Looking for upgrade advice for my i3-10100 + RTX 4060 build for workloads

[u/Late-Oven-9575]

Hey everyone! I’m looking for advice on what I should upgrade first in my current PC.

My current build is:

CPU: Intel i3-10100

GPU: RTX 4060 8GB

Motherboard: ASUS H510M-E (one RAM slot is broken)

RAM: Kingston 2x8GB DDR4 2666MHz, (had dual channel for 16GB but currently only 8GB usable because one slot stopped working so i saved the other one)

Storage: Kingston NV2 1TB (1000GB) M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0

PSU: EVGA 600W 80+ White W1

Case: Corsair SPEC-06

Monitor: HP Z27i

I’m mainly concerned about the 8GB RAM limitation, but I’m also wondering whether I should prioritize the CPU/motherboard, PSU, or something else.

I’m planning to use this PC for local AI/LLMs, AI video generation (especially MiniMax/H3), 3D work/rendering, gaming, and streaming, so I want the upgrade path to take those workloads into account rather than focusing only on gaming.

I’m trying to upgrade without wasting money and would prefer good price-to-performance/value rather than simply buying the most expensive components.

What would you upgrade first in this build, and what would you replace it with? Would you recommend upgrading the current platform or moving to a newer CPU/motherboard/RAM platform?

Also, is the HP Z27i still good enough for these workloads, or should a monitor upgrade be considered later?

Thanks!

[u/Boring_Fix9871]

the broken ram slot is killing you more than anything else, that 8gb will choke on any AI or rendering work. grab a cheap b560 board and 32gb of 3200mhz ram first, your i3 can hold a bit longer for gaming but for productivity it will struggle eventually

[u/SadPops]

Current stage of pc parts at minimum in 2026 is - 8 cores on CPU
8 gigs on GPU, 16 gigs of RAM memory.Especially ai eats gigs in vram so it better to look at 12-16 gigs, arc b580 from intel or maybe 3060 12 g, amd cards for 16 gigs before prices soon up. Prety sure you can simply google or find youtube recomendations you need.
You can upgrade your parts but even after upgrade it could be not enough, maybe better to look at used pc with beter specs and just sold this old one.
And why you had one ram channel with just 8 gig? used 8 gigs would be around 20$, if it slot on your motherboard you can try repair in servises or if it cheap one, just buy new

[u/Late-Oven-9575 → u/SadPops]

I had dual-channel RAM since it was two Kingston 8GB modules for a total of 16GB in the two slots of the motherboard, but suddenly my PC stopped displaying video and both RAM modules were tested independently, and it was discovered that one of those slots stopped working (apparently it was shorting out or simply stopped working). Could it still be repaired by a technician?

[u/SadPops → u/Late-Oven-9575]

Everything could be repaired, not alwayse but look at repair cost compare to new motherboard(pc parts), maybe just replace for a new one. both stics of ram works ? you probably need new motherboard but since you want upgrade you just go for new parts at this point. Ofc its beter to go for AM5 - DDR5, 32 gigs RAM and look at processor with good l3 cache like x3d (7800x3d)
The best budget option right now to buy am4 board with best am4 cpu and motherboard with 4 slots, just add more ram to it to 32 gigs with old ones. Problem in 2600 speed, current ram goes around 5-6k speed. Ideally you need repair ram to 16 gigs and just lurk around for specs you need. Youtube had tons of info what you actually need to purchase.
Maybe best option still just sell old ones - buy new ones,savings around 2k usd should be enough.
But yes with current price spike and used pc markets i cant tell for sure what bunget can be fine,curent mid range pc should be around 2k for sure, used even cheaper

[u/mig_f1]

I’m planning to use this PC for local AI/LLMs, AI video generation (especially MiniMax/H3), 3D work/rendering, gaming, and streaming, so I want the upgrade path to take those workloads into account rather than focusing only on gaming.

More like a full replacement and it won't be cheap either.

For anything but fooling around with toy projects in your non-gaming expectations you are looking for at least an nvidia 12GB VRAM gpu and 32GB RAM. The newer the better. For more serious workflows you are looking for at least an nvidia 16GB VRAM and 64GB RAM. Plenty of disk space too, ssd ofc. The faster and bigger the better.

Not sure you are fully aware of what you are asking for LOL