I have a HTPC (glorified file server running plex) which my girlfriend occasionally uses for The Sims 3 and next year would like to play Sim City (5). Not exactly your most taxing of gaming needs but the current system was built more with lowest possible power consumption in mind than graphical power and *just* runs the sims 3 and I think it will struggle to run Sim City 5.
Here is its current specs:
Gigabyte GA-H77M-D3H Motherboard
Intel Celeron G530 2.4 GHz
1x 4GB memory (single channel)
Crucial m4 128 SSD system drive + 5 or so TB's for storage.
The motherboard is capable of an Ivy Bridge processor but I am wondering what's the best value for money? Should I slap a $160ish dollar Radeon 7750 in it or look at spending a bit more ($300) on a Core i5-3470 3.2 GHz?
Which option would give me the best bang for buck performance/money for my limited gaming needs? Open to other suggestions too.
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