How often do you upgrade?

[ElZamo92]

I upgrade when ever I can afford it, which has been every couple of months . Since I bought my first mahine I've upgraded in this order: Added SSD + bigger HDD, changed stock cooler for an AIO, doubled the RAM, upgraded the CPU (from G3258 to 4790K), added M.2 SSD, upgraded GPU (from gtx 970 to GTX 1070), changed cases (to a smaller one), upgraded CPU/mobo/RAM/case (Ryzen 1700), added another HDD, added e second 1070. 

By now the only components I have kept from the start are the PSU and the 300GB 2.5" HDD I scavenged from a dead laptop I found in my office. 

[treeroy]

I upgrade parts when I feel they need upgrading - I don't care about keeping on top of having the best stuff. My CPU is an i5-4670K, had it a few years but it's very strong so I don't feel a need to upgrade any time soon. I only just upgraded my GPU from 3 years ago because I got a 1440p 144hz monitor and I want to make the most of that. otherwise I would have kept that 3 year old GPU for years.

 

I don't play many brand new games so doesn't really bother me.

 

I have never built a brand new PC. I bought a low power £400 computer when I was 15 and have been changing things and upgrading ever since. My beast now doesn't even slightly resemble that junk computer but it's been an evolution. I don't see a reason to build a new computer unless every single component you have is outdated, which is unlikely.

[Max_Settings]

Phone, every year, becasue I pay monthly, so it literally costs me like $40 extra to upgrade.

GPU: every 2-3 years

CPU: Probably every 4 years

Pretty much other stuff just whenever I need something or whenever I feel like it.

[Keg Ops]

Phone - 1 year

Desktop - 4 years 

Laptop - 3 years

 

These are just averages tho. Sometimes I might buy something sooner because of a big upgrade over the last version. 

[Gamerguy207]

Desktop (small upgrades) every 4-7 months 

 

new desktop every 5-7 years

 

new laptop every 2.5 years

[SlipperyPete]

On 6/30/2017 at 3:53 PM, DutchTexan said:

How often do you build yourself a whole new system vs how often do you incrementally upgrade hardware?

 

 

i started with an i5 4460, 4gbs

upgraded to a gtx 960

upgraded to 8gbs of ram

upgraded to ssd

upgraded to gtx 1070

 

the next upgrade will be one of two things. i will either upgrade motherboard cpu and ram all at the same time OR just go to 16gbs of ram if its cheap enough

[jessica123]

Phone 2

Laptop 3

Computer 5 

But sometimes I just can't help trying the latest, lol...

[IczerOne]

I haven't upgraded my pc seance 2001 and i am still using it with my new one. For me i use them till they die. Just cost to much to upgrade every few years.

[DutchTexan]

4 hours ago, IczerOne said:

I haven't upgraded my pc seance 2001 and i am still using it with my new one. For me i use them till they die. Just cost to much to upgrade every few years.

16 years. Whoa

[IczerOne]

yep Dutch 16 years. That is still a darn good computer. Right now i am using it to digitize my vinyl because  I cant find a sound card that has a fiber optic input and spdif input on it. So I am stuck using my Sound Blaster Audigy 2 but I need something updated.

[Scitesh]

well i got my pc at the end of 2013

i7 3770k on a z77deluxe with 8gb ram and a 750ti

the mobo died on me so picked up a h61 mobo(ps:late 16)

got 8more gb of ram (i guess in 2014/15)

and recently got a gtx1070

[MercuryRain]

On 6/30/2017 at 2:53 PM, DutchTexan said:

How often do you build yourself a whole new system vs how often do you incrementally upgrade hardware?

 

 

 

Build a whole new system:

 

Depends.

 

Why do I say that? Well, from the original computer that I built at college in 2014 the only thing that's legitimately left over from that build is the Power Supply and the RAM.  But ALL of that was incremental upgrades that just evolved into a whole new build.

 

2014 Original Build: 

Intel Core i5-4670K w/H100i Cooler

16GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3-2133

MSI Z87I Gaming-AC Mini-ITX Motherboard

MSI GTX 760 Mini-ITX Edition GPU

Corsair AX760 80+Platinum Power Supply

Corsair 250D Mini-ITX Case

 

2015 Upgrades and reasons:

GTX 760 to Reference GTX Titan (Moved from single 1080p to triple 1080p)

Core i5-4670K to Core i7-4770K (Had the i7 laying around after buying a computer and parting it out for more than I paid for it)

 

2016 Upgrades and reasons:

Reference GTX Titan to 2x EVGA GTX 970 SSC (Moved from triple 1080p to dual 1440p)

Corsair 250D to Fractal Design Node 804 (Moved from Single GPU to SLI)

MSI Z87I Gaming-AC to Asus Maximus VI Gene (Moved from Single GPU to SLI)

 

2017 Upgrades:

2x EVGA GTX 970 SSC to 1x EVGA GTX 1080Ti SC2 (Moved from dual 1440p to single 4K)

Added 16GB Kingston HyperX White DDR3-1866 for 32GB of RAM (Had them laying around after dismantling another computer)

 

Current Build:

Intel Core i7-4770K w/Corsair H100i Cooler

32GB of Mixed RAM (16GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3-2133 and 16GB Kingston HyperX White DDR3-1866) running at DDR3-1866

Asus Maximus VI Gene Motherboard

EVGA GTX 1080Ti SC2 GPU

Fractal Design Node 804 Case

Corsair AX760 80+ Platinum Power Supply

 

From here on I expect my CPU to last me to or through Cannonlake. At which point I will replace it with either Icelake or next-Gen Ryzen.

