stopgap upgrade

unit 1

Hi all
So my son is leaning towards pc gaming in preference to his ps4 and I'm looking at my options.
I currently have a pc with generic 500w psu an intel g3220 and an asus H81M E mobo (I have an upgrade windows retail 7 to 10 and I think this means that its tied to this mobo only) I currently dual boot this with mint on an ssd and have plenty of storage.

So I'm wondering if I can just add a gpu to this setup, and if so what are my options (would be willing to go second hand) . He will for the moment be playing steam games on a full hd tv. Also this setup does not have a case fan installed and I assume it will need one, I would also upgrade psu (futureproof) if necessary and hopefully do a new build post junior cert.

He's also just informed me that he gets better fps in windows as opposed to mint while playing counter strike global offensive if thats relevant.
Thanks in advance.

TerrorFirmer

The G3220 will be fine for Counter Strike GO but for all other AAA titles like Call of Duty, Fallout 4, Doom 4, The Division, Far Cry, Witcher 3, and all other stuff like that (just trying to think of popular games on both PC and PS4), the G3220 is just too slow, the experience would be pretty bad/unplayable. The board is fine, I would say pick up an i3-4160/4130 for around €110 new (they go for less second hand obviously, but not that common), add an RX460 for €120, and you're sorted. At least one case fan would be ideal, these are pretty cheap and a decent one won't be more than a tenner. The 500W psu isn't a problem, even if it's a low quality unit the RX460 doesn't need much power, the whole build wouldn't draw more than about 200w. You'd be able to play all the latest games at 1080p medium settings at a decent FPS. If you just add a GPU to what you have now it would be fine for CS: GO and other older/less intensive games but it wouldn't be suitable as a PS4 replacement.

IRAC War

The problem with some of those generic PSUs is they were never designed for discrete GPUs, you'll be using molex to PCIe adapters. Personally I'd get shot of it and get an EVGA unit off of Amazon, an RX470 and a compatible i3/i5 processor. Sell the PS4 to fund it if needs be, once you start PC gaming consoles just gather dust.

Frankly that's you sorted for the next couple of years - certainly more powerful than the new console pish that's coming out.

K.O.Kiki

XFX TS for PSU

RX 470 for GPU if you can (88% faster than Rx 460)

TerrorFirmer

It's also almost 100% more expensive, I get the feeling the OP was not looking to spend a lot of money, I doubt he intends shelling out 500 on an i5, RX470 and new supply. The i3-4160/rx460 combo is about €240.

Sell the PS4 to fund it if needs be, once you start PC gaming consoles just gather dust.

I don't think that's really true, there are tons of games on consoles that aren't on PC, and he probably has friends that play games online as well. I have an XB1, wouldn't sell it as while it doesn't get much use, it does get the odd round of Halo now and again.

unit 1

Thanks for the replies and input.

His friends asus gtx 750 ti has just become available (hes thinking about €70), so I'm thinking add a decent psu and cpu mobo combo (it seems I can actually re activate window 10 on a new mobo, so I can keep my existing pc on mint)
So budget for cpu mobo €200 any recommendations greatly appreciated

Digital Solitude

Keep the old board sure.

You can get an i5 4460 for about €170-180 and it would do for several years.

It's definitely worth putting an extra €50 into a RX 460, its much much faster than a 750Ti and is only going to get faster from here.

unit 1

Thanks for the input everyone. Just acquired a zallman z11 today in great nick for €40, so it seems the budget will grow