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How often do you upgrade your PC? And what makes you want to upgrade? Personally, I build my PCs to last me at least 2 years. But sometimes, depending on what I'm doing (which is mainly gaming), I change my GPU to get a better gaming experience (i.e. higher res and fps). But when it comes down to PSU, CPU, hard drives, motherboards and memory, well these last me a lot longer, like I said, about two years.
I upgrade my system's parts (CPU, GPU) whenever I find a good alternative which is relatively cheaper and the sale of the existing part is able to fund half or more of the next purchase.
HD, motherboard, RAM, PSU is always new and usually lasts upto 3 years.
See, I'm the same, especially on the HD and PSU front. In fact, before I built my current rig, my old hard drive (which wasn't an SSD) was about 3 years old, same for the PSU. It's a Cooler Master 750w, which I'm pretty sure I'll keep it for a long time, at least another 2 years from now as I don't plan to Crossfire.
Thanks for the link, it's a bit old (2013) but it helped. I'm happy to have seen a few comments from members stating "when it's necessary". I do have a couple of friends tho that somehow manage to keep their system unchanged for 4+ years. The longest I've ever gone is about 3.
Usually i upgrade PC every 2 years, but now i bought my GA-H67M-D2 + i5-2500k + 12GB RAM + GTX560TI on February of 2011, so my cpu will start to count his 4th year in 3 months :) But it sports 4.5GHZ 24/7 with no problems, so i think i will be able to keep it another couple years or so if it will not let me down, or my corsair h90 will not destroy all my build :D during this 3 years i changed, my gtx560 Ti to GTX660 and just month ago i bought second one and made GTX660 SLI. Motherboards: i have changed my gigabyte to MSI Z77A-GD55 one year ago, cause i gave my old one to my nephew and made him budged gaming pc with i3-2120 + HD7770 (Thats enough he is playing on 1366x768 19" monitor). And three months ago i was forced to change my MSI motherboard to older P8Z68-V/GEN 3, cause then i have been taking off my cpu, accidently some thermal compound fell into the cpu socket and then all magic started, so i end up with only 1 ram slot working, bought refurbished asus and it works like a charm, max overclock is 4.9GHz, on MSI i could barely get 4.8GHz. So probably my next upgrade will be new GFX again then 20nm shows up :)
Still on a Q6600..... last update was probably my SSD in 2011
I upgrade when the current machine won't do something I need it to do, and not before. I don't buy a new shovel every time the garden centre has a shiny new one, and my PC is much the same - a tool to do a job.
I'd think that it's still very relevant, as 5-6 months old isn't that long ago. Regardless of that however, you're welcome. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Warsam71
The last time I upgraded was in 2008, I am waiting for a much better cpu for about 40 quid;-)
10 years ago roughly every 8 months it would get a major overhaul. Nowadays, apart from adding SSD it has been the same box for 3 years now. Don't game as much as I used to and new games aren't pushing the envelope the way they used to, so no need.
I just replace parts when something fails, and then I'll replace with something I have lying around, so it's often a downgrade..
My current box is largely unchanged in the last 4-ish years. As Saracen said, it's been a tool to do a job and not needed to be bleeding edge. It is starting to show its age though and so will be repurposed and replaced by a completely new top-end build, hopefully before xmas.
Not often and usually only when I have to.
Reason?
1. Out of principle
2. Money.
I may buy new bit of hardware bit more often or buy bit more expensive parts - if my real income (after paying health care, food, housing, energy, insurance and other essential things) would be higher. Since income and wealth inequality is getting bigger and not smaller in modern world, hardware uppgrades by majority of population may get rarer and cheaper rather than more often.
Entertaiment spending is one of last on the list.
Not quite as long as that, but years (going back the the Celeron 300A era which I bought in 1999) my upgrade strategy was simple:Quote:
Originally Posted by integerspin
Stick to my budget of ~£50 for a CPU and ~£40-£60 for a motherboard and if I could buy an upgrade for that price which gave me at least double CPU performance I would take it.
