Time for an upgrade?

Hey guys,

So, my rig is officially pushing six years old now, and honestly? It’s struggling. It just can't handle the games I want to play anymore. My main go-to is WoW, so I'm looking for some advice on what I should swap out to get this thing running smoothly again—ideally without breaking the bank.
I was thinking about ditching the motherboard and CPU entirely, but I have zero clue if that'll actually make a difference or if I'm just throwing money down the drain. What's the best bang-for-your-buck move here to get the most performance for the least amount of cash?
Here's what I'm rocking right now:
Intel Core i7-13700K
ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 NVIDIA RTX 4090 32GB Corsair RAM
GTX 1650
2x2gb RAM Kingmax

Thanks in advance!

That build should run WoW pretty smoothly, don't you think?!

You might want to throw in an SSD just to give the whole PC a nice speed boost.

Unless, of course, you're looking at other games too. What kind of budget are we working with?

Timothy Kim60 said:Man, that rig should absolutely crush WoW, right?!

You seriously need to throw an SSD in there just to stop your PC from feeling like a total dinosaur. http://www.newegg.com/p/nvme-ssd

Unless you're trying to play some other heavy hitters too? What kind of cash are we talking about here?

Right now I'm getting like 15 to 70 FPS on low/medium settings.
But since I've started playing competitively with my clan lately, I really want to crank up those graphics so things actually look decent... and obviously run smoother.
I don't have a specific budget set in stone because I honestly have no clue what parts to upgrade to get the most bang for my buck.
I even tried overclocking the GPU using AMD Overdrive, but what was the point? I gained maybe 2 or 3 FPS tops.

WoW isn't actually that harmless 😁

Otherwise, a decent upgrade path might be getting a new cooler so you can push the overclocking closer to 4GHz—maybe a Cooler Master Hyper 212 for $66—plus a GTX 1650 ($367) which might end up being a bit much for the CPU, though you could just hang onto it while upgrading the processor.

crimsonstag84 said:World of Tanks isn't actually that harmless 😁

So where's the catch? As far as I can tell, this game mostly relies on a single core. His CPU is decent enough, and his graphics card is even better... though if I recall correctly, he did just upgrade his GPU recently, so maybe there's some kind of conflict there...

crimsonstag84 said:World of Tanks isn't actually that harmless, you know 😁

Anyway, if you want a decent upgrade, grab a better cooler and overclock that thing close to 4GHz. Maybe pick up a Raijintek Themis for $66? Then maybe an R7 265 GPU ($367) which would be way too much for the CPU, but hey, at least you can keep it when you eventually swap out the processor.

I don't think I'd swap the GPU because that's just way too much money for me... I was thinking more along the lines of some cheap motherboard and a new CPU... if that even matters at all.
I swear, you were the one helping me out with my clock speeds on that other thread, but now every time I bump up the core, the damn computer won't even boot! It just keeps restarting back to BIOS settings. This is driving me crazy! :-)

Recommended
Operating system: Windows XP / Vista / 7 / 8 - 64-bit
Processor: Intel Core i5-3330
RAM: 4 GB
Video card: GeForce GTX660 (2GB) / Radeon HD 7850 2GB, DirectX 9.0c
Sound: Compatible with DirectX9.0c
Hard drive space: 30 GB
Internet Speed: 1024 Kbps or higher (for voice chat)

http://www.newegg.com/p/motherboards/050.306.992
http://www.bestbuy.com/product_info.php?products_id=13525
plus 4GB of the cheapest DDR3 RAM you can find (anything under $100)

That’s your most budget-friendly route. Honestly, upgrading to a newer Pentium isn't much of a leap for you—it's an improvement, sure, but nothing revolutionary compared to what you're running now. You'd be better off aiming for at least an i3

Jesse Williams13 said:To whom it may concern,

Since I’ve had this PC for about six years now, it isn't running my games quite the way I’d prefer. My main game is World of Tanks, so I am looking for some advice on what to swap out—ideally the cheapest route possible—to refresh this rig.
I considered swapping the motherboard and the CPU, but I am uncertain how much of an impact that would actually make. I would appreciate any suggestions on what to change to get the most bang for my buck.
The specs are:
Intel e8400 3.0
Gigabyte EP45-DS3
Ati hd 4870 512mb
2x2gb RAM Kingmax

Thanks in advance.

Don't change anything. You still have a decent setup. Maybe pick up an SSD if you must. That processor of yours is easy enough to overclock to the moon, and frankly, a dual-core is still holding its own for now.
Once you overclock that chip, it’ll run faster than a modern Pentium.🙂

If you really want a new GPU, look for a GTX 650 or an R7 770.
You can probably find them cheap on eBay, though I suspect an SSD would be your best upgrade; it'll serve you well even when you eventually build a new machine.

Jesse Williams13 said:Specs are:
Intel e8400 3.0
Gigabyte EP45-DS3
Ati hd 4870 512mb
2x2gb RAM Kingmax

I run a nearly identical setup and the game runs perfectly fine.
I actually undervolted the GPU clock to keep temperatures down because I prefer silence over fan noise... using the exact same card, my GPU sits at 540MHz (instead of the usual 750MHz) and I get about 50 FPS with great visuals. I'm satisfied. Resolution is set to 1280x1024. Works great for me!
It all comes down to the in-game settings.

Set 3D Render to 80%.
Set water to level 2—medium, I think.
Turn off shadows. Why bother?

Your CPU is more than enough. It’s overkill.
The heavy hitters for your GPU are "water," "shadows," and "resolution."
Keep everything else at minimum or medium. You won't notice much difference in quality, but you'll see a massive jump in FPS.

Try it out while you're waiting for matches to start. You have plenty of time for experimentation.

John Turner34 said:I run basically the exact same setup and everything runs smooth as hell.
I actually undervolted my GPU clock just so I wouldn't deal with all that heat—I swear, I'd rather have silence than hear my fans screaming at me... using the same card, mine only hits about 540MHz (instead of the usual 750MHz), but I’m pulling roughly 50FPS with great visuals, so I’m stoked. My resolution is set to 1280x1024. Works perfectly for me!
it's all about the in-game settings.

Set 3D Render to 80%
Put water on level 2—pretty sure that's the medium setting.
And just kill the shadows, who needs 'em anyway?

Your CPU is totally fine, honestly it's overkill.
The biggest resource hogs on your GPU are gonna be "Water," "Shadows," and "Resolution."
Keep everything else somewhere between minimum and medium. It won't make a massive difference in how it looks, but it'll save your GPU and boost your FPS big time.

Just mess around with it and see, you know? Like when you're stuck waiting for a match to start... you've got plenty of time to play scientist with those settings...

But look, most of my stuff is already on low or medium, but it keeps happening. I really want to crank up the settings so it actually looks decent...
My resolution is 1650*1050