Have you sped up your upgrade cycle, slowed it down, or neither?

[Mondozei]

I've adjusted it. Im not that old that I bought my own CPU stuff in the previous, faster cycles. Back then we got our PC from my parent's work.

My first PC was purchased in late 2009, so I had an i5-750, which was released in Q3 2009. And I was prepared to get a new CPU within a few years but right at that time, progress began to slow down.

I waited until Haswell and got a new i5. A decent boost over my previous CPU.

Considering that IPC is now growing by 5% per year, I'm waiting at least 5 more years. I'm still upgrading my GPU every single year. Either I get the same GPU but in SLI/Crossfire or I get the new GPU. This year I got another GPU since the 800 series weren't that much better above my 290 for the price/performance ratio.(XFire)

I'm looking at ReRam with glee. I'm hoping that CNT will do what needs to be done for the CPU space. Silicone is already way overdue for a change for a new material. CNT can be a bridge which graphite can't, since it isn't as mature yet.

 

[Ramses]

Still have been upgrading GPU's too but even that's kinda stuck right now. I think I paid $300 for a pair of 280x's awhile ago, haven't found anything for the money that's too much of an upgrade really.

 

[gmaster456]

I usually do a complete PC overhaul every 3 years or so with incremental upgrades in between. In the last few years there is been little reason to upgrade aside from gaming. 4k video editing and gaming are probably the only reasons. Other than that, I think most people would probably be fine on a first gen i3 or even C2D. Everyday tasks really haven't gotten a lot more demanding and all these cheap atom powered, 2gb RAM notebooks and tablets flying off the shelves is an indicator that demands really haven't changed for the average users.

My parents are still using a 2010 $2-300 black friday special laptop with 2gb RAM, a SINGLE core AMD Sempron, Windows 7 and a 250gb HDD and a 2009 era gateway desktop.

For us enthusiasts our upgrade cycles are much faster.

 

[Kippa]

There are two main parts for my usage with my PC. The first is apps like photoshop and 3d rendering, the other is gaming. With regards to apps, quite a lot of them now allow processing offloading to the gpu, especially 3d rendering. I have upgraded my PC earlier this year with a six core and 32gb of ram. My new upgrade cycle now is not buying a totally new system, just upgrading the gfx card. My system should last 5 years and only realistically need to upgrade the gpu every year or two.

 

[ctk1981]

Whole system upgrades have came to a halt. Minor upgrades here and there, most recently a 280X video card. Now that 290x are so cheap that may be the next step before a major overhaul.

 

[rgallant]

I have 2 drifferent upgrade cycles off set
phatform
gpu's
both are gaming tools
when I think one is lacking/behind in game play , I'll update.

 

[VirtualLarry]

My parents are still using a 2010 $2-300 black friday special laptop with 2gb RAM, a SINGLE core AMD Sempron, Windows 7 and a 250gb HDD and a 2009 era gateway desktop.

I think I owned that one... Walmart special, 2GB RAM, Sempron 1800+ single-core, Windows 7? For $199 on BF one year? I thought that was a really nice little laptop, with decent build quality.

Edit: I think mine was a Gateway or E-Machine.

 

[gmaster456]

I think I owned that one... Walmart special, 2GB RAM, Sempron 1800+ single-core, Windows 7? For $199 on BF one year? I thought that was a really nice little laptop, with decent build quality.

It was a Semprion SI-42 as I recall. It was a toshiba

 

[mikeymikec]

I don't disagree but I was thinking more along the lines of "upgrade" as in desktop parts.

The waters have been muddied with regard to desktops with AIO PCs, basically notebooks strapped to the back of screens. One of my customers was suckered into getting an AMD C-range CPU in one of these and she rang me within the first year with performance problems directly tied to the performance of the processor, and all she wants to do is play games on FB.

AMD's CPUs have been ending up in a few cheap 'real' desktops of late, 2GHz dual-core ones, probably the equivalent of a 1.5GHz Celeron for the average user, I'm pretty sure they'll be showing their age in three years let alone the 8-10 I have expected from a decent desktop for the average user (which mine have been typically lasting) from the last ten years. Most of my desktops nowadays have SSDs in, so I'm hoping that they'll manage 12-15 years.

 

[Ramses]

That might be so, newest/slowest thing I've had any experience with is a laptop with an a8-6410, and it was great. Toshiba jacked up the rest of the laptop, but the CPU and chipset was fine for the few weeks I used it.

My five year old TK-57 Acer is still useable, not fast, but with an SSD and Windows 7, plenty useable. And it's ancient. Clean and well optimized, but ancient.

 

[billbobaggins87]

To the Op. slowed down. I used to change up every two years on the dot. this time around my 2500k might be getting replaced next year. depends on what i see and need. Games on the same 1080 res have not gotten that much more demanding. Next year will either be big changes jumping to 4k with gsync or the likewise, or a gpu upgrade with maybe a larger ssd. we shall see how the market looks

 

[railven]

To the Op. slowed down. I used to change up every two years on the dot. this time around my 2500k might be getting replaced next year. depends on what i see and need. Games on the same 1080 res have not gotten that much more demanding. Next year will either be big changes jumping to 4k with gsync or the likewise, or a gpu upgrade with maybe a larger ssd. we shall see how the market looks

Same here, upgrade window went from product refresh to every other year.