That strategy worked fine for Celeron 300A, Duron, Core2 Pentiums and a few others during that time. But since Sandy Bridge, Ivy Bridge etc. that strategy no longer works since to get any worthwhile upgrade now means buying a £150+ K processor.
My current desktop has a Core 2 Pentium E5300 running at 3.4GHz and for the same budget I could currently get something like a Pentium G2130. But that only gets me an upgrade (using Passmark scores) from 2,400 to 3,100. Hardly worthwhile - the power saving would be about the only worthwhile thing there.
Having said all that, I was recently given a brand new (RMA-returned) Z77 motherboard so I either have to sell it or see if I can get a used 2500k/3570K.
Nice optimistic signature by the way...
Used to 'upgrade' a lot (not always an upgrade, but getting different bits) since I enjoyed it, however I've calmed down recently.
Now I try to do it just when I 'need' to (for whatever reason), such as now I'm going mitx so I can take my PC with me on the train more easily.
The new Haswell Pentiums look tempting though at around £50 - G3220 in particular. Might jump at some point.Quote:
Originally Posted by kompukare
Yes, not too bad. Finally something for £50 which doubles the (non-overclocked) CPU performance of my E5300. H81 boards aren't that pricey either.Quote:
Originally Posted by wasabi
i upgrade a couple of components once a year, i get a new laptop ever 2 and half years
Every time I upgrade, my old PC becomes my spare. My current spare is an Athlon 64.
What is the upgrade for??Quote:
Originally Posted by kompukare
Ah, well that's the thing I didn't mention: actually good enough does seem to have kicked in for me. I mean most of the time I don't even use the desktop with the 3.4GHz Core 2 Pentium but instead I use my used Thinkpad T400 (Core 2 2.4GHz) with a dock.Quote:
Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH
Realistically, the only thing not good enough about the docked Thinkpad is storage. The desktop has the SSD but I guess I could swap it to the laptop and put a HDD into the optical drive's slot. But at the moment all I'm really getting out the laptop is less fan noise and better power consumption; and very occasionally I take it off the dock and use it in the living room.
But seeing as how I have that board now, I was thinking of getting a CPU for it. A Celeron G1620 is cheap but doesn't really offer me much (anything) over my overclocked Core 2 Pentium. That's why I am either going to have to get a 'K' CPU or sell the board. Would be a bit of a shame using an Z77 with a CPU which cannot be overclocked.
But yes, realistically I seldom need more CPU power as I hardly play many games or do anything else intensive. On the other hand my current stuff is all around five years old and sometimes it's nice to upgrade just for the sake of upgrading; or at least justify an upgrade on the grounds that - occasionally - I am waiting for the computer even if it would mostly be a race to idle. And pretty much everything new would use less power too (although if I really wanted to have better power consumption I should change my monitor - my NEC 21" PVA screen draws around 70W which is more than a 42" LED backlit TV).
What graphics card do you have ATM??Quote:
Originally Posted by kompukare
If you didn't have the motherboard already,I would have suggesting waiting a few months to see how Kaveri pans out.
However,as you have a motherboard,the cheapest Core i5 is what I would get. However,if I was buying secondhand stick to non-K series CPUs,as you don't know how much abuse a secondhand K series CPU has undergone.
In terms of power consumption,I have the following:
1.)Xeon E3 1220
2.)Gigabyte H67 mini-ITX motherboard
3.)8Gb of DDR3
4.)GTX660 2GB
5.)120GB SSD
6.)2TB HDD
7.)Corsair HX520W
At idle it consumes around 60W to 72W,and when playing an intensive game like Tombraider peaks at between 170W to just under 200W.
