Help me upgrade my old gaming PC. Where should I start?

I bought this PC back in 2021, but I stopped playing games around 3 years ago. I’m thinking about getting back into gaming now, so I want to upgrade the PC rather than build a completely new one.

My current specs:
• CPU: Ryzen 5 1600 AF
• GPU: GT 1030 2GB
• RAM: 8GB DDR4 2666MHz, 1x8GB
• Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-A320M-S2H
• PSU: TBO 500W
• Storage: 128GB SSD + 1TB HDD

I mainly want to play games like Valorant, CS2, and League of Legends, but I’d also like the PC to handle some newer games reasonably well.
My budget is limited, so I’ll probably upgrade one or two components at a time.
What would you upgrade first in my situation?
Would it make more sense to start with the GPU and RAM, or should I replace the CPU/motherboard first?

I’d appreciate specific upgrade recommendations that make sense with my current system.

Posted Sep 2, 2026, 12:31 PM UTC

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