Suggest My Route to an Upgrade

[TheTruth89]

Hi All,

So lately I have been going back and forth with an upgrade dilemma. Here is my current setup:

Joshua-H61-uATX Mobo
Intel Core i3 2120 @ 3.3GHz Quad
6GB RAM
AMD Radeon HD 7700
300 Watt

I want to upgrade as newer games are starting to become out of my system's performance capabilities (DOOM, Dark Souls 3, Paragon, others). I am also looking into live-recording gaming.

My dilemma is that I am stubborn when it comes to short-term upgrades, so, if I am going to upgrade parts, I want top-tier to ensure that I can get long-term use out of it. Money is less of an issue than longevity here. However, I am coming to find that upgrading one part to a top-tier usually means upgrading another part. If I get a new GPU I will need more power and probably a new CPU. If I upgrade CPU, I prob need a new motherboard. What I've come to is that I am going to have to spend sightly over $1,000 on new GPU, CPU, MoBo, Power, possibly cooling, RAM....basically a new build entirely :/

I am wondering if someone could suggest a path forward for me with my current setup that avoids the 'all-in' conclusion I reached.

Thanks in advance,

 

[cukpok]

Hi All,

So lately I have been going back and forth with an upgrade dilemma. Here is my current setup:

Joshua-H61-uATX Mobo
Intel Core i3 2120 @ 3.3GHz Quad
6GB RAM
AMD Radeon HD 7700
300 Watt

I want to upgrade as newer games are starting to become out of my system's performance capabilities (DOOM, Dark Souls 3, Paragon, others). I am also looking into live-recording gaming.

My dilemma is that I am stubborn when it comes to short-term upgrades, so, if I am going to upgrade parts, I want top-tier to ensure that I can get long-term use out of it. Money is less of an issue than longevity here. However, I am coming to find that upgrading one part to a top-tier usually means upgrading another part. If I get a new GPU I will need more power and probably a new CPU. If I upgrade CPU, I prob need a new motherboard. What I've come to is that I am going to have to spend sightly over $1,000 on new GPU, CPU, MoBo, Power, possibly cooling, RAM....basically a new build entirely :/

I am wondering if someone could suggest a path forward for me with my current setup that avoids the 'all-in' conclusion I reached.

Thanks in advance,

get rx 470.for 170 $ and yoou dont need new system in 2 -3 years,.

 

[Geekwad]

Looking at your upgrade options:

http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c03135925

You may think about hunting for a used CPU deal to minimize non-transferable purchases (find a bargain on an i7 3770).

With something like that you'd be good to go with a massive GPU/PSU upgrade, and you may think of picking up a new SSD (if you don't have one for an OS drive) and a larger matched RAM kit. Even though the RAM would be DDR3, I am sure over the years that it won't go to true waste (for a Steam machine, NAS, HTPS, or whatever) even though you next main rig will likely not be DDR3:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($90.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Video Card ($429.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($70.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $646.84
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Everything else should transfer over though later to something else. You could do a whole new build for $1k though, of course, but upgrading in stages allows you to make less compromises. You may even want to get a good quality 700w PSU so you could SLI a second 1070 someday when you do get a new board/CPU (just to keep you future upgrade paths as open as possible).

EDIT: Could also keep it all except for a new GPU/PSU (The new RX 480 would be a good match for your current hardware....especially for 1080p gaming), and that may only set up back around $300ish.....and then see how you feel about the performance improvement. Again, a SSD for the boot drive is a great and easily transferable thing to do too.