Ah, OTT since I was mining earlier in the year: 7950. But really, despite buying a few things in impulse humble bundles I really don't use it. Pity that ZeroCore can't kick in when using the onboard on Intel CPUs.Quote:
Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH
I did consider that aspect. That's why I would prefer to keep away from ebay. I guess I could calculate it like this: (my historic CPU & mobo budget was ~£100), free mobo means only CPU and even £150 divided by five years isn't that much. But if I'm going to splash out for new, Haswell would make more sense than IB.Quote:
Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH
If you get a locked Core i5 you should be fine. My Xeon E3 1220 cost under £100 last December.Quote:
Originally Posted by kompukare
Also,TBH,once you add the cost of a new motherboard,Haswell is not worth it IMHO,since you will lose motherboard value. Once you add Ebay fees,Paypal fees and postage,it would be easily £20 on a £75 sale.
You could just plonk this locked Xeon E3 1230 V2 into your current motherboard:
http://www.cclonline.com/product/862...essor/CPU0140/
Its basically a slightly underclocked Core i7 3770.
TBH,you can still get new Core i5 CPUs on Ebay for around £100:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Intel-Core...item233105b442
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Intel-Core...item3cd7268e19
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3rd-Genera...p2047675.l2557
Edit!!
Considering the price of the FX6300 and FX8320,I do find many of the Core i5 CPUs,relatively expensive when new TBH.
like every 3 years but when it comes to GPU almost every 2 years.
I have a Athlon XP 3000+ CPU so I guess that explains how often I upgrade my rig.
Are you from the future then?Quote:
Originally Posted by Warsam71
Yes I've been watching those Xeon E3's on ebay and they can go for relatively little. Unfortunately, my free board is an Asus (P8Z77-V LX) and they only support three Xeons: E3-1230, E3-1230v2, E3-1245v2. Because a few weeks back I saw one of the unsupported going cheaply on ebay with almost no bids.Quote:
Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH
As it happens, Computerbase just reviewed the E3-1230v3 (first though it was the v2; these Xeons sure are hard to tell apart):
http://www.computerbase.de/artikel/p...-test/drucken/
(and here it is mangled with google translate)
They did try a bit of turbo bin overclocking which was nice of them but the max they got was 3.9GHz but not when fully loaded. Still not bad I guess - certainly can't see the point of the i7-4770 at all (although this being Intel maybe I have missed some feature the one or the other has).
Pity that computerbase didn't review the v1 and v2 Xeons too.
I upgrade whenever I can successfully sell or reuse the old parts. That way I don't often spend any if any money.
Having said that when I switched from Q6600 to i7 I spent £300 because I just wanted to make full use of my GTX570.
I'd be careful buying Xeons for a home PC, especially if you use it for gaming. Some software will come up with an error saying the CPU isn't supported and won't work. I had this problem on a work PC and it was annoying :P
Anyway. I've been using an overclocked i7 2600k (4.3ghz) since they were released and still no need to upgrade yet.
I upgrade when I feel the need to do so.
When I built my last machine I assumed it would last me 3 years, but in fact it lasted 5. Along the way I upgraded the video card once and swapped in an SSD, but otherwise nothing changed. I really can't be arsed with continual upgrades any more, so instead I build a rig that's over-specced and use it until it begins to struggle a bit.
My current machine, built in March, I fully expect to last longer than the last one, with just another video upgrade or two and a hexacore CPU sometime down the line. I find this approach also turns out a lot cheaper over the lifetime of the machine, although you do of course need to have cash to build an expensive rig there and then.
Around fiveishish years? Last upgrade was to a 9600gt god I feel old
Heh, don't feel old, I haven't seen the need to change anything in my pc for about 5 years too now.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ginettor
I'm sorry Output, I didn't mean for it to come across in a negative way. It was/is helpful, and thank you! :mrgreen:Quote:
Originally Posted by Output
Good point! I apologized to Outpost, as I didn't mean to sound rude at all. And I'm happy to see some of the members upgrade their rigs the same way I do (i.e. as needed). :)Quote:
Originally Posted by kalniel
I used to upgrade every year but stopped in 2008/2009. With the exception of the gpu.
My computer is still decent enough (Q9550 @3.6Ghz, 4GB, GTX 460) but I've been thinking about a new build lately.
How often do I upgrade my PC.... short answer = too often. its expensive. Bring on 290X and new CPU/Mobo!
