[SOLVED] Upgrade advice for my machine?

[Cinders1]

I've decided to upgrade my machine while I wait until the next generation of GPU's (and hopefully reasonable prices/availability). So, the objective is to make my machine just a little more capable for another year or two without breaking the bank.
I've noticed my processor is chugging a lot, and my GPU can't handle a lot of new games I want to play, or it struggles to barely get by. How would you upgrade my machine?

Current build:

Processor	Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4590 CPU @ 3.30GHz, 3301 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
Motherboard	ASUS Z97-A-USB31
GPU	NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970
Memory	16G
Storage	SSD
PSU	CX 600m power supply (600 watts)

I'm thinking Upgrade the Processor and GPU would do the minimum.
GPU: Going for the lowest end of this generation while still upgrading, like a Radeon RX 6600 (not XT) for approx 330$ if I can get one. It's not a great card, but it actually seems to go for MSRP.
Processor: I'm not sure here, what would be a good upgrade without wasting money on something im not going to get full potential out of?

I appreciate all thoughts, thanks for reading

 

[Aeacus]

Your current build is very similar to my Haswell build (full specs with pics in my sig).

If i were you, 1st to be upgraded would be the most important component in PC - PSU. Either Seasonic Focus+ 650W or PRIME 650.

Once solid PSU is powering everything, without no risk of frying, next step would be upgrading GPU.
You have GTX 970 in there (i have GTX 760). Since you game, GTX 1660 and up would do (1660 Super and 1660 Ti). I'm planning to get GTX 1650, since my missus (who's PC Haswell build is), doesn't play that much.
GTX 1660 Ti is equal performance to RX 6600. Both are good for 1080p gaming. Anything up would give you 1440p gaming (where monitor upgrade would also be in order, if you have 1080p monitor).

Once the new GPU is in place and CPU still lags behind, you have 2 options:

1. Buy better Haswell family CPU, e.g i7-4790K (that's what i've planned for some time but never got to it).
2. Go with new CPU-MoBo-RAM combo.

All-in-all, new CPU-MoBo-RAM combo gives better performance and lasts far longer than just CPU upgrade. And since not many Hawell chips are around, they may also cost premium to buy (it's the sole reason why i haven't upgraded the CPU yet).

 

[Eximo]

Well, a new processor means a new motherboard and RAM. You are at the end of DDR3 with that system. DDR4 is being phased out in the next year or so. Intel will launch DDR5 capable systems (though many boards will still be DDR4) this month.

CX600m is still alright, but not anything I would necessarily want to run larger GPUs on. Particularly since it is quite a few years old at this point.

A cheap upgrade for you would be something like an i5-10400 or a Ryzen 5 3600, B560 and B550 motherboards respectively, and a nice 2x8GB kit of DDR4 3200 at CL16. Higher end would be to wait out for Intel 12th gen to see what that costs on the street, or go ahead and pay out for AMDs R5-5600X, or i5-11400-11600K.

Not much to be said for replacing a GTX970 at this time. 6600 is overpriced for what it is, but yes, about the cheapest new card you can get. You might see the occasional RTX3060 for around $400 from the Newegg Shuffle, often bundled with power supplies. Or you can camp out at retailers li

You could maybe keep your SSD as a spare drive and whatever chassis you have now. Everything else would pretty much need to be replaced for a worthwhile upgrade.

 

[Eximo]

Newegg has a few i7-4790 Dell's at $200. Basically the equivalent of an overclocked 4770k with zero effort. You can swap in your old CPU and re-sell the Dell desktop, or gift it to someone. (For like $230 they have ones with 8GB of ram and 512GB SSDs...)

Price finally seems to be going back down. For a while there all the 'gaming desktop' resellers were scooping these up and putting cheap GPUs in them and selling them on Ebay and Amazon.

 

[geofelt]

Here is a list of supported processors for your motherboard:

Z97-A/USB 3.1 - Support

www.asus.com

The strongest will be a I7-4790K.
They sell for $125 or so on ebay.
Your current i5-4590 has 4 threads and a passmark rating of 5317 and a single thread rating of 2091.
A i7-4790K gets you 8 threads and a rating of8057/2470.
The stock intel cooler is probably not adequate.
$50 can buy you a suitable cooler. I like the noctua NH-U12s redux for about $50. It can be easily moved to a later build.

I might also point out that $250 or so buys you a i3-10100 processor similar in capability to the 4790K, a lga1200 motherboard and 16gb of ddr4 ram. It comes with a cooler.
Here is a review:
https://www.techpowerup.com/review/intel-core-i3-10100/15.html

 

[Cinders1]

Great answers so far, thanks!
I am definitely open to whatever the best holdover option is, whether its fitting my current mobo or upgrading that as well. I'll do some research on your suggestions.