Weekend Open Forum: How frequently do you upgrade your PC?

Just replaced a 9-year old computer. Had added a second hard drive and a DVD burner to it. Had replaced the graphics card after 2 years because something happened to it. Went cheap... overclocked version of what fried. New computer has a giant hard drive and lots of memory. Only forseeable upgrade might be a Blue-Ray.
 
Ran a e5200 + HD2600 for a few years and just upgraded to an i5 3570k + HD7850 and a small SSD cache drive. Going to run this for quite a long while, maybe in 3 years I will do a platform upgrade with DDR4 + Intel/AMD chip of the day. Might swap my 7850 for something stronger if I can get a good buyer sometime around the end of the year.
 
Been running a Z68 + 2500K for nearly 2 years now and I won't be upgrading until Haswell-E and DDR4. Ivy Bridge was underwhelming and Haswell doesn't seem to be much better. I think I'll just stick to GPU upgrades for another 12-18 months and then make a decision.
 
My desktop gets a CPU+RAM+Motherboard upgrade roughly every 3 years. The video card gets upgraded a bit more frequently, but not more often than every 2 years. I used to do an HDD upgrade whenever I ran out of storage, but since I started storing most media on a NAS, I no longer have that issue.

My last upgrade was from a 1GB HD5770 to a 1GB HD7850 about half a year ago. Probably the best value I have ever gotten with a video card purchase.

I'm currently running a 2500k at 4.0GHz and I have absolutely no desire to upgrade it. It still runs everything I throw at it without breaking a sweat, so it should easily last at least another year. However, the 3.5 year old 2TB Hitachi drive I'm using might be in for a replacement, as I wouldn't be surprised if it decided to die soon, but so far no issues :) I might also make the jump from 8GB to 16GB soon as RAM is pretty cheap, but for now I rarely run out of main memory.

Old hardware either gets sold or passed on to relatives.
 
I'm limited to the 955BE I bought when I built my latest rig, 2 years ago. So no CPU upgrades for me.

But I bumped the RAM up to 8GB, added an SSD and I'll soon add a 7870XT.
 
Just keep adding/replacing bits as I can afford them.

Completely different hardware than when I started building it 5 years ago, but strangely I still think of it as the same pc :)
 
I upgraded both my boxes last year to Core I7-based motherboards (Asus's P8Z77-V Premium), 16GB of DDR3 memory and a few other components. Usually I replace the video card once a year or 18 months while new system builds are done every few years.

Recently, I added 16X speed Blu-ray burners and 24X DVD writers to each box (I already had 14X Blu-ray burners) and before that I replaced my X-Fi Titanium cards with Creative's new SoundBlaster Z card. My goal is to make sure I can play the latest games at their highest detail setting at 1920x1080 and I also like having good hardware in my boxes.
 
I upgrade whenever there is a new Intel architecture change. Waiting for Haswell to pop and I plan to buy $2000 worth of parts. Will usually last me 4 - 5 years.
 
3-4 years, but I'm still rocking my 07' build - its getting to the point thought I will not be able to run newer games around the corner, Metro Last light for example... :/

itching for a new PC

Core2Quad 9300 2.5GHz
GA-EP45T-USB3P
8GB DDR3 Corsair Dominator GT 1600mhz
2 - Diamond Radeon HD 5850's xfire
OCZ vertex 4 128GB main OS drive
OCZ vertex 3 60GB storage.
 
My first couple desktops I replaced graphics cards when games wouldn't play on them anymore lol, then replaced them when they got too slow & out of date, but the last two times I've bought laptops I've gone to the higher end of the feature spectrum so they'll last the longest.

Had my last laptop for 7 years, and replaced the hard drive after 5, then kept it until it died. My current I've had 2.5 years and I'm adding more RAM & a SSD. I probably won't go all the way to 7 years before replacing it this time though.

:)
 
My first couple desktops I replaced graphics cards when games wouldn't play on them anymore lol, then replaced them when they got too slow & out of date, but the last two times I've bought laptops I've gone to the higher end of the feature spectrum so they'll last the longest.

Had my last laptop for 7 years, and replaced the hard drive after 5, then kept it until it died. My current I've had 2.5 years and I'm adding more RAM & a SSD. I probably won't go all the way to 7 years before replacing it this time though.

:)

Just curious but did you build your desktops in the past or were these pre-fabbed units from Dell, HP, etc?
 
I'll build it with an old drive and then look for a good price on a 500GB HD.

So, I found a 500MB WD Black 7200 rpm with 16MB cache at NewEgg for a net of $50 . Only 2.5" but I have rigged these in 3.5" by using 0.5" plastic tubing and an extra set of screws - since the ground is established through the cables, I guess I am OK having it float. Amazing thing about upgrades is that they can happen when you least expect them. For me, that is the fun.
 
Just curious but did you build your desktops in the past or were these pre-fabbed units from Dell, HP, etc?

They were craptastic IBM & HP lol - I'm not advanced enough yet to build my own. I'm afraid of the soldering lol
 
What do you guys do with your old hardware?[/q

I try to find a use for it. You can setup a better nas, give it to a kid or a friend, maybe a parent. I have also sold MBs, CPUs and monitors on ebay and Craigslist, for scrap and a recycle drop off.
 
They were craptastic IBM & HP lol - I'm not advanced enough yet to build my own. I'm afraid of the soldering lol

Building a PC is not as hard you think. No soldering is required and if you're interested there are videos on Youtube that show how to construct a box from scratch :)
 
I've wanted to do it for a while now. It's just taking the plunge lol

I hear you but let me ask you this: have you replaced any components in your old workstation before (graphics card, hard drive, memory, etc)? If so you've taken your first steps toward building a PC. It may sound daunting but if you're the type of person who has attention to detail and knows how use a Philips head screwdriver then you can do it.
 
Usually about every 18 months which Im due for now. Waiting to see also what haswell brings to the table to upgrade my 2600k. My 3Gb 580 is in need of an update also but didnt see the 680 as being worth it. Waiting for the 780 series. I game at 2560 x 1600. Already have enough ram - 16gb ddr3. I'm good on hard drives - 256gb ssd/4tb backup/3tb backup/300gb velociraptor. XFI sound is good.

I'm in a similar situation.
2600K, GTX 580 1.5GB, 8GB RAM, 2560x1440.
I'm also itching to upgrade my GPU, but really want to hold off for a 7 series nVidia card. Will go for the GTX 770 or 780 in SLI, depending on performance/price difference. If it's like this gen then I'll grab the cheaper 770, sacrifice a few fps & save a bit of cash.

My Intel X25-M 80GB SSD is also due for an upgrade, and my cooler could look, um cooler? & my case could do with replacing; getting boring after 4 years.
None of those is urgent, but you know :)
 
I hear you but let me ask you this: have you replaced any components in your old workstation before (graphics card, hard drive, memory, etc)? If so you've taken your first steps toward building a PC. It may sound daunting but if you're the type of person who has attention to detail and knows how use a Philips head screwdriver then you can do it.

I've replaced graphics cards, sound cards, ethernet cards (in the old days lol), and hard drives. I'm waiting for the parts to arrive for my most ambitious project to date lol: adding RAM and a SSD and replacing the optical drive with the old hdd. So I may be shopping for a new computer sooner than I think when it all goes south lol ;) I probably just need to get something simple to practice on. I think the motherboard and fan scares me the most lol
 
I've replaced graphics cards, sound cards, ethernet cards (in the old days lol), and hard drives. I'm waiting for the parts to arrive for my most ambitious project to date lol: adding RAM and a SSD and replacing the optical drive with the old hdd. So I may be shopping for a new computer sooner than I think when it all goes south lol ;) I probably just need to get something simple to practice on. I think the motherboard and fan scares me the most lol

I'm sure you'll be fine. There's many many tutorials available to prepare and a whole host of forums where you can easily get assistance if required.
RAM & HDD's are the easiest parts to upgrade in laptops. Well... as long as you don't have to tear the whole thing apart to get access to them.
 
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