Apart from getting a new case I haven't upgraded anything since I built my rig, which was all the way back in early 2011. Just haven't had the need to I guess. It is getting harder to maintain a stable 60fps with good settings nowadays though, so I reckon next year is when I'll be getting a new GPU, particularly for Witcher 3, cause hot damn do I love me them Witcher games.
just got a new rig will probably add a new gpu in 2-3 years and upgrade my cpu around 2016 however i may do a full out extreme pc in 3 years.
Upgrade parts always ongoing. Cpu's every year. Motherboards every six months.
Generally for me it's every year, although I usually keep CPU/motherboard for at least 2-3 years. My latest upgrade is a new case/CPU cooler and graphics card and these were last upgraded a year ago.
Long enough to realise that every single component in my damn pc is out of date, including the cd drives and PSU!
CPU and Motherboard every 3 years, GPU roughly 1.5 - 2 years. I'm not sure if it is only me but it looks like you don't really have to change components that often like 5-6 years ago.
Every 3-4 years depends on funds or if there's something on sale that you just can't say no to.
I agree I don't think processor only upgrades are as easy an upgrade as they use to be. Difficult to sell second hand CPUs, after 2 gens you need a new MOBO and the benefits of next gen don't appear to be worth the £200.
I just purchased a new WD 2TB HDD (and already I have a 240GB SSD as primary) for my videos/movies and general storage needs. With this install I don't think I'll upgrade anything else for another year.
I have been using my current computer for 3 years. I am considering upgrade it recently, as it seems i3 530 Nvidia + GTX460 is hard to run some new games. I need a better game experience.
On a low cost scale for things like fans and other non-performance parts, I'd estimate a few times a year. For major components like CPU and RAM then i'd say every 2-3 years per part being upgraded.
Every 2 or 3 iMac cycles. They tend to hold their value pretty well, so for around the cost of a new GPU I get a whole new computer. Before I switched over to Mac, I spent way too much time and money having a computer in parts/being upgraded.
If you are gamer probably every 12 months to 24 months. If you are not,then many years.
I know plenty of people using Windows 7 with laptops they bought as launch still and they were under £500.
It is a myth that Windows PCs need "upgrading" all the time since any PC that could run Vista fine,can run Windows 7 or Windows 8 fine.
Heck,I am using Windows 8 on a Zotac 9300 mini-ITX system with 4GB of DDR2,a 9300 IGP,a 2.6GHZ Celeron E3400 and a 64GB SSD. Its perfectly fine for most general uses.
My old Q6600 based box from 2008 with 4GB of DDR2 would have run Windows 7 and 8 perfectly fine. It was fine with Vista.
As a gamer I run the CPU and GPU until they struggle with the games I want to play. As Cat said that's usually about every two years. Other parts like the PSU are c.2009, and the optical and fans older than that.
Probably about once a year but not a full overhaul. It mainly depends on the current hardware that is out and also the games. It's impossible to get ahead with a GPU as something new always seems to be coming out. However my RAM and CPU are usually fine, it just depends what has been released.
I think i also just upgrade each 2 years like most of you guys, Though i have to resist myself buying a new one every month :p
I have no fixed interval other than 'when it feels right'.
I know that sounds stupid but PC Hardware tech is very unpredictable - sometimes you get periods of little innovation (like the infamous NVIDIA 8800 GT re-brands over a couple of years or the fairly stale progress between Sandybridge and Haswell Intel CPUs etc..) and then something will come along that is a 'must have' or makes a significant difference (e.g. like when the 5000 series ATI DX11 cards landed in 2009 or the Athlon 64 Socket 939 CPUs came out in 2005 etc...).
That said these days I still attempt to upgrade where I can sell my existing gear for a reasonable price on eBay so that effectively I'm getting new components for an 'upgrade top-up fee' and re-cooping a good margin of my outlay.
I couple this up with squirreling away £10-20 a month into a separate savings fund (amazing how it adds up over time) and bingo...you've sort of got yourself a 'free' upgrade at the point you want to get something new rather than feeling 'guilty' about spending a shed load of cash on buying the latest shiny thing outright.
