Been out of the desktop game for a while, need help (solved and appreciated)

[Bigun]

About 10+ years ago I graduated to the world of servers, tape backups, and general sysadmin stuff for quite sometime.  So I've been out of the desktop game for too long.

 

About 15 or so years ago, I purchased a used custom built PC, and have nursed it along with various upgrades here and there.  Somewhat recently, I've ran into a wall in regards to performance and I can no longer enjoy playing games with my family and friends, as Windows voluntarily closes applications due to the system running out of virtual RAM - and before anyone suggests it, my system is extremely old, and the only RAM that will work in this system is single-sided DDR2 RAM for Intel boards.  Currently the most economic RAM available are 2GB sticks, the 4 GB sticks are about $50 to $60 a pop, and I'm not paying that much for that little amount of RAM. It's stretched as far as it is going to go, and is sorely due for a swap.

 

Anyway, I'm looking for a new motherboard, processor, and RAM combo to upgrade to.  I don't need (and probably can't afford) anything super fancy, I just need something with DDR3 RAM and at least 8GB of it, preferably 16GB if budget can allow.

See below for current system stats:

 

• Windows 10 2004
• OS Drive - 128GB SATA SSD
• Data Drive - 1TB SATA SSD
• RAM 4GB DDR2 Single-Sided RAM (2x2GB Sticks)
• MOBO: Intel E54511-203 Socket LGA775 PCI Express
• CPU:  Intel Xeon X3360 Quad Core (Yorkfield)
• GPU:  AMD Radeon R9 380
• Power Supply:  Thermaltake Smart550W

The processor I managed to get at a bargain of $38 and upgrade to it from a Intel Duo Core Celeron several years ago.  The graphics card I actually bought new when it was considered a decent mid-range card at the time.

 

The equipment I'm planning on re-using:

• Re-use Windows 10 2004 (maybe have to re-install, not sure how that is going to work just yet)
• GPU
• Data Drive
• OS Drive.... maybe, tempted to maybe go to an M.2 if budget can allow

So I'm going to need:

• CPU
• Mobo
• RAM
• and maybe a new OS drive

Again, single income family guy, low budget required - probably $300 max.

 

I know if I go into this blind and start picking components without having an idea of what the market looks like will screw me or I won't be as happy as I could be, trying to prevent that and hope to get some help.  I'd be really grateful for any pointers to some good deals.

*edit*

LOL, while looking through some of my old threads I found the thread addressing the very RAM issue I was talking about in 2017:  

 

[Jurrunio]

We're now on DDR4 (news on DDR5 already popping out), buying DDR3 wont save you much money and limit CPU to old stuff

 

$300 is enough for say an R3 3300X, B450.mobo from AMD's platform, or the inferior i3 10100 and H410 mobo from Intel's ecosystem, along with 2x8Gb DDR4 3000/3200MHz. Problem will be stock levels, that you have to check from wherever you're buying.

[zeusthemoose]

For a little bit over 300, you can get a 3600, asrock b450m pro4, and a set of 2 x 8 cl16 3200mhz ram. If you want to stay under budget, you can get a 3300x or 3100 but neither is available for a good price right now.

Chances are it will be bottlenecked by the gpu quite a bit though.

[Jurrunio]

9 minutes ago, Not Wills said:

 

I managed this or for $20 u can get a r5 3600

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor	$138.79 @ Amazon
Motherboard	Asus TUF B450M-PLUS GAMING Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$93.98 @ Newegg
Memory	G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory	$58.99 @ Newegg
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$291.76
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-08-04 21:18 EDT-0400

 

Depends on whether he wants the OS drive, though as boot drive it doesnt matter how fadt the SSD is as long as it's not garbage

[Bigun]

7 minutes ago, Not Wills said:

 

I managed this or for $20 u can get a r5 3600

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor	$138.79 @ Amazon
Motherboard	Asus TUF B450M-PLUS GAMING Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$93.98 @ Newegg
Memory	G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory	$58.99 @ Newegg
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$291.76
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-08-04 21:18 EDT-0400

 

Going to pull the trigger on this setup with the R5 3600, it's about $20 over budget, but I know I'm going to have to make this stretch out just like the last time.

The M.5 isn't a requirement as boot times are fine and I'm a patient person - just look at my old build.

[Bigun]

Spending that much money feels really weird.  Thanks guys!  See you in another 15 years.

[Bigun]

I wanted to reply back.  After getting the parts in and assembling, I cried literal tears and replayed everything in my Steam library.  I'm still amazed by the performance boost I've gotten.  I realized how little I enjoyed gaming just due to old hardware.  It's probably been 5+ years before I had really enjoyed gaming before.  The only thing I see holding me back is the GPU (just as predicted).  But that can wait, as it's still very much tolerable - way more than what it was.

 

Thank you again guys!