From what I know, B460 boards only support RAM up to 2933MHz, and if you're stuck with a locked CPU, it might only hit 2666MHz or something like that. Honestly, buying faster RAM feels like a waste of money there. Personally, I’d lean toward a B450 board paired with an Intel Core i5-7500 because the upgrade path is way better—you can eventually drop an Intel 12th Gen chip in there. B450 boards are actually pretty affordable and solid pieces of gear. https://www.nabava.net/search.php?q=b450+steel+legend https://www.nabava.net/maticne-ploce...-ddr4-92791051
With Intel, you get a slightly better processor right now (Intel Core i5-10400F), but your only real upgrade option later is an Intel Core i7-10700 or similar, which always ends up being overpriced on the used market.
P.S.
Yeah, the AM4 socket is strictly for Ryzen. As far as I recall, Intel is using LGA1200 now for the 10th and 11th generations.
Personally, I'd stick with an Intel Core i5-7500 AF For $300, it's still a killer deal. You'll hit 60FPS without breaking a sweat, and you'll get even more in lighter games where the GPU isn't the bottleneck. Save that cash now so you can grab a beefier card later. You can always drop an Intel 12th Gen chip into the same board down the road. You could even aim for a 3060Ti right now. It's pricey, but for $1333, you won't find anything stronger since it performs similarly to a 2080 Super, which goes for over $2000.
Whether you run into a bottleneck really depends on your resolution and what kind of games you're playing. An Intel Core i5-9600K isn't going to hold you back much, but honestly, why pay full price $567 when the Intel Core i5-12400 is dropping in a month or two for around $667? That chip is a couple generations ahead of the 9600K. I reckon an NVIDIA RTX 3060 and an Intel Core i5-12400 would fit your budget once prices chill out in a few months. Are you in a rush?
Too bad you didn't snag a CPU during Black Friday. My brother picked up a 2700X—it's a bit weaker than the Intel Core i5-9600K for gaming, but for $400 it works fine. He’ll probably upgrade to something like a 3060Ti later when he can afford it.
Unfortunately, you picked the absolute worst time to be shopping.
The Intel Core i5-9600K used to sit under $500, and the 2700X was a solid budget alternative for about 1200-1300. Now, with Black Friday hitting, retailers are just dumping old stock. When I went to pick up a 2700X, the guy told me they still had them, but the wholesale cost jumped, so they're clearing out. They're basically flushing the inventory.
A new wave of CPUs and GPUs just dropped, but the mid-range stuff hasn't hit the shelves yet, so prices are still inflated. Honestly, it’s a waste of cash to drop $567 on an Intel Core i5-9600K right now when the Intel Core i5-12400 should be landing in a month or two for around $667, and that thing is in a completely different league.
It's the same story with the 5700XT cards. You can't find an RTX 3070 for less than $1667 at the moment, though it should eventually settle around $500-$550. An RTX 3060Ti is sitting a bit above $1333. Both of those crush the 5700XT. It's the same deal as the processor—if things were selling at MSRP, you'd be getting close to an Intel Core i5-12600K and a 3060Ti, but that's not reality.
My advice? Wait until February to buy anything. Things should stabilize by then. What's your budget? You could probably pick better parts for the rest of the build too, but that's just splitting hairs.
I need a realistic estimate here. Given the debate we've been having about what's actually doable, let me be clear: I want a price that someone in a major US city would actually pay within a few weeks of posting the ad.
HP Compaq elita 8200 Mid Tower I5 2400 HP Q67 i5 2400 HP Q67 chipset likely 4x2GB 1333MHz DDR3 250GB Hard Disk Motherboard has a PCIe x16 slot; I recently had an RX460 in there, so it could easily function as an entry-level gaming PC again if you add a GPU.
+ An old 19" 4:3 monitor Samsung Syncmaster 193 p plus
Since the budget isn't exactly bottomed out, I’d rather just buy something new. An Intel Core i3-10100F beats all those used i7s, and it costs about the same as the cheapest used chips. If he sells his current motherboard, RAM, and old i3 for $83, that basically covers getting some new RAM (at least 8GB), leaving him to just grab a cheap motherboard to get on a modern platform. Looking at $233, relying on an ancient quad-core after half a decade is just asking for trouble.
You could pull it off if you sell your old parts. You might get maybe $50 for the GPU, and the rest won't be much more than that. For $667, you could upgrade to a new motherboard, CPU, and RAM, then put about $150 toward a decent graphics card. What kind of power supply are you running?
Buy it used on eBay, flip it later for slightly less—unless you get lucky and break even. Or just grab a new one on a payment plan if you've got the credit.
The price should be $500. I own this monitor and, just like TNG says, it’s worth the investment. It isn't a pro-grade display, though. The colors look fine to the naked eye, but they probably aren't pinpoint accurate. If you know how to calibrate a screen, you'll be fine.
Meanwhile 2080 super, performance-wise it’s sitting somewhere north of $2000. I’m just hoping those 3000 series cards actually hit the shelves. Ideally at those relatively high price points, just enough to shift the market, drag down the prices on older hardware, and finally get people to offload their old cards—like a 2060—for actual reasonable money. (Wishful thinking, I know.)
silverridge3 said:Maybe a beefier CPU with integrated graphics would actually be cheaper than this i5+GT1030 combo? If so, I could probably hunt down faster RAM too.
Timothy Kim60 already told you exactly what you're asking.
Whatever. They really should have just updated their websites. But since this series is built for OEM machines, they probably couldn't care less. Either way, it’s impossible to say for sure whether it supports it or not.
Kimberly Gomez34 said:Look, I’m telling you, any of those will just struggle to keep up. You should grab something higher quality—something that actually leaves the door open if you decide to drop in a GPU down the road.
Unless, of course, you decide to go the DeskMini route.
Ended up grabbing that Seasonic 550 w semi-modular unit. They told me they were out of stock despite the site saying it was available, so I swapped it for a Fortron Hydro Pro 500 W. SAD. Now I'm wondering if I should've gone with the Integra m 450 w instead, but whatever—cable management isn't my top priority.
Doubt I'll ever throw a high-end card in here, but even if I do, it shouldn't be an issue. This thing is solid enough; I went a step up just because it wasn't a $33 big deal. We ended up coming in way under the initial budget we set for a MacBook Pro around $2333 .