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

[Ramses]

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.

Ancient or not, it's still plenty fast for even what I'd call moderate gaming given some decent GPU, I was running one barely a year ago. An 8350 was a slight upgrade, a 9590 was slighter still. Any of them were more than enough for 95% of even my relatively heavy general use and moderate gaming. Upgrades just aren't the "upgrade" they used to be unless you want to run a bunch of benchmarks to justify it or you're using specific software that needs something or serious gaming. I bought an i7-4510u laptop the other week, put a 500gig ssd in it and 16gb ram, set it up as my work/daily system, can't tell the difference from my desktop other than in a few games (840m vs xfire 280x). It's all "fast". Even a "new" OS like 8 doesn't phase any of them, Microsoft used to drive my computer upgrades as much as anything lol

I guess it's good all in all though right? Boring maybe, but good.
I put my 9590 and 280x's up FS but it's just boredom, figured I'd do a Haswell and a single NV GPU just to see how the other half lives. The really new x99 stuff is too $ to bother with considering a 4790k or such is technically a good bit faster than what I've got and I doubt I'll be able to tell a difference even with it. I miss going from a 486 to a Pentium, or trying to squeeze every mhz out of a celly 300 because it helped even just general use, but it's just not the case anymore and I can't get into overclocking or buying just for the sake of it. Maybe it's old age, I dunno.

And I miss SCSI too dammit. SSD's are so cheap and fast and easy. I remember putting my first pair of like 30gig Raptors in software RAID and beating up on my buddies $$$$ U320 SCSI setup years and years ago, I knew things were taking a turn.

Computers are too easy now.

rant over...

 

[Dadofamunky]

I might get a bigger SSD eventually and bigger hard drives. But the only reason I upgraded from a 2500K to a 2600K was because my board from 2010 borked and I needed to replace it. This is probably the longest cycle I've been on since I started building PCs back in 1985.

 

[RaistlinZ]

I used to go 3-4 years in between. Went from an Athlon 3200+ to a i7-930, which was a massive upgrade of course. Then to a i7-4770k a few years later just for fun.

Now I have a 5820K @ 4.5Ghz and I don't plan on upgrading again anytime soon.

 

[CP5670]

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.

I'm still using a Stacker in my main machine that I got some time in 2005. Given how the industry is moving towards laptops and mobile devices, I might never change it. At one point, I had the mindset that a case doesn't contribute to performance and is not worth spending much money on (although this one did cost $130+$40 window panel), but I've kept all my cases for ages, so there is an argument for paying more for one.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I'm still using a Stacker in my main machine that I got some time in 2005. Given how the industry is moving towards laptops and mobile devices, I might never change it. At one point, I had the mindset that a case doesn't contribute to performance and is not worth spending much money on (although this one did cost $130+$40 window panel), but I've kept all my cases for ages, so there is an argument for paying more for one.

One thing that makes a Stacker midtower a candidate for successive use or "redeployment" is that hinged plastic fan-frame inside the left side-panel. Just as example, you could mod the frame enough to use a single 200mm BitFenix Spectre Pro fan, block off any "leaks" with art-board or Lexan, and probably still be able to use 4x 140 or 4x120 fans as originally intended at some later time. It also was one of those few case models that came with caster wheels, even small ones. That's basically what I did with my HAF cases without so much as a single drill or cut to case metal.

It's definitely a "keeper." But then, so are my HAF cases made from SECC steel and priced at something like $50 or so less. What I'd like to do with those is to build something like the hinged plastic frame of the Stacker. I'm more at loss for finding a "hinge" option than for building the plastic frame.

 

[avx81]

Slowed down. In almost 6 years time only had the need to replace video card. I was considering picking up 4790k or 5820k then oc it but the cost for such a minor upgrade in gaming is not worth it to me. Money is not an issue it's just that I see no point unless something breaks or there is some kind of awesome breakthrough in tech.

I have had that "itch" to upgrade for some time now. Hoping we see some interesting things at CES

 

[MiddleOfTheRoad]

Slowed way down myself..... Also stopped buying dedicated video cards for some of my desktops (which was unthinkable to me 5 years ago), but integrated graphics have come a long way.

 

[repoman0]

I'm sitting on a 2500k @ 4.0GHz, 8GB DDR3, and 280x. I just got the 280x, before that I had an HD5770 from years ago that was still doing the job just fine at 1920x1200 -- Skyrim even with the upgraded textures and all highest settings was totally playable. But, I grabbed a Dell 27" 2560x1440 monitor so it was time to upgrade the GPU.