This time I hit a snag, GPU's didn't line up very well with new CPU launch and I was waiting to see what AMD had with the 290X (disappointed).

Now I know Skylake is 9-10 months away, but my 2600K feels so old. Fiancee bought me a Corsair 780T and I'd feel wrong sticking in the same parts I stuck into my Corsair 500R when she first bought me that one.

That itch is hard, priced out a 4970k+MSI z97 Gaming 5 for $330 (I got a few GC's).

What are the odds Skylake is just going to roflstomp Devil's Canyon? Perhaps if I unload my old parts fast the upgrade won't feel as such a side-grade.

 

[escrow4]

Same here, upgrade window went from product refresh to every other year.

This time I hit a snag, GPU's didn't line up very well with new CPU launch and I was waiting to see what AMD had with the 290X (disappointed).

Now I know Skylake is 9-10 months away, but my 2600K feels so old. Fiancee bought me a Corsair 780T and I'd feel wrong sticking in the same parts I stuck into my Corsair 500R when she first bought me that one.

That itch is hard, priced out a 4970k+MSI z97 Gaming 5 for $330 (I got a few GC's).

What are the odds Skylake is just going to roflstomp Devil's Canyon? Perhaps if I unload my old parts fast the upgrade won't feel as such a side-grade.

Don't forget Haswell is quite a bit faster than SNB in some games but especially video encoding - Intel not only tweaked the architecture but added 2 extra execution ports. If I were buying now I'd only go X99. Skylake is getting closer and closer.

 

[386user]

i buy a new laptop every next generation

 

[Xpage]

I keep my PC's for about 5 years, usually every 3rd to 4th cycle I upgrade. Sometimes I get a new GPU if needed but things vary.

I'll wait until I see the performance of skylake and decide what to do with my 2500k, I'd like DDR4 to be cheap, my CPU with HBM, and PCIe SSDs to be supported to boot from the OS natively.

 

[Engineer]

Slowed down, greatly. Have no need or desire to spend money on upgrading right now. Heck, have no desire so spend money on anything right now other than my retirement account, lol.

 

[lopri]

Longest upgrade cycles ever. I had a GeForce 8800 GTX for games since 2008 or so. I'm still using it in my secondary computer, but it's more for casual games instead of hardcore games. It was only upgraded this year, so that's about 6 years with the same video card. I've also had the same 6 core CPU since 2010, so that's 4 years and I have no intention of upgrading any time soon.

We are truly in the golden age of computing. My mom's computer is 4 years old and it's nowhere near needing an upgrade. I'm going to buy her a faster hard drive, but that's it.

How does what you describe in the first paragraph translate to "golden age" of computing? If anything it sounds more like a dark age.

In 2008 I would visit this sub-forum and NewEgg on a daily basis. I still visit this forum once in a while but I do not remember when my last visit to NewEgg was. My attitude on desktop computing has been "I could care less" in general.

 

[Morbus]

For me it's about the same, maybe a bit faster.

I've only ever upgraded when I need to, gaming wise. So it was 3/4 generations for the CPU and motherboard, and 2/3 generations for the GPU.

It's about the same these days, and I don't think it'll slow down. My 760 will probably last me another year, a year and a half, and my haswell will probably last me another 3 or four years tops, so it's all same old same old.

When I read this thread, it reads like a bunch of enthusiasts that lost the spark. While that is the way of things, more often than not, it's a bit sad. An upgrade every generation? That's so NOT needed. Ever. Except maybe twenty years ago, but not in the last decade or more for sure.

I come from a family that stretches the lifetime of stuff way past their usable life. I don't like that, but I also don't like spending money just to have the latest and the bestest just because. If I did, I can only imagine I'd get tired of it sooner or later anyway.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

For me it's about the same, maybe a bit faster.

I've only ever upgraded when I need to, gaming wise. So it was 3/4 generations for the CPU and motherboard, and 2/3 generations for the GPU.

It's about the same these days, and I don't think it'll slow down. My 760 will probably last me another year, a year and a half, and my haswell will probably last me another 3 or four years tops, so it's all same old same old.

When I read this thread, it reads like a bunch of enthusiasts that lost the spark. While that is the way of things, more often than not, it's a bit sad. An upgrade every generation? That's so NOT needed. Ever. Except maybe twenty years ago, but not in the last decade or more for sure.

I come from a family that stretches the lifetime of stuff way past their usable life. I don't like that, but I also don't like spending money just to have the latest and the bestest just because. If I did, I can only imagine I'd get tired of it sooner or later anyway.

