[SOLVED] Updating 11 year old Computer (current GC: ATI Radeon HD 5700) Budget ~$200

[Monocle]

Hey guys, I hope this isn't a silly question. My computer (desktop PC) is 11 years old and it's served me very well to this day. It was a moderate build (not high end) even for the time. I'm starting to get back into PC gaming and I see my system is behind the times now. I'm not tech savvy but I want to update it so I can run more modern games without a problem.

I'm running Windows 7
AMD Athlon II X4 620 2.6 GHz processor
4 GB RAM
ATI Radeon HD 5700 Series Graphics card
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D Green 380W
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-MA74GM-S2



This will be mostly for gaming. the game I want to run now is Divinity Original Sin II, and Baldur's Gate 3 when it comes out. The most recent game I've played on this PC was Skyrim and it ran solid. I don't do much else on my PC.

I shop on NewEgg, Amazon, or Ebay but I'm open to other sites.

PARTS PREFERENCES: None, I'll use anything compatible

OVERCLOCKING: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1680x1050

I want to update the graphics card and RAM and I'm looking for any recommendations on what to buy. I'm also not sure what is compatible with my system. Also not sure if it's worth updating these things while keeping the same processor, or if I might have to build a whole new PC, which I'm trying to avoid.

If I missed any information please let me know. My budget for this would be ~$200ish USC.

Thanks for any assistance in advanced!
-Nick

 

[WildCard999]

What games are you trying to play?

With how old that system is you may need to build new but if your playing older games then upgrading the memory, GPU & PSU may be feasible.

 

[Monocle]

I just seen the how to ask for advice thread. Fixing my post right now

 

[Monocle]

Updated! Hopefully I didn't miss anything

 

[ex_bubblehead]

Don't forget to budget for Windows 10 as Windows 7 is both out of support, and, will not run on current hardware.

 

[WildCard999]

Your CPU is really going to affect your gaming, especially with Divinity. You may want to look into the used market for your budget. Something like the 750 ti for like $60 could work with your PSU then like $30 for memory would help but the CPU is lacking a bit. You might be able to find something like the X4 965 BE for cheap but even that is quite dated by today's standards.

While you said you didn't want to build a new system what is the absolute max you could spend on upgrades or a new build?

 

[Monocle]

Don't forget to budget for Windows 10 as Windows 7 is both out of support, and, will not run on current hardware.

While you said you didn't want to build a new system what is the absolute max you could spend on upgrades or a new build?

I didn't even think about the OS upgrade . If I had to build a new PC my budget would be around ~900-1000 USC. I was nervous I might have to go that route.

 

[WildCard999]

USC?

 

[Monocle]

Sorry, $900-1000 U.S. Dollars. At work I always have to specify so it becomes a habit

 

[WildCard999]

Sorry, $900-1000 U.S. Dollars. At work I always have to specify so it becomes a habit

No worries. So you don't need to spend that much, this would be plenty for your current games and BG3 when it comes out on higher settings.

PCPartPicker Part List
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock B450M/AC Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($73.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial P1 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($109.99 @ B&H)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon RX 5600 XT 6 GB WINDFORCE OC Video Card ($279.99 @ B&H)
Case: Cooler Master MasterBox Q300L MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($44.99 @ Best Buy)
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ B&H)
Total: $803.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-03-28 15:58 EDT-0400

 

[vov4ik_il]

This is probably is the closest to your budget that will run any game on low settings.