Future proof build, any pitfalls I should look out for?

[Hirox]

So I have money to build one computer. That's fine. I don't have money to build 5 over the next several years. So with the new amd chips coming out. What should I look for in a build to future proof my rig. How do I make sure that I won't have to do major upgrades for 5+ years. For reference my current rig is old like Phenom 2 quad core old. Plan on still using it for side stuff. It's just not good enough anymore for present day. 

 

[LienusLateTips]

How much money would you have?

[aezakmi]

2700 with a 1080Ti but it's hard to tell without a budget

[jones177]

Any future proofing is mainly gained from CPU choice. 

I would not built a rig without a 5ghz CPU. Ryzen 3 is rumored to have that so there will be more choices soon.  

 

The most desirable monitors are 1440p 144hz.  The RTX 2080 ti is the best GPU to run one so it makes sense to chose it.

Going for a lesser monitor like a 1440p 60hz means you can use a less powerful GPU like a 2070 and going 1080p 60hz means even less money for a GPU.

That is where you get your savings.

 

So go all out on a CPU and get your savings through monitor choice. 

 

 

 

   

[Hirox]

On 3/23/2019 at 3:29 PM, CUDAcores89 said:

Future proof builds do not exist as something being future proof implies it will continue to be relevant forever. 

 

Technology is moving at a rapid pace so there is really no such thing as future proof. 

 

Now there IS such a thing as future resistance as in can I buy computer parts that are more suited to be upgraded later.

 

We'll the answer to this question is yes, you CAN buy parts that can be upgraded later. A really good example is Intel and AMDs enthusiast platforms like X299 and AMDs X399. 

 

If you want to build a "future resistant" system, the single MOST important thing is going to be your motherboard. Your motherboard will determine what upgrades you can and cannot make later.  

 

for example, a lot of guys who bought into Intels X58 platform a whopping 10 years ago are still running totally relevant platforms for gaming. That's because many of these folks have been able to take advantage of uber-cheap high core count xeons and install them in their system. The same thing has happened with intel's X79 platform and happened again with X99. the same thing will likely happen with X299 and AMD threadripper.

 

Here is my point. If you want to built the most future resistant platform you can, you will need to buy the most upgradable motherboard with the most DIMM slots available for your platform.

 

Here is a good choice of a good future resistant motherboard:

 

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813145109

 

This board has plenty of PCIe slots to add future I/O cards to. It has 8 DIMM slots so you can install plenty of RAM later when RAM requirements change. You can also go from an 8 core CPU all the way to a 32 core CPU.

 

If you went with a mainstream platform, you would be stuck with only 4 DIMM slots and only 8-16 CPRES on the AMD side. 

 

My point is if you want to build something future resistant, you need to buy a motherboard that can easily be upgraded later. With the AMD board, a few years from now once threadripper CPUs flood eBay, you can pick up one of those for cheap. You can also pick up the now super-cheap ECC Registered DDR4.

 

I have even done this myself. I currently have a lenovo thinkstation D30 that has 2 LGA 2011 v1 CPU sockets, lot's of PCIe slots, and 16 DIMM slots. This machine came out in 2012 yet I can still upgrade it all the way to 24 cores and 48 threads with 512GB of RAM if I wanted to. I also have plenty of PCIe slots to add future storage controllers, thunderbolt, and USB standards that currently do not exist. Now THAT is a "future proof" build!

These are some good things to think about. I did see that there will be some new mobos with the new ryzen gen 3 chips. Might wait to see what comes out then before buying. But I can use your suggestion as a benchmark. It might also go on sale after the new stuff comes out. I'm not expecting to rock this for 20years but I also don't want to have to do a full build again 2 years from now. So spending more on the board is a safe buy I think thank you. 

[Hirox]

On 3/23/2019 at 12:27 PM, LienusLateTips said:

How much money would you have?

How ever much the wife says. Lol. I'm not to worried about money at the moment. I want the main 3 items CPU, Mobo, and ram. So I could pay more now on those and wait a few months for more stuff.

[EldritchMoose]

Another important set of factors is what you want to do with the computer and how much of a performance hit you're willing to endure.

 

It's very easy to "future proof" a system that will only ever be used for Office and watching Youtube, and nearly impossible to do so if you're always going to be using it for bleeding edge high-level gaming. If you're okay with 60Hz 1080p, however, you have a lot of options at your disposal.

 

Hardware-wise, I fully agree with what's been said earlier: Mobo, and then CPU are going to be the number one and two factors. A 650W PSU will still be a 650W PSU in 10 years, and unless RAM requirements are going to skyrocket in the next few years, going for 32GB will likely be more than enough for the foreseeable future. One thing you may want to consider is an RTX-capable GPU since that's the new trend that may or may not become the next big thing in gaming.