Anyone else delaying a new PC build until they achieve goals?

[minervx]

I have a 7 year old PC.   Affording a new one is no issue.  I have a good amount of money saved up, though part of reason why because I'm frugal, and that means if I can get another 6-12 months out of this PC before rebuilding, that would feel efficient.

 

There are also goals I have: 

• Update resume.  Apply for better jobs. 
• Research different career options / learn marketable skills.
• Make various doctors appointments.
• Have more of a social life, and dating
• Sell things I don't need.
• Lots of other errands, phone calls, financial stuff and paperwork to do
• Travel or go on a roadtrip this year
• Some non-gaming hobbies

Even if I had a great build right now, I probably wouldn't use it much the next few months.   And it wouldn't feel special to be gaming a lot, knowing that I have other things looming over me. 

 

If I can make meaningful progress in the majority of these goals - let's say 5-6 out of 8 goals in the next few months - then reward myself with a PC, it would feel very special.

[Hinjima]

3 minutes ago, minervx said:

I have a 7 year old PC.   Affording a new one is no issue.  I have a good amount of money saved up, though part of reason why because I'm frugal, and that means if I can get another 6-12 months out of this PC before rebuilding, that would feel efficient.

 

There are also goals I have: 

• Update resume.  Apply for better jobs. 
• Research different career options / learn marketable skills.
• Make various doctors appointments.
• Have more of a social life, and dating
• Sell things I don't need.
• Lots of other errands, phone calls, financial stuff and paperwork to do
• Travel or go on a roadtrip this year
• Some non-gaming hobbies
• Backlog of movies to watch (which is not nearly as important as the others)

Even if I had a great build right now, I probably wouldn't use it much the next few months.  And even if it I did, I would probably player older/less demanding games that my current pc can play.  And it wouldn't feel special, knowing that I have a lot of these things looming over me. 

 

Conversely, if I can make meaningful progress in the majority of these goals (say 6 out of 9) and then reward myself with a PC, it would feel very special.

Nope. I'm 31 years of age, if I want new PC components, I buy them.  Being able to game and relax and have something to look forwards too makes me better at the other things you listed.  I go the gym, I am currently learning japanese, I help out at local animal shelter and being able to game a few hours in the evening keeps me sane.

[minervx]

Thanks for commenting that.  It comes down to mindset.  On my end, it's probably OCD - not wanting to waste resources if my current one works acceptably.  Your mindset is not wasting time; living your passions to the fullest.   Yours is overall better.

 

I will still take at least a month or 2 to work on some goals, but I would like to build sometime this fall.  I'll be less rigid on what I need to do before my next build.  And not everything needs to be complete; even if slow progress is made, it's still progress.

[igormp]

No, but I only upgrade if I feel like I'll have noticeable improvement for what I need my PC to do. 90% of the time it's used for work/study, games are rarely ever a thing (maybe 2 hours top per week, if at all).

 

So if it's going to save me time, and that time makes up for the cost, then the upgrade does make sense for me, and so I'll pull the trigger. I don't see how this would impact my other goals either.

[LogicalDrm]

I have constantly tech breaking up, it seems. Currently, I have to decide whether to get new tablet (2018, battery/Wifi issues), new phone (2019, battery issues), NAS (has been on hold because its €800 on the spot), speakers/soundbar (2017, current bt has developed battery issues). My policy with tech is that its max 2 big buys (over €200) per year. Last year was ergonomics upgrade with €600 tech part.

 

PC upgrade has been on hold for past year as its about €800. This year traveling has taken much of any "free" budget. Around 3k gone there. So its tad on money side, but not much. And I really could use that extra power for various projects. So its overall about what to actually get.

 

Then there's things that have effect on putting stuff on hold. Current employment is uncertain/ending. That could mean moving which will take couple K's overall. Current apartment is too small for NAS (I can't sleep in same room with spinning disks). My 5G router is bit trashy, but better ones are way too expensive. So holding off with that and hoping next apartment is in fiber-area.

