So I have a AMD FX-8320E on a Gigabyte motherboard (GA-78LMT-USB3 6.0 AMD) in a mid-tower case (Corsair I think). I have 12gig RAM, 1 TB HDD, and a 256GB SSD. And a NVIDIA GTX 750 (I don't game much anymore but psychologically glad I have it). I did it myself a couple of years ago with an old 1 TB hard drive that had Windows 8 and I got the free upgrade to Windows 10. The computer is still snappy, but Windows has been buggy since and I'm not happy with the footprint of the case (we've got it in a tight space). I want to do a clean Windows install and also move the whole set up to a mATX case (or smaller) that isn't more than 13 inches deep. I live near a Microcenter in Maryland. Should I take this opportunity to do an upgrade? I think these are my options:
1.) Just reinstall Windows and move it all to mATX case (the motherboard is already mATX) and wait for computer to really lag before doing anything more serious (try to download the OS again or buck up for a license -- max cost of license plus case, say $150)
2.) Substantial upgrade: upgrade the CPU and motherboard to either a AMD Ryzen 5 1600 ($169 w/ $30 discount paired with mobo + $80? for mobo) or i5-8400 ($189 w/ no discount + mobo), plus the new case, and maybe Windows. Keep everything else. Are the gains/future proofing worth it? And is Intel worth it over AMD for any reason given the price disparity? Total cost $300-400. Leaves room for a GPU upgrade.
3.) Modest upgrade: this might not even be an upgrade, but go for the i3 8100 Coffee ($129 w/ no mobo discount) or AMD Ryzen 3 1300X ($119 - $30 mobo discount). Plus the case etc. Probably $50-70 cheaper than the substantial CPU upgrade. Less room for a GPU upgrade. Is this too little of a change to even matter? Total cost $250-300.
4.) Buy pre-built: pay $600-800 for something new. Can I even find a reliable PC with small footprint and decent specs? I don't want to overpay for crap specs that aren't even in a decent case.
Anyway, this is my dilemma. I may be overthinking it and might not even be worth doing anything, though really, ultimately, I just want Windows to work (I've tried everything to fix my current issues) and a smaller case. Thoughts?
1.) Just reinstall Windows and move it all to mATX case (the motherboard is already mATX) and wait for computer to really lag before doing anything more serious (try to download the OS again or buck up for a license -- max cost of license plus case, say $150)
2.) Substantial upgrade: upgrade the CPU and motherboard to either a AMD Ryzen 5 1600 ($169 w/ $30 discount paired with mobo + $80? for mobo) or i5-8400 ($189 w/ no discount + mobo), plus the new case, and maybe Windows. Keep everything else. Are the gains/future proofing worth it? And is Intel worth it over AMD for any reason given the price disparity? Total cost $300-400. Leaves room for a GPU upgrade.
3.) Modest upgrade: this might not even be an upgrade, but go for the i3 8100 Coffee ($129 w/ no mobo discount) or AMD Ryzen 3 1300X ($119 - $30 mobo discount). Plus the case etc. Probably $50-70 cheaper than the substantial CPU upgrade. Less room for a GPU upgrade. Is this too little of a change to even matter? Total cost $250-300.
4.) Buy pre-built: pay $600-800 for something new. Can I even find a reliable PC with small footprint and decent specs? I don't want to overpay for crap specs that aren't even in a decent case.
Anyway, this is my dilemma. I may be overthinking it and might not even be worth doing anything, though really, ultimately, I just want Windows to work (I've tried everything to fix my current issues) and a smaller case. Thoughts?
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram