Desktop CPU upgrades have now shifted to a 20 year cycle.

[ninaholic37]

They're going to keep focusing on mobile until 2026 so not much point in upgrading your 2006 Core 2 Duo before that, in my opinion. I don't need to play CPU/GPU intensive games so I'll be sticking with buying Pentium M laptops and putting Linux on them for quite a while (forever? :awe: ).

 

[ehume]

They're going to keep focusing on mobile until 2026 so not much point in upgrading your 2006 Core 2 Duo before that, in my opinion. I don't need to play CPU/GPU intensive games so I'll be sticking with buying Pentium M laptops and putting Linux on them for quite a while (forever? :awe: ).

You made me smile.

Seriously: after I swapped the old HD for an SSD. My wife has loved her 2008 machine. It's only 7 years old this month, but it's fast enough for desktop work: Facebook, email, browsing, recipes. I've been on it. Not appreciably slow. Why do I bother with my i7 4770k?

 

[frozentundra123456]

I have a Core 2 (E4500) from 2006 and a Sandy Bridge quad i5. I upgraded for gaming, but the difference in day to day use was much more than I expected. They both have conventional hard drives, so the difference is not due to an SSD. I did not expect much improvement in day to day use, but in my experience the difference is remarkable, and would definitely be worth the cost, even if I did not game at all. Now if you are coming from a high end Core 2 duo, or have a good overclock, it might be different. But going from a stock E4500 to a stock i5 2320 was a huge upgrade in day to day use.

I do have a feeling going from my i5 to haswell or skylake might not be as noticeable in normal usage, but stock Core 2 duos are getting *really* long in the tooth.