This isn't a silver bullet and it can still get expensive, but i only replace what needs replacing, and spread out the upgrades over time so it's not a huge rebuild. Also when you do upgrade don't go for the top of the line new years models, get what's effective at power per $ from previous lineups.

These days, GPUs probably need to be upgraded every 3-4 years (but you don't need to buy the latest and greatest).

PSU almost never needs to be upgraded.

CPU Mobo RAM kinda need to be replaced all at once but you can do that like every 8 years and still run new stuff. Again, you don't need to buy the current years models on those. RAM you can space out if you want to, as well.

Storage is also on its own cycle.

This suggestion isn’t for everybody. I was sick of trying to game on my budget pc from 2011, but buying components individually and putting together a rig of my own was always more expensive than I could afford. So I saved up some money, and kept an eye on prebuilt machines that were around $600.

Around Black Friday 2019, I found a CyberPower PC with an RX 580 and a Ryzen 5 1600 for about $530. Bought that, and saw a month later the price was over $700. I love my rig, and it’s been capable of playing almost everything on High to Ultra settings at 45-60 fps, and I can upgrade it over time as it starts to get outdated.

Wait until a few months after the new consoles come out, that’s when parts are at the best bang for your buck prices. Also don’t bother “futureproofing”, just go for the cheapest stuff that will let you max out the games you’re interested in. And of course, pirate Windows as well as games

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One of the things that helped me was planning an upgrade path, so I could buy a bunch of cheaper parts now to build a full system but save up to swap for nicer parts later. I found you can sell second hand and get back about 70% what you paid for as long as the part is still in good condition, so that's how I gradually built up my rig.

There's a subreddit called I think hardwareswap. I haven't used it personally but I have a friend who swears by it, having built his setup really cheap by stalking it a few months. I've seen some really great deals on there, especially on graphics cards. A few weeks ago I saw someone sell a week old gtx 2070 for like $200 off simply because they'd bought it just in case they couldn't get the 2080 on the day it was released. My build is from 2012 so I have a little bit of time before I start really feeling its age, but I'm fully planning on buying all used when that time comes.

I would say save for a 120hz+ 1440 monitor. there are a lot of companies but only maybe two (?) actual manufacturers of the panels themselves. Everyone just puts their own housing/branding on them. AOC ( :AyyyyyOC-big: ) is a great lesser known brand. Buying used or refurbished is always an option worth considering, especially from a place like newegg with easy returns. You can also do slightly sketch things like saying whatever part you've gotten has a cosmetic defect but it's for a gift so you don't have time to send it back, but ask if there's anything they can do. Can get $20 or so off easier than you might think.

As for a microphone, look at the Modmic. it's a really nice sounding microphone that you attach to your headphones with a little tiny magnet mount.

Lastly don't waste time feeling bad about torrenting games. If it's some tiny indy developer and you feel like your enjoyment of their niche art is worth your financial support then by all means pay up, otherwise who cares.

Edit: sell all your old shit on ebay 100%

Check out the used market. Last year I was able to sell my 960 for $80 and get a 1060 3gb for $120. I got a huge performance boost in Assassins Creed for $40 basically

What specs do you have right now?