Cheaper equivalent to Intel i5 4590?

[heymammy]

My daughter has an entry level gaming PC and she wants to get in on the VR fun and frolics so needs to upgrade a few components of her pc.

It currently has Intel i5 2400, which by all accounts is pretty pants for gaming : ( and she needs minimum Intel i5 4590 for Occulus Quest 2

Is this good value at £105 on Amazon or is there a better value equivalent?

I didn't really know her pc was basic when I bought it...was the best I could afford.

That's a really old i5 (2nd gen - beginning of 2011) processor. LGA 1155 socket. You're going to want to get her a new motherboard as well as processor, and then her RAM won't be compatible. You're looking at replacing a large proportion of her PC components. What graphics card does she have? The i5-4590 processor (with the first digit signifying 4th gen, so still from 6 years ago!) isn't actually a significant upgrade. Both are quad core, v.similar clock speed. What's your budget for upgrades?

Sorry, rereading that I wasn't very clear. The i5-4590 cannot fit in the same socket, so you don't even have the option of simply upgrading the processor to that newer one in isolation.

Just confirming what MountainPeakGeek said really.
If you already have a decent graphics card and 8gb of ram which is minimum spec for gaming, then your best bet - i.e cheapest - might be a used socket 1150 motherboard and decent processor from ebay. Probably £100 - £150 depending on cpu. You can reuse your current ram and card with that board.
You'll also need 64bit Windows 10 if you don't already use it although I expect you have.

Thanks so much for replying @MountainPeakGeek and @species5618, I really appreciate it.

The graphics card is Nvidia GT710 and I think the minimum supported by Occulus is Nvidia GTX970 so that was always on the upgrade required list. RAM is 16gb DDR and it runs 64bit Windows 10.

I get what you mean about the upgraded components not being compatible so a new motherboard and processor required as well as graphics card and potentially ram.

It's not as straightforward as I was hoping (when is anything ever ) and I'm really conscious of not swapping shit for slightly less shit!

I think I'll have to take it to a tech shop, thank you for helping me clarify what we need to do. Dd has saved up a couple of hundred ££s which I said I would match...is £400 an ok budget, I'll be looking at used parts mainly?

£400 budget is brill. You will get you these new (sourced from Amazon or stores are available)
Intel BX80684I59400F CORE I5-9400F cpu and fan @ £125
Note; This cpu does not have integrated graphics
ASRock H310M-HDV/M.2 mother board @ £ 65
Crucial CT8G4DFS824A16GB DDR4 ram @ £ 53
GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1650 OC 4G @ £140 @

That "only" £383 (if you have Amazon Prime free delivery)
You may well have to budget for a new power supply so expect to pay £40+ for a reasonable unit.
If you do go the 2nd hand route then look for a Socket 1150 motherboard and a decent I5 cpu (+fan). You should be able re-use your existing ram.
I suspect you'll still need a better power supply. Unless you have a decent power supply it's not something to skimp on.
Phew. Going to have a sit down and a cuppa now!

Not sure if if the cpu I suggested has a cooler so add a £25 just in case.

Apologies; The cpu doesn't have a cooler (that's what the F refers to)
You can get something like this Akasa cooler for £14

My god @Mutunus that was a herculean effort, thank you so much 🙏

Mutunus has given great recommendations. That rig would be fine for basic VR gaming.

Just a quick warning though! A potentially important point has been missed that could affect your budget. Your existing copy of Win10 will probably not activate if that much hardware is changed - it's affectively going to be seen as an entirely new PC that needs a new product key.

it's effectively going to be seen

Follow this guide before dismantling the old PC to allow you to transfer the license via a Microsoft Account: support.microsoft.com/en-ca/help/20530/windows-10-reactivating-after-hardware-change

Thanks @MountainPeakGeek I appreciate the heads up, we will follow the guide carefully.

Dammit, I missed that Humble apologies.
As MountainPeakGeek said the before is important.
If you don't already have one then you need to create a Microsoft account (outlook.com or Live.co.uk email account) with your current PC and link it to the new account before changing anything.
I think you can do it in the Email and Accounts section of the Settings page in Win 10