Just my 2p worth...
I always upgrading parts of the pc when i get a deal for a better one
Hmm, I used to upgrade pretty much every year, although only CPU/GPU/Mobo/Memory, the rest lasted longer. Then it went to 2, and now it's 3+. Actually my latest change was the keyboard, because the old one pretty much wore out.
Right! About keyboard (and mouse), I think it's time for me to get a new gaming set. I've been using the Logitech G15 keyboard and the G9x mouse for more than 5 years now. Any recommendations?
Um up until last year every year. Lately it's every couple of months :eek: in this case 5 weeks :D
I plan on upgrading mine fairly often over the next few months but thats because I plan on doing it in chunks rather then in a mass upgrade/new rig.
my computer has recently slowed down a lot? what do you recommend I change to make it back to its speed? its got 4gb Ram at the moment
The truthful answer is it depends on what new hardware is released to the market.
I've still got my 2500K system as the CPU doesn't need upgrading but recently added 4 more 250 GB SSD drives, upgraded from my GTX 570 to a GTX 770.
That will tide me over for another year or so I reckon :)
Hi Fitfreak,Quote:
Originally Posted by Fitfreak
Adding another 4GB of memory will help. And if you have Windows 7 (32-bit) you will need to upgrade it to 64-bit.
I almost forgot, another thing you can do to boost overall performance of your system is by installing and SSD; run your games from the SSD and use your HDD for storageQuote:
Originally Posted by Warsam71
I'd sound a severe note of caution with that advise. It's very unlikely that in normal usage his existing 4GB is not enough. If he is not hitting memory swap issues then adding more RAM will NOT help. If he is hitting memory swap issues in normal usage then he has another problem that should be cured at the source, not by simply patching up the symptoms, so again, adding another 4GB RAM is not the best solution.Quote:
Originally Posted by Warsam71
If he has changed the usage of the computer, and is now performing tasks that need a lot of RAM and that's causing slowdown by having to use virtual memory then yes, adding more RAM would help. But you'd know about that, you wouldn't complain that it's unexpectedly slowed down.
tl;dr: If your computer has slowed down, reverse the thing that causes it to slow down.
I would love to upgrade my PC more often but my main stumbling block is what to do with the old components...
I built my "current" PC in 2009, going for "bang for buck". Since then, I've mainly upgraded the hard drive into an SSD which is honestly the most amazing upgrade you can have for a computer. I'm currently in the process of "downsizing" to mITX and upgrading my processor to a 4670K from an AMD 720. I think I'll use my HD4780 graphics card until it can no longer play games at an acceptable setting but that hasn't stopped my lusting after a new one!!!
Use to do it every 12-18 months, but my latest system was built around 2011ish and I've only updated parts if they broke.
Personally upgrade something every 3/5 years for obvious reasons.
It Depends On For What I Use Computer. For A Normal Gamer Like Me A Good System( I am Using Core i5 2400) Can Survivor For 2-3 years.
Of course office work don't force me to upgrade system its the gaming that force me to upgrade.
I agree with you. In fact if it was based on office work I don't think I'd upgrade for 3 years (if not more) :-)Quote:
Originally Posted by SOOMRO
For example, I'm still running Win 7 (64-bit) and not planning to upgrade to 8 (or later version) this year. Everything is working great right now, including playing games.
I'd have to go with approximately every 5 years
I usually upgrade roughly 2-3 years, but it's more or less deciding whether to go through with changing the components or to jsut start a new build. I don't game as much as I used to, so if anything my time frame will probably get longer and longer :)
My brother, on the other hand...disposable income + heavy gaming = GPU upgrade often!
perhaps 3 to 4 years max. just waiting for the next generation components that offers a significant performance difference. currently using sandy bridge and I'm just waiting for broadwell. Don't see any reason to go for haswell right now.
I need to upgrade my PC, got some extra cash from work. Need to increase memory for Video card and RAM because my gaming is not that good.