Looking for advice on whether to upgrade components or buy a new gaming system

[RDoringo]

Hello everyone. I am contemplating upgrades to my gaming desktop or perhaps building a new computer altogether. I would very much appreciate advice on which route you think would be best. If you'd recommend upgrading components, please do provide specific recommendations.

My current desktop began as a pretty modest budget rig that I bought from cyberpower pc a long, long time ago. I've been upgrading components over the years.

Here is my current setup:

GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970

MB: ASRock 970 EXTREME3 AM3+ AMD 970 + SB950 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

CPU : AMD FX(tm)-8320 Eight-Core Processor

RAM : G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3

PSU : CORSAIR Gaming Series GS600 600W PSU

CASE: Plain Old CyberPower PC case

HDD: My boot drive is a 500 gb Samsung 850 EVO SSD. I also have a 1tb western digital drive installed.

Monitor: LG 34UC79G-B 34-Inch 21:9 Curved UltraWide IPS Gaming Monitor with 144Hz refresh rate

So what do you think? I do enjoy installing my own parts and building a computer every now and again. But I'm not really an "enthusiast." So I'm not quite sure what to target first or whether it's even worth continuing to cycle parts in this old rig.

If I were going to buy a new computer, I might spend $1,500 or so (not including a monitor). If I am going to target upgrades, I'd probably be willing to spend around $400-$600 right now, but I do have some flexibility.

Thank you very much. I do appreciate the time.

 

[ohiou_grad_2006]

Unfortunately, the FX CPUs are older and not the greatest performers. However, your GTX 970 is still a great card, especially in today's market. In your case, I would go for a new power supply, new CPU, and a new board and ram.

With the new AMD ryzen CPUs coming out, the 1st generation are on sale. I think you can get the ryzen 5 1600 for about 176 dollars on Amazon. So I would maybe get something like that, a b350 series board, and 16gb ddr4 2666 or better if you can afford it. I'm thinking that when I was looking at ram yesterday you are looking at 170 or so for that amount of ram. So with the CPU, and the board, plus ram, I think you'd be just over 400. Then add in a power supply, you would be in your price range.

You could also look at the i5 8400 or 8600k. However, the new ryzen even would be a nice upgrade from what you have. At 144hz, the 970 might struggle a bit. Like at 1080p 60hz it would be great. I'm almost thinking for your monitor, you almost want a GTX 1070 or better. But there FX CPU you have now would certainly hold you back I think.

 

[WD-17]

i would suggest switching to a new cpu and motherboard

 

[RDoringo]

Unfortunately, the FX CPUs are older and not the greatest performers. However, your GTX 970 is still a great card, especially in today's market. In your case, I would go for a new power supply, new CPU, and a new board and ram.

With the new AMD ryzen CPUs coming out, the 1st generation are on sale. I think you can get the ryzen 5 1600 for about 176 dollars on Amazon. So I would maybe get something like that, a b350 series board, and 16gb ddr4 2666 or better if you can afford it. I'm thinking that when I was looking at ram yesterday you are looking at 170 or so for that amount of ram. So with the CPU, and the board, plus ram, I think you'd be just over 400. Then add in a power supply, you would be in your price range.

You could also look at the i5 8400 or 8600k. However, the new ryzen even would be a nice upgrade from what you have. At 144hz, the 970 might struggle a bit. Like at 1080p 60hz it would be great. I'm almost thinking for your monitor, you almost want a GTX 1070 or better. But there FX CPU you have now would certainly hold you back I think.

Thank you for the feedback. For the processor, would it be worth looking at the i7 at this point? I'f I'm going to invest $200 in a processor, I don't think I'd have much trouble stomaching an extra $100 to make sure I get maximum longevity out of the system. But maybe an i7 would be overkill, I don't know.

Also, if I upgrade the motherboard, would I need to reinstall or repurchase Windows 10? I just bought Windows 10 a couple months ago. It'd be a major bummer if I had to buy it again.

 

[RDoringo]

i would suggest switching to a new cpu and motherboard

Thank you. Do you have specific ones that you would recommend for me?

 

[WD-17]

i would suggest switching to a new cpu and motherboard

Thank you. Do you have specific ones that you would recommend for me?

sure thing mate but tell me what is your budget.

 

[RDoringo]

i would suggest switching to a new cpu and motherboard

Thank you. Do you have specific ones that you would recommend for me?

sure thing mate but tell me what is your budget.

I'd go $200-$300 on a processor, and I'd imagine I could a motherboard for under $100 that would meet my needs, right?

 

[WD-17]

i would suggest switching to a new cpu and motherboard

Thank you. Do you have specific ones that you would recommend for me?

sure thing mate but tell me what is your budget.

I'd go $200-$300 on a processor, and I'd imagine I could a motherboard for under $100 that would meet my needs, right?

you can buy a i5 8600K its a new 8th gen cpu very great one and its goes for 240$
but there isnt a motherboard that costs less then 100$ brand new