 

***

 

I don't hold off anything for goals or stuff like that. Those might have been  a thing when you are younger and parents decide stuff for you. But unless your handling of life requires limits, I don't see point. I have goals, for social life, for career, for hobbies. But none of those have massive effect on others. Some, since moving to another city could twist social life and hobbies.

[Xiee]

I just upgraded last week. 

My old build had a Ryzen 3600X processor, an MSI B450 motherboard, Sapphire Pulse 5700XT video card and a Corsair 650W PSU. Had this since December 2019.

My new build is a Ryzen 5600 with an Asus Prime B550 motherboard, a Founders Edition 6700XT and a Seasonic 750W PSU.

The only things I kept were the 32GB Corsair DDR3200 ram kit (4x 8GB), my Coolermaster NR400 case and my storage (512gb Intel 660p nvme, SK Hynix 512GB M.2 SSD and a 2TB Western Digital Black HDD). I'll probably upgrade this again in another 3-4 years. I use this setup to work from home and do a lot of gaming. I don't really have any goals in mind,  I just upgrade when the need arises, or when my budget permits it.
 

[SnugglyGirl]

Not really the case for me. I normally buy a new PC every 3-4 years depending on what my needs are. Currently it looks like I will be waiting till 2025 before I upgrade again for the new nvidia series cards. Then what I do is turn the old PC into a server or give it away to someone who needs a pc.

 

With it being every 3-4 years for an upgrade it enables me to save so much each week to put away for the next upgrade meaning less stress to worry about money when it comes time to buy one. 

My current pc have a 3950x, 3090 and 64GB of ram and has lasted so far and no new gpu or cpu has really blown me off my feet to even look at buying a new pc as of yet so hoping new ones in the next coming year will look more enticing to buy.

[RoseLuck462]

Don’t make yourself feel like you have to upgrade if you don’t need to.

[crazzp]

12 hours ago, minervx said:

• Have more of a social life, and dating

You sound like you don't even need a new PC. Save the money.

 

Everytime something new is released, I would be tempted to buy it. But I realised my 2600x and 1070ti is still working fine for RDR2 or Cities Skyline at 1080  mid quality. 

[Dabombinable]

For myself, not really. Beyond covid stimulus payments and tax returns I typically have just been buying components as opposed to doing a whole new build. The only one that I've done (proper new build not bits and pieces replaced here and there) has been for my sister, who is nearing the end of school and planning to go to university.

[Stahlmann]

There are only 2 factors that decide when and if i upgrade my PC:

 

Do i need more performance? If yes: Can i afford it?

[Mihle]

If that helps you do the other things then fine for you, it doesn't for me.

 

But I do have some requirements for upgrading:

- Do I actually feel I need it? Not do I just want to for fun, but also not can't run games I want to play on low, somewhere in between. Right now I have 5700 xt and Ryzen 3600 and I feel no need to upgrade.

- Upgrade would have to give me at least 2x the performance in games minimum. That's what I did when I upgraded from RX 480 and 3570k in 2019.

- Do I actually want to spend the money to achieve the previous points on a upgrade? Even if those two earlier points are fulfilled, if the components at the time require me to buy flagship GPU for 1200€ or whatever, or the prices in inflated because shortage, it makes upgrade a no.

 

 

If a component dies and I have to replace it outside of warranty, then those points are obviously thrown out the window.

[apharma]

17 hours ago, minervx said:

Thanks for commenting that.  It comes down to mindset.  On my end, it's probably OCD - not wanting to waste resources if my current one works acceptably.  Your mindset is not wasting time; living your passions to the fullest.   Yours is overall better.

 

I will still take at least a month or 2 to work on some goals, but I would like to build sometime this fall.  I'll be less rigid on what I need to do before my next build.  And not everything needs to be complete; even if slow progress is made, it's still progress.

So looking at the specs in your sig your PC is on the senior side so an upgrade will feel a lot better. However, is there a reason to upgrade? Are you wanting to play phantom liberty with RT overdrive and get crippling debt to the electricity company?

