Best upgrade path for gaming PC

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Jakes

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#253072 24-Jul-2019 13:03

Next door neighbour's kid has the following PC:

Core i5 4590 3.3GHz (circa 2014?)

8GB RAM

Normal HDD

GTX 660 Ti

What's the best upgrade path for maximum gains in gaming ( keeping it cost effective and all)? Would jamming in something like a GTX1060 and a SSD be the best option?

Thank you guys

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#2282804 24-Jul-2019 13:25

GPU defiantly and possibly another 8GB of ram depending on the game.

I wouldn't want to go too much above a 1060 / RTX 2060 as you will start to get bottlenecked by the CPU

An SSD will help with the speed / feel of the overall system but won't do much in terms of performance once the game is loaded.

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SirHumphreyAppleby

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#2282806 24-Jul-2019 13:27

Given the age of that system, outright replacement is the path I recommend. All of our third generation systems have died, and I've just replaced one of my neighbour's two fourth generation boxes.

dt

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#2282810 24-Jul-2019 13:32

yeah sell the system and use the money to invest into a more modern setup

The new ryzens are amazing value for money.

sqishy

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#2282818 24-Jul-2019 13:47

2 potential paths here i) a better graphics, SSD and say extra 8GB Ram (probably DDR3) will help, however once you upgrade CPU and Mobo the RAM is no use as you need DDR4.

Option ii) depending on PSU wattage upgrade Mobo, CPU, SSD/NVMe and Ram then do graphics later, sell rest as one part eg sell Mobo/CPU/Ram as one unit will get a good price sometime.

xpd

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#2282819 24-Jul-2019 13:47

Ive got an "ancient" i5 (as per sig), now has 20GB RAM and RX580, runs stuff great, except finding slowly more and more games want i7 or late gen i5.

So personally, turn that box into a media server and pick up some current gen "budget" parts and enjoy.

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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Varkk

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#2282823 24-Jul-2019 14:04

Given the age of the CPU, if outright replace is not an option I would probably go with SSD and a GTX1050, possibly another 8GB of RAM depending on budget and current configuration (1 8GB stick or 2x4GB? How many RAM slots are available?)

gbwelly

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#2282824 24-Jul-2019 14:06

Jakes:

What's the best upgrade path for maximum gains in gaming ( keeping it cost effective and all)? Would jamming in something like a GTX1060 and a SSD be the best option?

Exactly the right two things to upgrade. I don't know if everyone is gaming at 4K or something but a 6GB 1060 in that box will hold a great frame rate at 1080p.

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#2282827 24-Jul-2019 14:23

At least SSD and graphics are usable in a newer system if you do go down the upgrade path at a later date.

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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ShinyChrome

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#2282832 24-Jul-2019 14:40

If parts were cheaply available, I'd be inclined to agree with the others and go for a newer gen GPU (Maxwell s/h or Turing or Navi), then even try to get a 4790K, then another stick of RAM. SSDs are cheap at the moment, but only really help with speeding up things like loading assets into memory, not FPS, so they would be last on my list for gaming, but first for overall system performance. RAM only helps if you are going to faster RAM or you are already running out of it, which depends on the resolution/game. The bang for buck with games is GPU first, then CPU, RAM, SSD, 1337 G4M3R keyboard/mouse etc

However from what I have seen, prices for those sort of parts are not much cheaper than newer gen parts. So if you are on a budget, I would just go all in on a new GPU (RTX2060/70 Super or 5700XT once the AIB cards come out), and start budgeting towards a new CPU, Mobo, and DDR4 ram, plus add an SSD to top it off if you can, and reuse the power supply and case from the old build if they are half decent. Rzyen 3 is looking good right now.

It would help to have an idea of your budget though.

Jakes

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#2282847 24-Jul-2019 15:00

Thank you gentleman, your replies have been super helpful. Budget is not know yet, I'm helping the kid next door so I said I'll get him a ball park figure for a worthwhile upgrade once I have consulted with the experts ;)

I'll check the pricing on all your suggestions and take it back to them! Thanks again.

Jakes

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#2282848 24-Jul-2019 15:00

I'll check the pricing on all your suggestions and take it back to them! Thanks again.

timmmay

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#2283058 24-Jul-2019 20:54

My i7 2600K is still going strong! Motherboard was replaced a few years ago. Just commenting that old doesn't mean about to fail :)

SirHumphreyAppleby

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#2283148 25-Jul-2019 06:26

timmmay:

My i7 2600K is still going strong! Motherboard was replaced a few years ago. Just commenting that old doesn't mean about to fail :)

The motherboard is the component that usually fails, not the CPU. You could rely on a 440BX to keep running indefinitely, modern motherbords seem to only last about five years. I've started replacing mine one generation after their three year anniversary.

throbb

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#2283150 25-Jul-2019 06:45

Just chuck a 1060 or AMD 570 that'll more than double his current game performance. RAM is probably a waste for little to no gain, SSD will only improve his load times.

Batman

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#2283152 25-Jul-2019 06:54

Jakes:
Hi

Next door neighbour's kid has the following PC:

Core i5 4590 3.3GHz (circa 2014?)

8GB RAM

Normal HDD

GTX 660 Ti

What's the best upgrade path for maximum gains in gaming ( keeping it cost effective and all)? Would jamming in something like a GTX1060 and a SSD be the best option?

Thank you guys

Depends on how much you want to spend and how capable you are.

Cheap and easy would be what you suggested that will definitely give a huge boost in itself.

You could also buy a secondhand gaming rig in whole or in parts.

8GB ram and a 1060 in the mentioned system is fine. But as you go up in gpu and cpu and higher graphics settings you want 16gb.

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