Looking to upgrade Budget gaming PC >5 years old.

[tomadimu]

Here's the short. I'm trying to upgrade a budget $600 dollar build from approximately 5 years ago. I believe the that Motherboard should hold up nicely as well as the RAM I'm running. I think I need to upgrade to a small SSD from my 1tb HDD to store my games on and provably a new CPU and Graphics card. I'm trying to do this for under another $600, but I dont really know what to prioritize. Another thing that probably needs to be replaces is the monitor I use. I'm using a plain 24'' HD TV at the moment and I know actual moniters are able to take some of the video processing load off the PC, but I dont know if there's anything cheap enough to stay under $600 with parts I need for the PC. Would any old flatscreen monitor be better than an old HD tv?
Anyway, Any help with recommendations would be appreciated.

Here's the devices I'm running in my set up.

Motherboard Hi-Fi A88w 3D

CPU AMD A10-5800K APU with Radeon(tm) Graphics 3.80hz

Graphics Card NVIDIA GeForce GT 640

Storage Seagate 1tb HDD

Monitor Trash

 

[neeyik]

If you're sticking with that motherboard, then your CPU upgrade choices are limited to just another AMD A10 processor; the best one you could get is the A10 7890K but it's not that much better than what you've already got.

It makes sense to upgrade the graphics card to a similar market sector model, but one that's using the latest technology. Something like a GeForce 1650 Super would be ideal:

https://www.amazon.com/MSI-GeForce-GTX-1650-XS/dp/B081Q6KKDS ($160)

However, it does require a 6 pin PCIe power cable from the PSU attached to it, so if your PSU doesn't have one, then you're going to be limited to a 75W graphics card like this one:

https://www.amazon.com/MSI-GeForce-GTX-1050-TI/dp/B01MA62JSZ ($170)

Monitors don't offload any video processing off the graphics card. A 24" 1080p LCD monitor will be fine, and there's lots to choose from. This one is pretty good:

https://www.amazon.com/Acer-XFA240-bmjdpr-Response-Technology/dp/B06ZYHZ6R6 ($170)

Decent, but still cost effective SSDs, are harder to come by, but their prices are steadily coming down. This 500 GB Samsung model is very reasonable at the moment:

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-500GB-Internal-MZ-76E500B-AM/dp/B0781Z7Y3S ($80)

Better yet, the 1 TB model is only $150. So for $410 to $480, you'll be able to give your system a reasonable upgrade. It's not going to be a massive leap forward in performance (although gaming will certainly be better, thanks to the modern graphics card) but that will require a new CPU, motherboard, and RAM.

 

[Route44]

My first best suggestion is that if you can save up another $600 you could build a decent system for yourself. To get an idea of cost per part go to pcpartpicker and then click on their System Builder. You can even use it to upgrade your current system.

With an SSD you will notice significant speed in load times, installations, etc. I have used a number of Samsung 860 EVO 500 gigs to replace older hard drives and the changes were very noticeable. Here is the thing: If you are playing a number of AAA games it will fill up your SSD fast. Many people will do an SSD/Hard drive (1TB)combination with the HD used for games. Put your OS and other items on the SSD and put your games on the HD. The HD has no need for an OS. This is the combination I am using right now.

I want you to know that I am no fan boy of either Intel or AMD for cpus or Nvidia or AMD for graphic cards. I have built systems using both for myself and others and I use whatever I feel works better for the person or myself.

Here is a video card that I suggest: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077VX31FZ/ref=psdc_284822_t1_B06Y66K3XD

But as neeyik rightly points out you need to find the power and power connectors from your power supply. Can you tell us the make, model, and purported power wattage of your psu?

You can get a decent 1920 x 1080 monitor a great prices and it will make a difference.