I think a good first step is to get any medical problems sorted or a framework in place for continued support on them.
Then planning your day between work, house keeping, training and relaxation.
Finally don't neglect social, even non neurotypical people like me need to talk to someone IRL or have a hug.

Once your ducks are in a row it'll be easier to decide on upgrades, in fact the decision might even be made for you given the prices of gpus atm.

Finally, I'm not sure what's going on in your life and I won't pry but I have heard this kind of talk from other people and it's not always good so apologies if it's not needed. If someone offers to help you without asking for something in return, accept help.

[Mark Kaine]

No, this isnt a thing for me, i upgrade when i feel like i need to. A whole new build,  why? 

Woah, that work and not to mention money,  that would indeed feel very wasteful when most parts of my pc will still be fine in several years time...

 

 

This is very un economical and un ecological thinking on your part.

 

Trade perfectly  good hardware  (probably) for a quick dopamine rush. i mean sure, but sensible this is not, sorry. 

[LogicalDrm]

7 hours ago, Dean0919 said:

If money wasn't an issue, I would be on a latest builds every time they release something new and better, but since money is a big issue for me, I upgrade my build once in a 10 years or so...

You are probably hearing this always when you say it like that, but getting upgrade every year (something new) isn't good practice for anyone. its only good if you want bragging rights and to spend money. So when your economics get better and you have choice to spend how you like, stick with "something better". Early adopters have so much issues with pretty much anything (compatibility issues with RAM, stability issues with early Ryzen, pretty much everything with Win11 etc. etc.)

[ImorallySourcedElectrons]

I'm in the market for a new NAS, because the server is starting to become a bit too expensive to run as NAS, but waiting for my yearly bonus for that one.

 

[E-waste]

On 7/26/2023 at 2:07 PM, minervx said:

if I can get another 6-12 months out of this PC

You already have an SSD for 30 second boot times (or faster), a great GPU (I have a couple years older model, and GTA V runs fine on medium) and a large storage device.

 

I can see the need for a slightly larger SSD and maybe larger storage.  The CPU will not make your pc significantly faster, but maybe some games will work better, do some research on exactly what games you would like to play and check performance for the cpu you have already.

 

Turn off Windows smart screen and use Firefox with the NoScript addon set to untrusted (for javascripts and extra domains) or use EFF.org privacy badger.  This addon is reported to reduce page loading time by over half! 

 

Make sure pipelining is enabled in your browser, I thought for sure it was, and kept getting errors and wait messages on pages, and upgraded my CPU.  That didn't help and I used too much thermal paste and ruined the chip.

 

You can also try running Linux and install Steam (yes that steam) and play Windows games on Linux!  This may or may not improve system performance, I recommend Linux Mint for its beautiful wallpapers, and it is well supported by Steam.

[minervx]

18 hours ago, E-waste said:

You already have an SSD for 30 second boot times (or faster), a great GPU (I have a couple years older model, and GTA V runs fine on medium) and a large storage device.  I can see the need for a slightly larger SSD and maybe larger storage.  The CPU will not make your pc significantly faster, but maybe some games will work better, do some research on exactly what games you would like to play and check performance for the cpu you have already.

My current setup works fine for games that are a few years old or less demanding esports.  Granted, I have become a snob.  I would like to play newer single-player games at 4K/60fps high settings and newer multiplayer games at 1440p/144hz.  And at some point, I would like to use unreal5 and create my own levels and worlds, and just sandbox around with it.

None of this is urgent.  I can wait.  And I can play older games on my backlogue until then.

 

Also, hardware has aged better in the past decade.  A 2017 fares much better in 2023-2024 than a 2010 build did in 2017.   It used to be the case that a PC was really outdated in 5 years.  Now, 5 years is more like the middle of a lifespan.

[Edmond Dantes]

On 7/26/2023 at 11:35 AM, minervx said:

it's probably OCD

yea u got hella ocd.

