Anyone feel that they DONT need to upgrade?

[toyota]

I'm still running this 939 System as it handles any games I've been running.
Heck, I'm not even OC'ing anything though the option is easily there if I needed too.

I've bounced around maybe getting one of the newer faster HD's, but I don't really need too and I'm a bit leary on their reliability.

single core cpu? ouch. no way you are getting playable framerates in all modern games with that cpu. that poor 9600gt is probably only getting about 60% utilized.

 

[jlee]

I was going to hold off with my E5200 @ 3.24Ghz for a bit, then the motherboard took a dump so I'm going with an i5 750. I intend on rebuilding the E5200 though - I think it'll live on for quite some time.

 

[zerocool84]

single core cpu? ouch. no way you are getting playable framerates in all modern games with that cpu. that poor 9600gt is probably only getting about 60% utilized.

He's probably playing older games. That doesn't even meet the minimum requirements for most games now-a-days.

 

[fffblackmage]

Was gonna upgrade to Q6600, but not with prices at $150-ish on ebay...
Was gonna upgrade to 5830 too, but that's not possible if they don't release the card...
Oh well, my rig is chugging along pretty fine so far anyways.

 

[wanderer27]

He's probably playing older games. That doesn't even meet the minimum requirements for most games now-a-days.

Sins of Solar Empire
Oblivion (probably the most demanding)
Settlers VI

Those are probably the newest games I've got that I play regularly, aside from some Indie titles.

Most of the newer stuff either isn't that interesting or is DRM'd to hell and I won't touch it.

The main reason I picked up the 9600GT is that it's runs a LOT cooler than my 7800GTX and uses way less power.

I'm not really seeing all that many titles really even making use of multi-cores still, it's probably the GHz and OC'ing making the biggest difference.

 

[toyota]

Sins of Solar Empire
Oblivion (probably the most demanding)
Settlers VI

Those are probably the newest games I've got that I play regularly, aside from some Indie titles.

Most of the newer stuff either isn't that interesting or is DRM'd to hell and I won't touch it.

The main reason I picked up the 9600GT is that it's runs a LOT cooler than my 7800GTX and uses way less power.

I'm not really seeing all that many titles really even making use of multi-cores still, it's probably the GHz and OC'ing making the biggest difference.

so you dont think newer games are making use of more than one core? I hate to break it to but that is not true at all. in fact pretty much every game made in the last few years takes advantage of more than one core. also your cpu is much slower clock for clock compared to new cpus so even if there is a single threaded game your cpu would be a limiting factor. really there are plenty of new games that would barely be playable with that old single core cpu. heck there are some games that would be single digit slideshow for you.

 

[wanderer27]

so you dont think newer games are making use of more than one core? I hate to break it to but that is not true at all. in fact pretty much every game made in the last few years takes advantage of more than one core. also your cpu is much slower clock for clock compared to new cpus so even if there is a single threaded game your cpu would be a limiting factor. really there are plenty of new games that would barely be playable with that old single core cpu. heck there are some games that would be single digit slideshow for you.

I haven't run any of them (slideshow) yet.

I'm not saying they're not out there, just that I probably haven't picked them up for one of the reasons I stated.

I glanced over this the other day and didn't really seen too many out of the dozens and dozens of games released the last few years:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=232212

Oh, there are probably a few newer games I'd like to pick up, but until things change (as they did for Settlers VI) I won't be bothering with them.

 

[Marty502]

My Oblivion performance rocketed when I went from a A64 to my current X2 chip, same Mhz.
At least 40% more FPS, and Oblivion's optimizations for dual core CPUs were pretty basic.

Just sayin'.

 

[Soulkeeper]

excellent thread, I'm with the op on this one.
My q9450 with 8GB of ram has held up well and will likely keep me happy for some time to come.
i5/i7 don't interest me at all for some reason.
I'm not a fan of the trend toward hotter/bigger with many components either. I will wait until something comes out that uses less power than my current setup but increases speed enough to warrant the upgrade. I have not seen that yet.

 

[dguy6789]

I'm not upgrading because: 1. My system handles everything I currently use it for well 2. There are very few PC games that are coming out in the next several years that interest me at all and my current machine will play those games just fine

 

[wanderer27]

My Oblivion performance rocketed when I went from a A64 to my current X2 chip, same Mhz.
At least 40% more FPS, and Oblivion's optimizations for dual core CPUs were pretty basic.

Just sayin'.

My 7800GTX with an A64 3700+ ran Oblivion pretty smooth even at max settings. Actually it seemed to run smoother at higher settings than what I normally use

The FX and 9600GT add just a bit more punch.

Yeah, I'm sure things could be even more fluid with the extra horsepower available from the newer parts, but some of this (newer parts) is getting out of hand.
We're rapidly getting to the point where we're going to need KW rated PSU's to power these Systems anymore (especially the Graphics cards) - and the heat levels just make me uncomfortable even if it is "safe" .

I hate to say this because I don't want to derail the thread, but DRM is probably the main holdback for upgrading. Since I won't buy a DRM'd game I won't be getting the newer more demanding titles (for quite some time at least - if/when they remove it), so there really is no need to upgrade.

