upgrading most of my very old (2008) PC on a budget!

Go for something like this. GPUshack has Radeon 7950s factory-refurbished with warranties for $150. Best dollar-to-performance deal in this price range.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type Item Price
CPU *Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor $116.39 @ Amazon
Motherboard *Gigabyte GA-B85M-GAMING 3 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard $49.98 @ OutletPC
Memory *G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory $47.99 @ Newegg
Storage Western Digital RE3 250GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive $0.00
Video Card Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card $149.00
Case Rosewill Galaxy-03 ATX Mid Tower Case $0.00
Power Supply OCZ Fatal1ty 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply $0.00
Optical Drive LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer $0.00
Monitor Dell E1911 60Hz 19.0" Monitor $0.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
Total $363.36
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-02 12:28 EDT-0400
/r/buildmeapc Thread