 

i would probably wait a while though cuz a bunch of new stuff just came out and they havent figured out all the kinks yet. so if u aint gonna be usin it then dont get it yet.

[mdk777]

Yeah, my delay was to  have 2-4K $ without an earmark and the time to do the build.

 

notebook for work is a necessity, but a desktop build is a luxury.

 

So, it was over ten years between builds for me.

 

Whenever I Finnish such a build....yeah it is really faster...but how much faster makes such a difference?

 

Yeah boot time is 5 seconds instead of 30....but turning on lights, drinking coffee and thinking about day take way longer than 30 seconds...so meh?

 

[saintlouisbagels]

On 7/26/2023 at 2:07 PM, minervx said:

There are also goals I have: 

• Update resume.  Apply for better jobs. 
• Research different career options / learn marketable skills.
• Make various doctors appointments.
• Have more of a social life, and dating
• Sell things I don't need.
• Lots of other errands, phone calls, financial stuff and paperwork to do
• Travel or go on a roadtrip this year
• Some non-gaming hobbies

I mean, just those 3 things alone are enough reason to never own a gaming PC or play video games.

 

Why stay at home playing video games if I could be out having dinner with friends, going to the theaters, or just generally enjoying analog life?

Why play video games if I could be hiking, rock climbing, running, gardening, etc?

Why even have a strong PC if all I need is a $300 laptop to learn everything I need from the internet?

 

These are not goals.... This is completely different lifestyle lol.

[TeraSeraph]

I waited until I had my car paid off, I didn't need to but it felt good to have a reward and much needed upgrade. 

[Intrafinesse]

On 7/26/2023 at 4:49 PM, Xiee said:

I just upgraded last week. 

My old build had a Ryzen 3600X processor, an MSI B450 motherboard, Sapphire Pulse 5700XT video card and a Corsair 650W PSU. Had this since December 2019.

My new build is a Ryzen 5600 with an Asus Prime B550 motherboard, a Founders Edition 6700XT and a Seasonic 750W PSU.

The only things I kept were the 32GB Corsair DDR3200 ram kit (4x 8GB), my Coolermaster NR400 case and my storage (512gb Intel 660p nvme, SK Hynix 512GB M.2 SSD and a 2TB Western Digital Black HDD). I'll probably upgrade this again in another 3-4 years. I use this setup to work from home and do a lot of gaming. I don't really have any goals in mind,  I just upgrade when the need arises, or when my budget permits it.
 

Thats similar to my build from the same time.
I'm keeping mine for years because of how I use my PC.

I no longer use big spreadsheets or play intense games.
I use my PC for web browsing and youtube.

I don't need a better setup, even though all the new components are very nice and tempting.

[Avocado Diaboli]

22 hours ago, saintlouisbagels said:

I mean, just those 3 things alone are enough reason to never own a gaming PC or play video games.

 

Why stay at home playing video games if I could be out having dinner with friends, going to the theaters, or just generally enjoying analog life?

Why play video games if I could be hiking, rock climbing, running, gardening, etc?

Why even have a strong PC if all I need is a $300 laptop to learn everything I need from the internet?

 

These are not goals.... This is completely different lifestyle lol.

You know you can have more hobbies than one, right? 

 

Regarding the topic, I tend to buy a new PC every 5 years or so, typically when there's been enough development that a new build makes it worth upgrading to me. But then I stick with that PC without changing much outside of buying new storage. I don't hop from GPU to GPU every time a new one drops, because the ones I buy tend to be sufficient for those 5 years. I don't treat things I buy as rewards for doing other things. But hey, if it helps you achieve your goals to have a carrot dangling in front of you, who am I to tell you otherwise?

[Seccedonien]

My only goal is to save up enough money with the specific goal to buy the thing I want and not take it from savings for other stuff or with no goal attached to it (the money with no goal is just an emergency pool I can use for something unplanned).

 

I do have to say that I completely upgraded my setup last year, the one before that was starting to show it's age.