Considering upgrading processor and motherboard

horlock

So the story is that I have a 10 year old motherboard and processor that has served me perfectly for the past 10 years.

Its a first generation i7 860 2.8Ghz processor and there is nothing wrong with the computer.

From new everything else has been updated.

New graphics card
New full tower case
New professional power supply
24Gb respectable ram
512gb samsung evo ssd

But I keep thinking its probably time to get a new motherboard and processor - ie the current one doesn't even support usb3

Now in my dream world I'd like to keep the expense to a minimum - perhaps even sub £250, but the questions are

1.  Is this possible?
2.  Is this worth it?
3.  What should I buy?

I know there are people out there who will tell me I should spend £1000 on a processor - but truth be told I don't believe them.

I don't really stay current at all.  I just check at the time I'm parting with my cash what comes recommended.  

Its now almost black Friday/cyber Monday so there will be deals.  I just don't know whether I should be looking or not.

EndlessWaves

You'll need to replace the memory too, DDR3 is no longer used.

It sounds like your primary reason for upgrading is feature support rather than performance so the speed of your current processor is adequate and you don't need anything fast.

It should be just about doable within budget. 32GB of memory is around £125, a decent mainstream processor like a 2200G runs to £75 and £50 will get you a basic AM4 motherboard.

It's pushing it through, if you are upgrading for features and connections then you may need to spend a bit more on the motherboard.

I wouldn't expect the Christmas deals to all happen on those two days at the end of November, they tend to be more spread out.

maf1970

The question I would ask is what do you expect to get from the upgrade ? Another machine that will last 10 years ?

EndlessWaves is right, it is doable but really only just.