PC Upgrade Ideas

Hey there!
So, I'm thinking about upgrading my GPU and CPU just so I can actually keep up with today's games.
Here’s what I'm currently running:
ASUS ROG Maximus ASUS ROG Maximus motherboard
1 $192 $192
R9-390P-8DF6 XFX AMD Radeon ™ R9 390 8GB DD
1 2 $244 2 $244
LC-CC-95 Cosmo Cool LC-CC-95 - CPU cooler
1 $29 $29
ST1000DM003 Seagate 1TB SATA HDD Barracuda, Serial ATA III, 1000 GB
1 $135 $135
GH24NSC0 Samsung DVD Writer
1 $33 $33
975B LC-Power Gaming 975B
1 $129 $129
-- Fractal Integra M 650W, 80+ BRONZE
1 $212 $212
HX318C10F/8 Corsair Vengeance RAM 8GB 1866MHz DDR3
1 $119 $119
FD8350FRHKBOX AMD AM3+ FX-8350 Box 4GHZ 8 CORE
1 1 $125 1 $125

The parts in bold are the ones I'd want to swap out—and I bolded the motherboard too, just in case.
Basically, I'm looking for something in a similar price range to what I have now, but compatible with this motherboard. Ideally, I'd love to stick with the same brand if possible, I guess.
Any advice? I might head down to the Police station—wait, I mean, maybe just hit up some local shops—or check out places in San Francisco (like Links or Best Buy), or even maybe somewhere in Cleveland.
I'm planning on buying a brand-new PC later this year anyway, so I'm wondering if it even makes sense to drop money $1000 on just two components right now.
Thanks!
This setup is probably about 4 or 5 years old now.

I don't know, what you're planning doesn't really make sense. For the motherboard you've got, that’s pretty much the best CPU you can squeeze out of it. I guess your best bet is either to just swap the $1000 CPU, motherboard, and RAM all at once so you don't have to touch them again later, or just grab a new GPU and call it a day. Since your current setup probably won't handle a beefier graphics card anyway, maybe just upgrade the core trio first and keep using the old GPU while it still has some life left in it. Honestly, throwing in an SSD wouldn't be a bad move either—that's where you'll actually feel the speed boost.

fadedorca66 said:I mean, I don't know—it feels like what you're planning might not actually make much sense! For that motherboard you've got right now, you’re already running the most powerful processor it can handle. Honestly, your best bet would probably be to... $1000 So, you've basically got two ways to play this—either swap out the CPU, motherboard, and RAM all at once (and then just leave that setup alone for a long time), or just grab a beefier graphics card and call it a day. Since your current setup is probably going to bottleneck any high-end GPU you throw at it, I’d say my best bet is to go with the CPU, motherboard, and RAM upgrade first. That way, you can actually get some decent performance out of the graphics card you already have—it still has plenty of life left in it! Oh, and if you really want to feel a massive difference in how snappy everything feels, you should definitely toss an SSD in there too. Honestly, that's usually where you see the biggest jump in daily speed.

So, I actually upgraded my RAM last year—I'm sitting at 16 GB now!
So, I was thinking—what if we look at a CPU and motherboard combo that doesn't break the bank? I mean, maybe just something reasonably priced that still gets the job done! $833.
If I’m planning to pick up a completely new PC—just the tower itself, mind you, without any of the peripherals—I’ll probably end up dropping somewhere around... $2000 Honestly, I just don't see the math working out right now—it feels like I'd be throwing away half my budget just to pick up a few extra components!

If you're set on using that 16GB of DDR3, your only real move is hunting down a used i7 4770/4790 or maybe an i7 4770/4790K if you want to overclock—but finding new boards for that is basically impossible here. Personally, I’d just sell the DDR3 kit and put that cash toward an AM4 motherboard, a Ryzen 3600, and some DDR4 to fit your $833. Moving to an i7 with your old DDR3 isn't going to give you much more of a boost than what you've already got, so sinking money into used gear with sketchy motherboards is... 😵

Thanks so much for the advice! Since I’m a total newbie at this—basically a complete amateur, really—I was actually thinking the same thing about upgrading. It feels like the jump wouldn't be worth the hassle, so I guess it makes more sense to just hold onto my cash for now. Maybe I'll just save up and grab a brand-new setup later this summer or maybe in the fall.

He could also toss in a Ryzen 3600 along with a B450 board and some 16GB 3000MHz Aegis RAM for just a few hundred bucks more than what he's looking at right now $833. Honestly, if he does that, it would be a massive leap forward for his setup.

It’s not just some tiny incremental step; it's more about the fact that later on, you won't need to drop a bag on an entirely new PC since you'll just be swapping out specific parts you skipped this time.

Exactly. You’ve got about two and a half grand worth of components listed here, which you could either swap out later for a better GPU or just go straight for an RX 5700 for roughly $1000 plus a 500GB SSD, and boom—you basically have a brand-new PC.

Keep your current case, drives, and power supply. Unless, of course, you think it would be easier to just sell the entire rig as one complete unit.

At home, I’m running a setup similar to this:


It does the job just fine for me on my old XP machine. I’ve got a hardwired connection to the router and everything is running smoothly. To everyone's surprise, I have absolutely no desire to upgrade just for the sake of upgrading...🤦🤦

However, since I'm moving to a new place, I'm thinking about adding a Wi-Fi card to the PC. Running an Ethernet cable through the new layout would be a massive hassle. One thing to note: this machine only has a single USB port, and it's already occupied by my wireless keyboard and mouse combo.

Is there a way to make this work?

😛

Based on the photo, this model seems to have four USB ports on the front and probably four on the back, unless seven of them are just broken or something...

I believe this is a Dell Latitude Elite Pro, which actually comes equipped with as many as 10 USB ports

just but this
I should mention my machine only has one USB port,

not quite like that, but in terms of shape...

You provided enough information that they’ll actually be able to help you out😵

The easiest fix: just grab a USB hub

Jamie Howard3 said:just like this
I should mention my current PC only has a single USB port,

not necessarily that specific model, but similar in design...

As stated above,
this -> USB hub

Thanks...😵