Not to be that guy, but have you considered switching to Linux?
I recently installed Nobara on my ten-year-old gaming PC (i5 4690, 16GB RAM), stuck an RX6700 XT in it and she runs like a beaut.
this post was submitted on 07 Mar 2024
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^This...
mines still a decent gaming rig that can play Skyrim, gta v on ultra settings but doesn't meet windows 11 requirements. So Decided to Install kubuntu and all works well. And I'm glad I did, not throwing away a good working still capable hardware.
Just for reference my specs are:
i7 3770K.
Asus sabertooth z77 motherboard.
2tb ssd.
32gb ram.
Msi rtx3060 12gb vram.
Been running kubuntu for 1 year 2 months and thanks to steam for supporting linux (via proton)
Also play wow (using lutris)
In the last three months, I maybe booted into my windows drive three times? Twice to play Siege and once to flash a firmware update for a particular device. Windows is increasingly irrelevant to gaming, and I'm loving it.
Yep, Linux gaming has really come on leaps and bounds in the past five years. All my steam games run perfectly with Proton, and the native support for PS/Xbox controllers has been flawless.
I don't know what you consider cheap, but if you can find a socket AM4 motherboard and a Ryzen 5600X3D or 5700X3D on sale, I think you'll be happy with the gaming improvement.
P.S.
If you're up for some learning, I second the Linux suggestion. It's far more efficient with system resources than Windows is. I've seen systems about as old as yours run some modern games at 1080p with linux and a Polaris GPU. The results are outstanding with newer hardware.
I even considered switching to Linux, but the only thing I do with this machine is gaming and having it as a backup for when I need windows for a specific task. It doesn’t even have good mouse and keyboard (cheap, small wireless stuff) because I control it with a MacBook Air (my main machine) over steam link via LAN
Could you tell us more specifically what do you want to use/play on this PC? (e.g browsing or productivity apps, or old games or the latest AAA titles)
A maximum budget would be very helpful.
From old games up to AAA titles, just everything i won’t get physical on Switch or PS5. I only do gaming on it via Steam link since my main machine is a MacBook.
I second finding discount ryzen chips like a Ryzen 5800x or 5600 and a compatible motherboard. I think sticking with windows is fine, especially if you are just gaming. My suggestion is to just upgrade your existing windows key, it gives you a grandfathered version without some of the annoying bits of a fresh install.
If you don't have one already, I recommend an SSD, too! Migrating your OS to one will significantly improve your day-to-day life using a PC.
Thank you! I’ll be looking for a chip like that! I‘ve actually upgraded to an M2 SSD in 2019 iirc!
Cheers!
Check out this channel. He has a lot of good information and also full builds that will fit almost any reasonable budget. He also gives upgrade paths and where you can improve the builds. https://youtube.com/@PCBuilderChannel?si=LFv8SrBzojZIgFAD
It really depends on your budget. A new graphics card will get you bigger gains than a new mb/cpu. Ideally you’d upgrade all three, but then you’ll also need new ram and should probably get a new nvme boot drive. At that point it’s really a whole new computer.
So, to sum up, I’d start with a new gpu and see how it goes.
Get a fairly cheap mini PC for ~$700 with a 7840HS APU and run a Linux distro such as Bazzite, Chimera, or Nobara. You'll be able to game at 1080P comfortably.
But I have most of what this mini PC offers and really just need a MB/CPU upgrade for win11