Wondering if it’ll be compatible

[alliearmstrong]

Hello everyone. I’m new this kinda stuff to go easy on me. I currently have a desktop that I bought about 4 years ago. It’s not bad but I want it to handle certain games better. I’m thinking of upgrading the graphics card, cpu, and psu but I’m wondering if these will all be compatible with my computer.

My current specs are:
Ga-78LMT-USB3 mobo
AMD FX(tm) - 4300 QuadCore Processor CPU
Gtx 660 GPU
350w PSU
8gb RAM

I’m looking to get
GTX 1060 6gb GPU
Ryzen 5 2600 CPU
EVGA 600 BQ, 80+ Bronze 600W PSU

If I upgraded to these specs would everything work with my motherboard? If you guys think there’s better options for upgrades please let me know. Thanks

 

[Eximo]

The GPU and the power supply yes. The CPU is not compatible.

You have an AM3 socket motherboard, you are limited to the FX series of processor and some Athlon X2/X3/X4 models. Can't really be completely specific as there are several revisions of that motherboard. But it is likely you could drop in an FX-6350 or FX-8370E relatively cheaply. It would not be a huge improvement in most titles, since each core would be basically the same.

https://www.gigabyte.com/us/Motherboard/GA-78LMT-USB3-rev-60#support-cpu The latest one, check to see which revision you have though.

Quite outdated and there really is no upgrade path. AMDs new products are DDR4 (AM4 socket) systems, there is no backwards compatibility to DDR3 systems.

 

[alliearmstrong]

Thanks for your quick reply. Since the cpu isn’t compatible would you recommend just installing the gpu and power supply and not changing the cpu? Or do you think it’d be a better choice to upgrade the motherboard? If the latter can you recommend some good motherboards? Thanks

 

[Eximo]

That depends on what you have to spend.

At a minimum it would be new CPU, Motherboard, and RAM. Keep in mind you may need to re-activate/purchase Windows as well with this drastic a system change.

Some good sales going on right now, so a Ryzen 1500X is the same price as the R5-1400

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1500X 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI - B350M GAMING PRO Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot - Viper 4 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg Business)
Total: $239.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-11-20 14:39 EST-0500

 

[alliearmstrong]

Thanks for your help. I’ve done the math and if I bought everything you suggested along with the graphics card and power supply it’d be around $575. Do you think that’s worth it or would it be better to just buy a whole new computer?

 

[Eximo]

That is effectively a whole new computer. Only thing missing is the chassis and a boot drive.

If you have some purpose you can put the old machine to, then sure, just start from scratch. But if you want to keep your OS and drives, then it is still a viable upgrade, just might not go so smoothly. Certainly safer/easier to do a new build.

 

[alliearmstrong]

Alright. Thank you so much for your help!