I also just ordered a $90 ASUS P8Z68-V Pro to replace my -V LX, pretty much entirely for the upgraded onboard sound and maybe a bonus few hundred MHz OC at the same voltage due to better power distribution (aka I really want to upgrade my stuff for the fun of playing with something new but can't actually justify it). My board is going for $50-60 so that's a cheap upgrade and the onboard sound on this one is terrible. I ordered 2x8GB of DDR3 not because I need it but because it was cheap and I figure I'll keep this combo of parts around to hook up to a TV or something once I finally do upgrade to some fancy 6-8 core Intel CPU and DDR4.

 

[CP5670]

One other reason I space out my upgrades more is to maintain software compatibility. I'm more interested in running all my existing games and programs perfectly than having bleeding edge performance. I held off upgrading my OS and video card for many years for mainly this reason. I'm still occasionally finding games that used to work fine but have problems now. There is usually a workaround for them somewhere, but it makes me invest extra time into finding that, which I would prefer not to do in my limited gaming time.

One thing that makes a Stacker midtower a candidate for successive use or "redeployment" is that hinged plastic fan-frame inside the left side-panel. Just as example, you could mod the frame enough to use a single 200mm BitFenix Spectre Pro fan, block off any "leaks" with art-board or Lexan, and probably still be able to use 4x 140 or 4x120 fans as originally intended at some later time. It also was one of those few case models that came with caster wheels, even small ones. That's basically what I did with my HAF cases without so much as a single drill or cut to case metal.

It's definitely a "keeper." But then, so are my HAF cases made from SECC steel and priced at something like $50 or so less. What I'd like to do with those is to build something like the hinged plastic frame of the Stacker. I'm more at loss for finding a "hinge" option than for building the plastic frame.

Yes, it's a great case overall. The quality is not perfect and it does have some quirks but I like how it's huge and highly customizable. It's actually mostly steel, but has aluminum front and side panels. I like this better than all aluminum cases, which tend to vibrate and make more noise.

Unfortunately, the window panel doesn't have that fan grill on the side. I still prefer it to the stock panel though since the grill only supports smaller fans by default, even though it's much bigger and could be modded like you say. The case has plenty of fans as it is. I've used cable ties to strap on two extra 120mm fans in the front drive bay area (for a total of three), and have two 80mm fans in the power supply slot on top (the actual PSU is at the bottom and draws outside air from the bottom grill). I use the casters on mine as well, which makes it easier to take down when changing out stuff.

 

[tortillasoup]

speaking of old computers, anybody know of a place to get 5-8 year old computers? I need to replace an aging P4 system with only a 2.2ghz processor.

 

[RaistlinZ]

speaking of old computers, anybody know of a place to get 5-8 year old computers? I need to replace an aging P4 system with only a 2.2ghz processor.

Why not just get a cheap current Dell or something? Are you running programs that will only work on Windows XP and whatnot?

 

[skipsneeky2]

This 770 of mine feels so old,there has been 6 whole cards that came out that are faster then mine.This is the first time since 2007 i haven't had a current generation card in my system.Then of course there's most likely a 390x/980ti about due anytime i am certain of it.

Skylake for cpu does interest me a tiny bit but if its a incremental upgrade i will just hold off for maybe a refresh.

 

[tortillasoup]

Why not just get a cheap current Dell or something? Are you running programs that will only work on Windows XP and whatnot?

i don't want to spend money yet all I hear is people on this forum dumping computers in the trash that are way better than what I have.

 

[Ramses]

i don't want to spend money yet all I hear is people on this forum dumping computers in the trash that are way better than what I have.

I think they exaggerate a bit, but there are really cheap upgrades from a p4 to be had.

 

[VirtualLarry]

speaking of old computers, anybody know of a place to get 5-8 year old computers? I need to replace an aging P4 system with only a 2.2ghz processor.

Speak to our member cbn, he has posted some threads on his adventures buying a cheap Core2-era rig from arrowdirect.com during their 50%-off sale, and then upgrading it with a quad-core 771 CPU, after doing the mod for that, then adding a low-budget GPU, for a budget gaming rig.

But I'm currently unaware of where to get a Core2-era machine for free. (Unless you happen to be near me, in which case I'd give you one. But I won't ship them.)

 

[skipsneeky2]

But I'm currently unaware of where to get a Core2-era machine for free. (Unless you happen to be near me, in which case I'd give you one. But I won't ship them.)

