[SOLVED] Should I spend money on an upgrade or build a new pc?

[Pythonbites]

I'm kind of young (13) so I don't have much money to spend on expensive parts for pcs most of the time. I wanted to upgrade to a setup with a ryzen 5 1600 for better performance from some games I play, like Civilization 6 for example. However, my pc currently has an A68HM-PLUS motherboard whch is DDR3 and only supports FM2+ and FM2 CPUs. The problem lies with the RAM. All AM4 motherboards are DDR4 only, meaning i'd need to by new ram, new motherboard and cpu. So I'm confused. Do I build a new system or upgrade the one I have now? Thanks for any help.

 

[Obakasama]

What are you using at the moment? There's a point for the old FM2+ CPUs where if you have a relatively good one (for that product line), then it isn't worth upgrading. Money spent on it might not give you the performance boost wanted.

Generally it's recommended to save the money for a new system due to the age of what you have.

The alternative is to buy older DDR3 compatible Intel CPU and motherboard, which were (and are) better performers than what you have. This does mean buying old, and likely used, components. Of course it does depend on what price you can get these components for, and whether it will be a saving of money compared to a new system altogether.

 

[Pythonbites]

So i'm probably better off upgrading my Graphics card? (Just a note i have a GT 1030 GDDR5 2GB OC and i use an Athlon II X4 750K)

 

[Obakasama]

In which case there's no point in upgrading the CPU on that motherboard. I had an x4 760k, which is just marginally better; but there isn't any real life difference in use between the two. Though I did have a GTX 750 ti with it. The GT 1030 is about the same level.

The graphics card is the easiest to upgrade, and if you plan this purchase right you could take the card over to the new build. Bear in mind that the x4 750k will still somewhat limit the performance.

Depending on your expectations, and how long it would take for you to get the money together, something like a Ryzen 5 2400G might be an option to consider. For example:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2400G 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock - B450M-HDV Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($79.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($75.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $295.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-02-28 17:22 EST-0500

This is just an example though. The idea is it gets you onto a new platform with some upgrade potential; add in a graphics card and later a new CPU perhaps. The integrated graphics of the 2400G is supposed to be a bit better than the GT 1030, but the CPU is a lot better than the x4 750k.

Have a think about the sort of direction you want to take with upgrades. There are no real rights and wrongs; just what is right or wrong for your usage.