Upgrading a 2017 build - worth it?
>1. PURPOSE OF BUILD
Casual gaming. At the highest end, that's probably Total War: Warhammer 3. Might be nice to have the ability to run MTW3 when it's released.
>2. BUDGET
$1000, but see below.
>3. TIME FRAME
Summer 2026.
>4. WHAT DO I NEED?
Do not need monitor or peripherals included.
>5. REUSING COMPONENTS?
See parts below. I'll reuse anything I can.
>6. OVERCLOCKING
No.
>7. ANY SPECIFIC FEATURES NEEDED?
No.
>8. CASE PREFERENCES?
No, although modifications to this build are confined to the micro ATX tower.
>9. NEED WINDOWS?
No.
>10. NEED TO BE ABLE TO UPGRADE?
Would like to be able to upgrade.
>11. BRAND PREFERENCES?
No.
>12. CURRENT SPECS
- Ryzen 3 1200, 3.1 GHz
- GTX 1650 low profile
- Ballistix 8GB RAM DDR4 2400
- MSI B350M PRO-VDH
- 500W Thermaltake Smart PSU (added 2022, replacing original PSU)
- 1x 1TB HDD and 1x 500GB SSD (SSD added to original build)
>13. PARTICULARS
I built this rig in 2017 when I was still a student. It's served me pretty well since then with a few modifications, but it's certainly showing its age now. My use case is basic gaming. Work and family keep me from logging the same sort of hours I used to, and a lot of the titles I do play are older now.
I'm stuck with a low profile GPU because I built in a micro ATX tower.
What I'm also interested in hearing is whether I'm better off buying an entirely new machine (desktop or laptop, the latter mostly for convenience as I run a dock for work). I'd be willing to spend more money on a new machine than on parts for this one.