 

[cbn]

http://www.fudzilla.com/content/view/17560/1/

Apparently a lot of people don't feel the need to upgrade.

Intel did a really good Job with Core 2.

 

[soccerballtux]

http://www.fudzilla.com/content/view/17560/1/

Apparently a lot of people don't feel the need to upgrade.

Intel did a really good Job with Core 2.

As long as Intel keeps chugging ahead I think we'll be fine CPU wise with AMD. They provide plenty of "enough" performance to keep even crossfire rigs running butter smooth.
My current rig was such a deal I almost value it more than having an i7 920 or something.

 

[nyker96]

I dont need to upgrade

max with your rig you should say that you don't need to upgrade for years! :]

personally my tiny x4 620 seem to handle my mostly web browsing, compilation work and occasional gaming/encoding just fine for now. waiting to see BD before next upgrade path.

 

[Rhoxed]

As long as Intel keeps chugging ahead I think we'll be fine CPU wise with AMD. They provide plenty of "enough" performance to keep even crossfire rigs running butter smooth.
My current rig was such a deal I almost value it more than having an i7 920 or something.

I feel the same way with my sig rigs. Everytime i was ready to buy, AMD has the product that caught my eye (i am not brand loyal even though it seems so in my sig, i run a p4 3.8 + Nvidia FX5800XT as my 2nd HTPC) 5 total rigs in the house, 3 AMD/ATI 2 Intel/Nvidia.

My 720BE(x4) was the best 120$ CPU purchase....and only 120$ cpu purchase(all others were 180$+) i have ever bought. In fact i would say it is my favorite CPU I have ever owned..... extra core and a 1.1GHZ overclock is more than anyone could ask from a "budget" cpu.

As far as OP's question I am more than content with my rigs until bulldozer and Intel's next gen cpu's are released, then again i get to decide which camp gets the gold this round haha

 

[zuffy]

Honestly, my secondary/backup PC is more than enough for my usage. I don't play games but I do use Photoshop and encode videos occasionally. Other than storage upgrade in the future, my secondary/backup PC should be more than enough for the next couple of years. My main PC will be around for even longer.

 

[SmCaudata]

I don't do much on my PC except game and light encoding and such. The 9550 is plenty of processor. It looks like there are some 775 motherboards with USB3 coming out...if others launch with SATA6 and USB3 I may get a new motherboard and SSD eventually. Likely I'll wait for the next architecture and skip this generation.

My vid card on the other hand... As soon as I cannot keep things maxed I'll swap out since my CPU is plenty powerful to go with any GPU out there now.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

I'm not even close to thinkimg about upgrading.

I've got a Q8200 @ 3Ghz, and a 4830 heavily overclocked when used. To be honest, nothing is really going to slow me down at 1680x1050. I don't foresee my CPU being too slow for another 3 or so years. In between maybe i'll get a new video card to max my games out.

Because of steam, i'll be playing tons of "old" games in the coming years anyway.

 

[Painman]

3.2 Q6600.

Had it for more than a year now. With an OC'd 5850, I'm feeling rather saturated. I don't play every damn thing that comes out anymore, and I'm sure my next game purchase (BS2) will be chewed up and spat out. It's not much more demanding than the last one, from 2.5 years ago.

 

[grimpr]

The year of the mass exodus, new complete platform/cpu purchases, doesnt seem to arrive soon. Steam Hardware Survey from over 25 million users agrees to that.

 

[gevorg]

I usually upgrade when there is a new micro-architecture, not just "revision". I really expect the CPU power to double or so, not just give 10-30% improvements.

Since I got a bit late into Core 2 (Q9550), it looks like I'm skipping Nehalem and waiting until Sandy Bridge.

 

[biostud]

I would like to upgrade, but the lack of 32nm quads makes me buy $5 steam games instead.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

I would like to upgrade, but the lack of 32nm quads makes me buy $5 steam games instead.

 

[coldpower27]

Still fine on my E8400 + GTX 280. I am looking for 100% improvement minimum before I by something...

Maybe the Core i7 970, could skip the Quad-Core gen entirely. Or maybe I will wait for an even more refined Sandy Bridge.

For me now it makes sense to upgrade if I can't play a game at the level I want it to, and not just for the sake of doing so.

I rather upgrade my OS drive to an Intel SSD then anything else. That would provide some tangible benefits.

GTX 480 may provide a good boost, I will have to see, I will probably guess 70-80% improvement, compared to my GPU so I may or may not hold off, it has to be very green, like the 5800 Series is with the ability to power down parts when not in use.

 

[Mloot]

I've been using the same setup for awhile now (Phenom 9650 @ 2.5ghz, 690G mobo, 4gb ddr2, hd3870), and I have not felt the need to upgrade for some time. I rarely game, and the 9650 handles my video encoding tasks just fine.

The last game I really played was Dungeon Siege, and that took me nearly three years to complete the single player campaign. I tend to play a game for a few days, put it away, and then come back to it in a few months when I feel the desire to continue. The only game I have been looking forward to playing is Dragon Age Origins, and I'm not sure if my current setup is up to snuff. I have a 19" monitor at 1440x900.