Interesting perspective. There was a time when I'd keep a computer for its original intended purpose over a period up to six years. I had no interest in over-clocking or performance parts. Still, I can just say I skipped the IBM 286 between 8088 and 386; added a 486 to the "collection;" then a Pentium upgraded to "overdrive;" then Pentium II and III. skipped socket 423; built a socket-478 Northwood, followed by a Q6600 system and then my current 2[x]00K Sandy systems.

Once I contracted the enthusiast disease, perhaps my thinking about upgrades and money forced me into certain habits. Choosing computer cases, for instance. I was modding old 90's era tower cases through 2007. Acquired a CM Stacker midtower, then realized I didn't need aluminum and collected three HAF 922's.

I think I could get ten years out of a decent computer case. It is easily the one thing with a longer life-cycle, which can be extended with a little sheet-metal work. It does highlight an argument about spending too much money and time on "bling." If you only intend to use a case for three years, why spend big bucks on a case?

But that logic doesn't seem to affect our other choices and obsession with upgrades.

 

[gmaster456]

Next time I upgrade will probably when I get my tax return. I'll be due for one around that time anyway. I've been out of the gaming scene for the last couple years and I'm ready to get back into it. Planning a completely new system from the ground up around next spring.

 

[JBT]

Slowed down, with that said I did recently "upgrade" 4790K > 2500K > Q6600 > Opteron 365 > A64 3200+ > TBred 1700XP > 1.4 Thunderbird.

Didn't really notice much from the 2500K to the 4790K.

 

[DigDog]

well, i have never had a big budget for upgrades, but i would say i'm in the "i slowed" camp. in the last 10 years PCs were always slower than what i could use; i'd want (want, not necessarely being able to afford)the best GPU, watercooling, the best CPU, but with the haswell cycle i dont really crave high end components anymore.
my 4650k is great, my 770 is totally silent and doesnt raise a pillar of heat out of my PC (i actually get a draft of cold air from my system, which is annoying), my supercheap SSD is lightning fast and i have never, ever run out of memory... i simply cannot ask for more.

i have honestly looked at the Nv 900 series and went "meh".

(i would love a g-sync monitor though)

 

[BonzaiDuck]

well, i have never had a big budget for upgrades, but i would say i'm in the "i slowed" camp. in the last 10 years PCs were always slower than what i could use; i'd want (want, not necessarely being able to afford)the best GPU, watercooling, the best CPU, but with the haswell cycle i dont really crave high end components anymore.
my 4650k is great, my 770 is totally silent and doesnt raise a pillar of heat out of my PC (i actually get a draft of cold air from my system, which is annoying), my supercheap SSD is lightning fast and i have never, ever run out of memory... i simply cannot ask for more.

i have honestly looked at the Nv 900 series and went "meh".

Actually, I've begun to feel the same way. Supporting the family's digital needs, I was planning to build a new machine every year. Now my problem is different: the fam-damn-ily still likes their old LGA-775 systems -- I have all the parts needed to replace them, but getting the rest of the family to jump on the upgrade bandwagon is like pulling teeth. I need to keep pressuring them so I can get it done.

What Larry is asking in this thread leads in several directions. If the user-respondent only has a single computer, then it presents a particular upgrade scenario and life-cycle. If he/she has a household of several systems -- perhaps to include a server as we have here -- it suggests a different upgrade scenario and plan.

Some folks follow a religious pattern. They build a system, wait a year or two, put the motherboard, CPU and RAM on Ebay to move it in a reasonable turn-around time, and build their new Haswell (or whatever). I'm more inclined to squeeze use-life out of my builds. I can give the family hand-me-downs -- which is what they have and for which they're happy.

Part of the motivation is a wish to "stay on top." We're afraid we might settle into acceptance of aging technology for too long, then -- to wake up like Rip Van Winkle and to discover it has passed us by.

The other part of it is a desire to tinker -- with new parts, with overclock settings, with cooling alternatives.

So to me, it's sort of an optimization problem. How do I keep up enough, support the family, satisfy myself that I don't just have a low-end COSTCO machine, budget my money and limit my spending like grown-ups are supposed to do? It's easy for me to give myself an annual budget amount; it's harder to stick to budget.

 

[soccerballtux]

it would be slower if I didn't need the RAM thanks to first Vista, then Chrome. I'll have 32GB this cycle which I hope should last me longer than 8GB last cycle, which I thought would be enough for ever. Maybe this time it will. I sorta wish I had gone for 16GB modules, just to stick it to the man

 

[poohbear]

Slowed down to a standstill. Phenom X6 1100T. 16GB RAM. Samsung 830 SSD for the Linux OS. A couple of 1 TB HDDs for the data files.

I'm so overloaded with computing power for my needs, I won't be upgrading my computer until it breaks.

Huh? But that CPU is ancient. I used to have it and upgraded to 2500k a couple of years ago. Big difference!

Anyways ive slowed down too. The industry has shifted massively from computer power to computer efficiency for mobile. Mobile's where its at. I imagine i wont touch my current setup for 3~4 years except video card & maybe a PCIE SSD in future. But even gpu i only upgrade every 2~3 generations.