Bluto_Baggins

Good to know, I did not realize that ryzen chips all shared the same socket i assumed that they would be different the same way intel works. Again I appreciate the advice, I've been watching LTT for a while but he rarely talks about this kind of older hardware for upgrading and I figured this community would be a good resource for me to learn. Cheers.

And just because I don't know, would an i5 9400F with a MSI Z390-APro be worthwhile at $250 or should I look elsewhere. they both have good reviews but I'm to new to this to really know for sure. Thanks

Thanks Ravas, I guess the real issue here is that I don't know what I want. I don't think i've ever bought a computer new and have only ever scraped by with whatever prebuilt i could pull from the dumpster. I'm just now getting into purchasing individual components and putting something decent together. I've been doing research and reading plenty but there's so much to learn i figured i'd reach out and see what the community had to say. I understand that there is nothing "wrong" with my current setup but for me I know i'm not going to afford a 9600K and a 2080TI and i don't need that I just know that my 2nd gen intel chip is bottlenecking my system at the moment and if i could go up 2 or 3 generations I'll get that many more years out of it. Thanks

Thanks, I'll look into these parts as it's right in my price range I appreciate the help

Darpy, Unfortunately I can't use the 3770k since my stock lenovo board only supports 2nd gen chips and will not support any k series chips. I've already looked into that. the best I can do is throw a i7 2600 in my current setup and call it a day. (an option i've already looked at). Really i'm hoping for suggestions on what would be a good next step. I can pick up the 2600 on ebay for $65-70 but it feels like a bandaid at best. Like i said above i'm less worried about the software and games i'm using now but i'm not likely going to be able to replace/upgrade at all again for a few years and would like something I'm not going to have to worry about in that time. Cheers.

Right, Thanks Boggy, It's worth mentioning that in game my gpu is running at 60-70% utilization and really i'm just wondering what a good direction to go is, I know in the tech world $250 isn't a ton but it's what I have right now and the 2nd hand market in my area is still ok.

Thanks Homeap5, Seriously thanks, I'm so used to being several generations behind using office castoffs from work that really I just wanted something I didn't have to worry about for a while if I wanted to continue to invest in newer games. The reason i'm budgeting $250 is because i'm looking mainly second hand and i stumbeled upon a MSI Z390-A Pro with an i59400F and wondered if it was worth my time at their asking price of $250 even if i had to buy a ram kit as well. I also found that if I went with a 4th or 5th gen intel chip there were plenty in my area for that price range that included cpu, mobo and 16-32gb ram. Again my big issue is that I don't know what can be deemed a good investment vs a foolish one. This upgrade is less about performance now and more about sustainability going forward since I rarely have the cash to spend on equipment and upgrades.

Hi guys, I'm a tinkerer and while i know mechanically how to build a pc, what qualifies as good or mediocre equipment isn't something i know to much about yet. I'm currently looking to upgrade my home rig which is a modified lenovo m81 sff. I've put in a new case and added a gpu and new psu but i'm looking for more performance and would appreciate any advice on direction from those that know more than me. Current specs below. Mobo: stock m81 intel board CPU: i5 2400 GPU: MSI Gtx 970 Gaming 4gb PSU: 600W EVGA 80 plus bronze Ram: 16gb ddr3. I'm trying to play Call of duty and ESO with my buddies online and it does work but my cpu is running at 90% the entire time. I'm trying to upgrade on a budget so i'm thinking a 4th gen intel i5 or i7 with the corresponding motherboard but knowing nothing about what ones are good vs bad i don't know what to buy. I'm budgeting roughly $250 for this upgrade hoping to keep using my psu and gpu and upgrade around them. Thanks for looking, Suggestions are all appreciated.