I also expect to basically be upgrading my GPU every gen or every other gen.

 

 

So...for simple terms:

I expect Platform (CPU/RAM/Mobo) to last about 6 years, but I will incrementally upgrade once every other year at the least.

[MEC-777]

I don't build whole new systems. I prefer to upgrade each component as needed. From my initial first "modern" gaming PC build back in September 2013, the only parts in my system that have remained untouched is the SSD and 8GB of Kingston ram. Everything else has been changed/upgraded over time.

[Majestic_Koala]

Quite curious on this one.

 

Im in no need of upgrade yet as only built it last year but want to know when you guys upgrade after x amount of years or do you just build a whole new system?

 

I heard every 3 years is about a good amount 

[stefanDB]

3 years isn't bad but it depends on how much you have to spend, how much you spend every time you upgrade, what you need the PC for and if you always want to play the newest AAA games at max quality or not

[LHJKO]

when ever i feel like its not enough 

[VVoltor]

Seriously? Do you really think there's a general rule of thumb for this? 

 

Obviously it all depends on way too many factors. What are you using your system for? What is your budget? How important is it to have the latest hardware? What gains can you get by upgrading? How powerful is the system you start out with? Etc....

 

Personally I like to upgrade my GPU every two generations or so, usually buying something mid-tier. Other components I'd get if I need them, like a bigger hard drive, or if there's a really good deal on.

[Mr.Meerkat]

When you feel like you need to...

 

I mean I was fine with the performance of my first laptop for 8 years so...its down to what you need/want?  

[Sir Asvald]

1 minute ago, VVoltor said:

Seriously? Do you really think there's a general rule of thumb for this? 

 

Obviously it all depends on way too many factors. What are you using your system for? What is your budget? How important is it to have the latest hardware? What gains can you get by upgrading? How powerful is the system you start out with? Etc....

 

Personally I like to upgrade my GPU every two generations or so, usually buying something mid-tier. Other components I'd get if I need them, like a bigger hard drive, or if there's a really good deal on.

There is and it's called Moore's law. My system 4th i5 Gen CPU is fine but for what I need it's slow. Rendering and game play. I could get an i7 4790K but it costs £300. I could get a new Ryzen system for around £400 with a new motherboard and ram and it would last me more than the i7. 

 

 

[VVoltor]

3 minutes ago, Abdul201588 said:

There is and it's called Moore's law. 

 

 

No, that is not what Moore's Law is. Moore's Law says the number of transistors on integrated circuits doubles every 2 years. This does not relate to performance. This also has nothing to do with the performance requirements of applications over time. 

Obviously, it is completely unrelated to subjective things such as customer's needs or the willingness of people to invest in new hardware.

 

Some people upgrade their system every year, whether due to personal preference or professional needs. Some people are fine upgrading certain parts every now and then (as long as it can play CS:GO).

Others, like my parents, are happy with their 8 year old PC and would rather spend their extra money elsewhere.

 

No rule of thumb. No 'law'. Too many unrelated and completely subjective variables.

[paddy-stone]

If recent history rings true, then a couple of times per year

 

Seriously though, if I ignore the change from the i7 6700K to the ryzen 7 1700 a few months back, then it's more like 3-4 years or so... but there's no rule of thumb really, just when your needs/usage changes and/or you feel your current system could do with a performance boost. For someone that mostly uses theirs as an HTPC or youtube/web browsing machine, they can go many years before the need to upgrade generally, unless they need I/O upgrades, but even then most times an expansion card would sort out that problem, so very small upgrades.

 

[MedievalMatt]

26 minutes ago, Majestic_Koala said:

Quite curious on this one.

 

Im in no need of upgrade yet as only built it last year but want to know when you guys upgrade after x amount of years or do you just build a whole new system?

 

I heard every 3 years is about a good amount 

I usually upgrade GPUs every couple generations.  I tend to buy the maximum RAM my motherboard support out of the gate, and so CPU/mobo/RAM all get replaced when either one no longer fits my needs.  I keep HDDS and SSDs until they die typically only replacing them after the fact.

 

My current system in my Sig, was purchased this time ish last year to replace my R9290X/FX8320 (OC'D) rig.

[Arika]

when ever something isnt working right anymore. or if the games/program i run dont work well on my hardware

[TetraSky]

For me, it's whenever you can't run whatever game you want to play at your desired framerate/quality settings/resolution.

 

I could no longer play modern games at playable framerate(like dying light, dead rising 3, shadow of mordor, etc...) with my 5870 so I upgraded to a 7970. I couldn't play Space Engineers without running out of memory so I replace my 8GB with 16GB.

Everything else is 7 years old by now. Sure the CPU is starting to feel dated by now, which is why I'm currently saving up to buy a new whole new PC instead of upgrading, but it can still play the games I want to play so I'm not in any hurry.(Though after buying a 4k monitor like 2 weeks ago, I do feel the itch to upgrade... just waiting for the mining craze to die down and for prices to go back to normal... should take a couple more months I guess...)

 

There's no real specific "time frame". If you have the money to upgrade and you do feel it's necessary, upgrade, even if it's only been a few months.

There's also those who feel like they need the latest and greatest all the time, those people just have money burning holes in their wallet and you shouldn't imitate them.

[mrchow19910319]

Normally i do incremental upgrade. I don't have enough money to buy the "dream machine " I desired for.

 

I had my 1st custom made pc around 2012-2013, and I upgrade it bit by bit. Then sold it piece by piece 2 months ago. 

 

Now using a laptop as my daily driver cos I don't play games anymore. 

 

I still have the itch to build a pc (mini-itx system) for myself but I don't see that happening any time soon.