[SOLVED] Worth upgrading my current gaming PC build?

[Memedy]

Hi Guys,

Need some expert advice here, basically I have owned my current custom gaming PC build for around 6 years now, was really good back in it's day and now it is really slowing up and can't run much high-mid tier games now. Here is my user benchmark with components:

UserBenchmarks: Game 28%, Desk 36%, Work 29%
CPU: AMD FX-8120 - 35.5%
GPU: AMD R9 280X - 34.9%
SSD: Intel 520 Series 120GB - 48.5%
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.14 2TB - 61.8%
RAM: Unknown 16GB - 42.5%
MBD: Asus SABERTOOTH 990FX

Is it worth upgrading and if so, what parts do you recommend for my current build?


Many Thanks!

 

[Darkbreeze]

What country are you in and what kind of upgrade budget can you realistically work with?

 

[Memedy]

What country are you in and what kind of upgrade budget can you realistically work with?

Currently situated in the United Kingdom and roughly 300 pounds.

Thankyou!

 

[King_V]

What exact PSU do you have, brand and model?

Also, with regards to your monitor:

• What is its resolution?
• What is its refresh rate?
• Does it have FreeSync, GSync, or neither?
  • If FreeSync, what is the FreeSync Range?
• If you don't know all this, having the brand and exact model number of the monitor would be helpful.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Yes, knowing what EXACT power supply model you have (Model will be listed on the specifications decal ON the power supply) and what resolution/settings you plan to use, would be really helpful.

Also, I don't think you're going to be able to get this system TRULY up to speed, even moderately, with only a 300 pound budget. That is probably enough to cover a new CPU, motherboard and memory, which would help if the CPU is limiting frame rates right now (And, it probably is, especially on any CPU bound games), but that 280x is almost certainly part of the problem too and while something like an RX 580 or GTX 1660 Super would be good choices as replacements, heck, even an RX 570 would likely improve things significantly, those probably require a new power supply as well and it would make sense to upgrade things in two phases, one for the platform and one for the graphics/power delivery, unless you are able to increase that budget to more like 500 pounds for a one time upgrade.

In the even you were hoping there was an upgrade you could do using your current platform, forget that idea. There are no CPUs or any other upgrades you could pursue on the FX platform that would offer any significant improvements to anything and would only be a waste of money and primarily result in a side grade.

 

[Memedy]

Hi guys,

Thankyou both for your replies, my monitor is xl2420b benq gaming monitor and the psu is CORSAIR 750W PRO SERIES™ HX750-80. Looking to use preferably a 1920x1080 set-up with mid-high end settings, mostly need it for video editing via premier pro and after effects.

The reason I set myself aside a 300 budget is mainly due to if I am spending anything above that, is it even worth upgrading anymore and not just worth buying a new build all together? With the power supply in-mind, can I upgrade a few parts of my pc that can drastically or greatly improve the speed and performance of the computer? I under the cpu and gpu would be the main parts to upgrade.

Many Thanks again.

 

[King_V]

The Corsair HX is a good power supply, so you're good there.

As @Darkbreeze mentioned, there's no worthwhile CPU upgrade. Given that, and given that you have a good PSU, then really, you're looking at:

• GPU
• Modern platform
• (maybe) monitor

An upgrade of the GPU would be a good start. Your monitor has up to a 120Hz refresh rate, but does not have any kind of adaptive sync it seems (ie: FreeSync or GSync).

Are you looking to get 120fps frame rates in games? Or would 60 suffice?

The reason I mention a monitor upgrade is that FreeSync (and GSync, before Nvidia finally gave up on it and the "Nvidia tax" that comes with it) allows for refresh rates of the monitor to be adjusted on the fly to match what the video card can put out. That way, if your frame rates drop, smoothness is maintained.

Still, before jumping the gun, I guess it's probably a good idea to know what your goals are in terms of gaming. Max frame rates? High details at 60fps? As well as knowing which games you're playing or plan to play...

 

[Darkbreeze]

That is not an accurate model number for the monitor.

 

[Memedy]

The Corsair HX is a good power supply, so you're good there.

As @Darkbreeze mentioned, there's no worthwhile CPU upgrade. Given that, and given that you have a good PSU, then really, you're looking at:

• GPU
• Modern platform
• (maybe) monitor

An upgrade of the GPU would be a good start. Your monitor has up to a 120Hz refresh rate, but does not have any kind of adaptive sync it seems (ie: FreeSync or GSync).

Are you looking to get 120fps frame rates in games? Or would 60 suffice?

The reason I mention a monitor upgrade is that FreeSync (and GSync, before Nvidia finally gave up on it and the "Nvidia tax" that comes with it) allows for refresh rates of the monitor to be adjusted on the fly to match what the video card can put out. That way, if your frame rates drop, smoothness is maintained.

Still, before jumping the gun, I guess it's probably a good idea to know what your goals are in terms of gaming. Max frame rates? High details at 60fps? As well as knowing which games you're playing or plan to play...

Perfect, 60fps would definitely suffice, looking at running games such as division 2 on mid settings comfortably at 60fps. Also, more importantly running video editing programs and handling fairly intensive multi-tasking programs at a good performance too is quite important.Thanks!

 

[Memedy]

That is not an accurate model number for the monitor.

My mistake, not sure if I misread the back or it's inaccurate in terms of the proper model, but my display on windows says: BENQ XL2420-B

 

[Darkbreeze]

Yeah, I see it now. Most that brings up specs for the BENQ XL2420-T, but I finally found it.

At 1080p, I'd say upgrade the platform first, graphics card second, because the 280x is still capable enough for high-low to medium settings in a lot of games, but will definitely fall flat in others, however your CPU and platform will fall flat in pretty much everything.