Second hand stores have been excellent for bargains,sometimes the machines don't work and you buy them for parts and often times someone didn't set a jumper right or fully install a memory module and i get a fully working computer for a couple bucks

 

[ctk1981]

Odd how I initially respond to this thread, then go ahead and perform a major upgrade. First complete overhaul in 3+ years.

I feel bad sitting on a bunch of core2/P4 machines....Im not sure if its even worth the time and effort to part them out. I may end up dumping them. Shame. I even have one of the first dell 24" LCD's that cost an arm and a leg initially..just sitting there in the garage collecting dust.

 

[bigboxes]

It's all about priorities for me. I've only got so much in my budget for my tech hobbies. I had to do a new build on my file server earlier in the year. The mobo failed on a second refurb mobo. Decided to bite the bullet and got the lowest clocked AMD APU (2.5Ghz dual core Trinity) to do the job. Full ATX mobo to handle my older PCI controller cards, another 4Gb of ram (total of 8Gb) and an 128gb Samsung EVO SSD and it's zippier than it ever was. Plus, I've had to upgrade failed drives and increase storage space. I have been switching to 4TB drives to slowly replace the older 1.5/2TB drives as I can afford to.

Wife's pc finally gave up the ghost early summer. Upgraded her to a quad-core AMD APU (4GHz 7850k), 8gb of ram, Antec 430 EarthWatts PSU and another 128gb Samung EVO SSD. She couldn't be happier.

My main rig is still the behemoth, but it's showing it's age. I wanted to upgrade my monitor to some ungodly wide LG that was reviewed here on AT this last year and realized that I needed more horsepower to push it. Well, after five years I thought I deserved a new rig so I have been slowly working towards that goal. Here are the parts I have acquired so far:

• Antec P280 Mid Tower Case
• SeaSonic Platinum SS-860XP2 PSU
• G.Skill Trident X DDR3-1600 CL7-8-8-24 8Gb x 4
• Cooler Master Nepton 240M CPU Water Cooling System
• SanDisk Extreme Pro SDSSDXPS-480G-G25

Now, I'm just in need of the cpu, mobo and video card. It's hard to wait, but I've made it this far. It won't be much longer. I could put it on credit, but I'm trying to work down my debt so I want to pay cash for the new parts. Then they'll come out with new stuff that will make my new supercomputer obsolete. LOL

 

[RaistlinZ]

There's probably some more headroom in your i7-920, but I totally get the desire to upgrade.

 

[bigboxes]

There's probably some more headroom in your i7-920, but I totally get the desire to upgrade.

Yeah, but then I'd have to increase the fan speeds and that would increase SPL. Not a fan of loud PCs just to get a high overclock. Of course, the other problem is that the 4890 is pumping major heat into my system. Never was built for high OCing. Just wanted high performance with low noise.

I've been itching for years to upgrade, but like the sentiment of this thread says it all. The performance has never been lacking. My desire to upgrade is not due to something lacking. It is due to me wanting to do/have more!

 

[escrow4]

i don't want to spend money yet all I hear is people on this forum dumping computers in the trash that are way better than what I have.

An Iphone is faster, so is a Note 4. Seriously. Throw it out the window and buy a 5820K or something.

 

[tortillasoup]

Odd how I initially respond to this thread, then go ahead and perform a major upgrade. First complete overhaul in 3+ years.

I feel bad sitting on a bunch of core2/P4 machines....Im not sure if its even worth the time and effort to part them out. I may end up dumping them. Shame. I even have one of the first dell 24" LCD's that cost an arm and a leg initially..just sitting there in the garage collecting dust.

sell em, they're still worth something online.

 

[2is]

Slowed down quite a bit. My sig machine is one I build when Ivy Bridge first came out about 2.5 years ago. I started out with a single 680 and bought a second hand 680 about a year later for SLI. My next upgrade was just this month when I added a 1TB SSD.

This is likely the configuration I'll be sticking with for sometime. I don't expect to upgrade the board/CPU for at least another 3 years which would give me 5-6 years on this platform. I MAY toss in a GPU upgrade sometime before then if an absolutely killer game comes out that's a graphical juggernaut.

 

[Zstream]

Slowed down drastically!! I went to upgrading cpu/ram every other year and I've been using an i5 2400 with 16gb ram, 128gb ssd with 1tb data drive. I upgraded my gpu a year or so ago to a r9 270x

 

[ronopp]

Just went from I52500k to I7 4790 on a z97 board just because the itch was needing a scratch. also did a gpu from a 670 to 970. built the 25k in 2011