How many generations do you wait to upgrade your graphics card or processor?

[geforceftw]

When Maxwell comes out my graphics card will be 4 generations old (GTX 465). My processor is last generation. I am probably going to upgrade at Maxwell but i said the same thing for the 700 series. 

[PillowSmoke]

2-3.

[Joshyy]

I wait until I can't play the games I want to at the resolutions and graphic settings I think are acceptable, in this case BF4 on low settings wasn't cutting it for me, so it was time to upgrade the 6850, I will stick with the R9-290 until it is no longer adequate for playing games. 

[MetaHD]

As long as they are not bottlenecking eachother and i keep above 60FPS i wont upgrade.

[Ruostunut kokis]

As long as it works...

[qwertywarrior]

3 generations

 

by that time the gpu dies on me so that doesnt matter

[_ASSASSIN_]

I can't ever say, espcially when new technologies like DDR4 come into play, it's  really hard to say.

[ygohome]

Until it dies or until I cant do what I need to do with current setup

[YouRezz]

went from 7850 to 770, but before that i had a laptop for 4 yrs

[ASFfergie]

It depends. I used to upgrade every generation but recently there has been no need, what with the rebranding of GPU's and intel not really making a push in the extreme market. I still have my 3930k, its clocked at 5GHz and has been for almost 2 years and it still runs everything flawlessly. As for the GPU I have a GTX680 4GB and I really do not feel the need to upgrade yet, I have a single 1440p monitor and it runs most games at full graphics with AA turned down.

[SMURG]

GPUs, I usually buy every other generation, or each new architecture from Nvidia, so my last GPU was a 480 and currently I have a 680. With CPUs I wait a lot longer; I stick with what I have until a new feature comes out that I want or I end up in a situation where I need more CPU power. My last CPU was an i7 950 on 1366 and now I have a 4770k, so that's 3 or 4 generations depending how you count it.

[Ertman]

If I had the money, every second generation.

Other than that, it when ever I can afford to, which would be at least 3.

[Mao_Zedong]

I'm 14 and just got my first graphics card (gtx 660), so I will probably get a full $1000 or so PC when I go to collage as well as a $400 laptop if I buy it, or a $1000 laptop if by parents buy it (I don't know if my collage computer money can go to a desktop).

[tobben]

wait until my current setup is inadequate or wait until the time there is a significant performance boost for a reasonable price, not to hard, some peope change every single generation because they just absolutely HAVE to have the newest tech, even if they spend 500$ on 5-10% performance boost, which is stupid, i could see changing over for things like efficiency, different technology, something that is actually cool tech wise.

[R4STABAN]

I'm running a 2700k and 680 SLI and at the rate things look to be going I will be skipping 800 series.

 

The only game I'm looking forward to is Titanfall and my 680s will spank it @ 1080p or 1440p.

 

I won't need to do a platform upgrade for a bajillion years because atm all Intel want to do is make their processors smaller, more power efficient and less friendly to overclockers.

[SAV1OUR]

i set myself the goal to wait till the 1000series and until 4 cores isnt enough 

[JupiteL]

Until my gfx or processor not supported for games anymore. Or any other features from the driver.

[DonPOETA]

I jumped from a GF 8800 GT to a bunch of r9 290 so i guess once every 10 gens...

[cliff_182]

I upgraded for a 560ti to a 780ti

so 2-3 i guess

[adnank77]

I had GTX 580 and had very terrible experience with "Metro" game (the first one) .. So I went ahead and upgraded to dual 7970s ..

 

Next upgrade will be when I have a bad experience with a game I like at the resolution that I want to play .. Regardless of generations in market ..

 

What defines my need to upgrade is my actual need in gaming .. Not the market trends ..

[lachyman]

My last upgrade was a 4 gen one. Right now I plan to upgrade to the top dog Maxwell, so that's 2 gens, but I presume that one will hold for a lot longer, until Volta comes out in the least.

[LBJ]

Every 2 generations usually but I don't have a set rule. I went 8800GT > HD4870 > HD6970 (then crossfired) >R9 290. 

[Leonard]

I wait until it can no longer give me any worth while performance. So right now my GPU will not change for at least 2 - 4 years or according to any program that uses it and i need to upgrade and my CPU will be going for the next 5 years of unless i need to upgrade because some program need the juice.

 

Now if i run into some money and all my expenses are paid up then i might d away with the above and just get the latest.

[Analog]

I usually wait two generations to pass and I upgrade for the third one, nth for processor and graphics card. Sometimes though I don't really what for the different generations, but upgrade every two-three years, depending on the actual value and features of the newer components.

[Antistatic12]

It really depends on the tech.
If you are on Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge came out, not much point. Same with the LGA2011 variants.
I guess maybe every 2-3 generations is what people try and stick to. That clearly excludes enthusiasts as they tend to upgrade when the next best thing comes out.

I will be upgrading whenever Broadwell-E comes out. Gives me more than enough time to get things ready.