:
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i3-10100F 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($121.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B460M DS3H Micro ATX LGA1200 Motherboard ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Viper 4 Blackout 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 CL16 Memory ($82.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 860 Evo 250 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($39.99 @ Best Buy)
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS Plus Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($109.99 @ B&H)
Total: $459.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-06-12 18:39 EDT-0400

, and keep the R7 200, but i'd rather buy the PS5 now and then build a completely new beast when you the money to do so.

 

[DSzymborski]

Which R7 200? It's a series, not a specific GPU. If you have an R7 260X or R7 265, there's much less room to upgrade than if you have the much weaker R7 240 or R7 250. And certain upgrades would not only be expensive, but necessitate a better quality PSU than you have.

In any event, the PSU and CPU probably limit you to a GTX 1050 Ti.

 

[Otis.]

Sorry about that, I found the original email confirmation - it is a "Sapphire Radeon R7 240 2GB DDR3 HDMI/DVI-D/VGA with Boost PCI-Express Graphics Card"

Thanks for the recommend on the 1050 Ti. I guess I'm just trying to see if upgrading will make any noticeable difference - the MMO emulator stuff I play can run on a pretty old machine, but I'm thinking any recent vintage software might be helped even marginally by a GPU upgrade.

 

[Otis.]

Thanks much, this is actually something I was considering, since I could still use the PC to do some of my gaming. Acquiring a PS5 right now is the tricky part, I'm guessing.

 

[DSzymborski]

A 1050 Ti is better than any of the R7 GPUs, but it's a lot better than an R7 240, so you ought to notice the difference. Make sure it's not an overclocked 1050 Ti that requires a supplementary power connector (most do not require it); the PSU is a basic, office-type PSU that I'd prefer to not use for extra power beyond the PCIE slot.

Things are way overpriced at the moment due to a perfect storm of events around the world, but it's better to overpay for a 1050 Ti than overpay by a lot more for a GPU you can't even use. The 1050 Ti's been the standard "I just want to play games on a budget PC" recommendation for years.

If you don't want to go for a 1050 Ti, even a GT 1030 should be a massive improvement on an R7 240.

 

[bccorrupt]

Your system is extremely dated, but the GPU is WAY below the quality of the rest of it. You probably could buy yourself some time and reasonable 1080p gaming with a 1050/1050ti/GT 1030 like DSzymborski said, also watch for a used gtx 750/750ti/950, 260x, 280x, 380 or upgrade the PSU and watch for a used gtx 770/960/970. Even a new 1650 or 1660 wouldn't be a waste since you're going to upgrade the rest later on anyway.