Gaming PC Build Ideas?

Good afternoon. I have an aging rig on my hands and I'm looking to step up to something a bit more modern.
I'm planning on keeping my current gear: my Nvidia GeForce GTX 760
and my Corsair TX650W power supply.
What I actually need is a motherboard, a processor, some DDR4 RAM, a 250GB SSD, and perhaps a case—though it doesn't need to look like a freaking spaceship.
The main priority here is putting together a setup capable of actual gaming, ideally while staying under $1333. I can stretch the budget if absolutely necessary, but let's not get carried away with overkill spending.
Thanks in advance.

redmoose16 said:Hey there. I've got an old PC and I'm looking to upgrade to something a bit more modern.
I'd keep my current gear: Nvidia GeForce GTX 760
power supply Corsair TX650W
I need a motherboard, processor, DDR4 RAM, a 250GB SSD, and maybe a case—doesn't need to look like a spaceship.
The goal is a solid gaming setup, ideally staying under $1333. I can stretch the budget a little if necessary, but let's not go overboard.
Thanks in advance.

What other parts are you running right now? Honestly, unless you're dealing with a massive bottleneck, just swapping out the platform might not give you much of an FPS boost.

If you're on an older i5, for example, I’d honestly just slap in an SSD and a better GPU and call it a day.

I don't have anything worth mentioning. I was stuck running an Intel Core 2 Duo at 2.6 GHz paired with some old DDR3 RAM clocked at 1333. If I actually had an i5 under the hood, I wouldn't be struggling like this. With a decent processor, this card would still be pulling its weight for a long time to come.

redmoose16 said:I don't have one. I was running an Intel Core 2 Duo at 2.6 GHz with some DDR3 RAM clocked at 1333. If I actually had an i5, I wouldn't be struggling like this. This graphics card would still be pulling its weight for a long time...

That's a weird combo—pretty decent GPU paired with such an old, weak architecture. If I were building this, I’d go with something like this:

Intel Core i5-8400 2.8 GHz WD Blue 1
WD Blue 1TB SATA
Kingston Technology A400 SSD 240GB
Gigabyte B360M D3H
G.Skill Aegis 8GB DDR4 3000MHz
Spire G6 case

Total: 3 $254 Amazon.com

You’ve still got about $4,000 of breathing room in that budget. While what you have is perfectly solid as it stands, you could definitely level up by dropping in a serious SSD like a Samsung 850. Beyond that, there isn't much else worth swapping out—maybe just pick a higher-end case if you're feeling fancy, but otherwise, you're good to go.

I certainly wouldn't be ordering a 1TB drive right now. I’ve already got a 240GB drive and a 160GB drive sitting here, so all I really need is another SSD to round things out. As for what you said regarding that Ryzen 5 2600 box, I hear you.

redmoose16 said:I wouldn't even bother ordering a 1TB drive. I've already got a 240GB and a 160GB drive, so I just need an SSD at this point. As for that Ryzen 5 2600 box...

How old are those HDDs and how reliable are they? Download CrystalDiskInfo and run a scan to see what kind of shape they're actually in.

Regarding the Ryzen, I’d say in your specific situation, it doesn't matter much.
You won't go wrong with either choice. I suggested Intel because, specifically with Intel, there's still a slight edge in gaming performance.

Though, realistically speaking, if you're playing at 1080p@60Hz, that advantage is basically meaningless. The difference between the 110 FPS you'd get from the Intel and the 100 FPS from the Ryzen is something you won't even be able to feel. If you ever move up to a higher refresh rate above 60Hz, then I'd definitely recommend Intel, since those higher frame counts actually start to matter.

That said, Ryzen absolutely crushes Intel in CPU-intensive tasks like compression, transcoding, encryption, etc., but that doesn't really apply to you.

Personally, I’d go with an Intel Core i3 8100 at 3.6 GHz. It has four cores now, which will pair perfectly with a GTX 760. Instead of spending the extra cash on an i5, I’d rather grab a 500GB Crucial MX500 SSD for $333 and get that 60-month warranty.

Meh, let's just call it a decent enough upgrade... he'll probably swap out the GPU in two years and then find himself throttled by the CPU again anyway. I guess it's not really worth throwing a 500GB SSD at an Intel Core i5 / AMD Ryzen 5 build.

crimsonstag84 said:Eh, he should just go for a proper upgrade... he’ll probably swap out the GPU in two years and then the processor will be the bottleneck again. There's no point in tossing in a 500GB SSD if he's still stuck with an Intel Core i5 or a Ryzen 5 2600.

If he was happy enough with a Core 2 Duo from 2008, then an i3 is more than enough for gaming.

Alexander Moore67 said:If he's been perfectly happy running a Core 2 Duo from back in 2008, then an i3 is more than enough for his gaming needs.

Exactly. There’s really no point in overspending on future-proofing right now. If he’s dead set on a 500GB SSD, he should just swap out the old HDD in his rig for it—he mentioned he doesn't even need the extra HDD space since he's already got some older drives lying around.

All the options are laid out right there, so you should probably decide what matters most to you. You could go for a larger SSD—maybe even ditching the HDD entirely if that's your preference—or focus on a more future-proof CPU, assuming you plan on dropping in a much beefier GPU down the road.