Does everyone really upgrade their builds?

I've liked the idea of upgrading but by the time I think it may be needed it often makes more sense to get a whole new system as the benefits are generally fairly large in doing so.

Currently run a Ryzen 1600 with an SSD so the obvious new system would be a 7xxx/9xxx series build with DDR5 and an NVME. New motherboard needed and by that point it's not a huge outlay to just buy a new system.

I game very little and actually sold my gaming card (AMD 480) during the Crypto boom and now just have a display only card.
 
Every 2 generations I do a GPU upgrade.

Mobo/CPU/Ram is typically every 3-5 years, or when performance is lacking.

I do the rest of the PC as and when it's required.
 
I've been using PCs since the 90s and can honestly say that I have only had a whole new PC twice... MAYBE 3 times. Obviously I have upgraded lord knows how many times over the years.

CPU and motherboard... then the next time it's the GPU... then I might get a new case & PSU.... then it's time to upgrade CPU again etc.
 
only reason to upgrade cases in the past is because they were getting so much better every year., or your gpu/psu didn't fit.


One time I switched cpu/mobo/ram from AMD to Intel I think during windows 7 and never even reinstalled windows
 
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I do. I almost always upgrade the GPU at a different time to everything else because GPU and CPU release cycles don't line up. I sometimes upgrade RAM if faster stuff becomes available. I frequently upgrade storage because it gets cheaper over time and more space is always helpful. I only rarely upgrade CPU without also changing motherboard, but I often move the old parts to other people's systems, and at that point they get mixed up.

jammir said:
I dont even reuse the case. Am I just in the minority
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Not even reusing the case is probably unusual. Cases don't wear out, and have remained fully compatible since the earliest ATX cases in the 1990's. While there have been some improvements over the years, old cases still work fine, so why change them with any frequency? My current case is 10 years old. The one before that lasted 11 years.
 
I used to keep my cases, thinking I like the layout I'll use it in another build but I never do. I guess I've fallen into the trap of shiny new things.
 
jammir said:
I used to keep my cases, thinking I like the layout I'll use it in another build but I never do. I guess I've fallen into the trap of shiny new things.
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I think you really have if you've built 30 new systems! A new rig every 12-18 months is definitely about enjoying the build or the shiny new stuff, unless you have some professional workload that demands continuous peak performance.
 
jammir said:
I used to keep my cases, thinking I like the layout I'll use it in another build but I never do. I guess I've fallen into the trap of shiny new things.
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I got rid of my old cases that had 8cm fans, the old beige ones. New cases were roomier, had space for 12cm case fans, larger heatsinks, more hard drives (or better cooling over drives)

Not sure where they went, guess must have taken them to the tip
 
jammir said:
I'm curious, in the last 25 years of me building my own PC's I cant really recall a time that I upgraded a cpu, ram or gpu in any of my builds, if anything survives my "upgrades" its only really the psu and storage. I've built over 30 rigs in my time and usually have minimum of two PC's at one time usually three and I dont even reuse the case. Am I just in the minority of PC enthusiast that overhall their whole rig every 12-18 months just to try out new hardware and new esthetic ideas? Most build I do are unnecessary and overkill I know, but thats what I enjoy most about the hobby and journey.

I've never factored upgrade path or buying into a dead platform into my buying decision. I may seem like a Intel fan as im doing the 285K blasphemy build right now (as 80% of my builds have been Intel), but I buy not only what performs well but largely also the esthetics of the parts in the build. I just want to see if anyone else shares my approach to PC's or am I just a weirdo?

So I guess my question is does everyone buy based on spec's/performance and longevity in mind, do you buy what you need at the time and leave space to grow upgrade in the future as your needs change, build something that also looks pleasing to you or dont care how it looks as long as it does the job?
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Once every 4-5 years
 
Just bits as and when, for what I need.

I tend to buy a PS Slim, upgrade a bit or two, buy a Slim, upgrade.

Went from an i7 3770 to a 3600, now a 5700X. Will stick with AM4 until AM6 as it seems happy with a 9070 I picked up on release.

I was stuck on a GTX 1080 as prices went crazy and a Slim got my attention.

So yeah, never top of the line but always good value options for what I need
 
AM4 has been kind. Done 3700X to 5700X3D in that time. I usually stretch to as much RAM as I can afford/will fit when buying a motherboard

jammir said:
I used to keep my cases, thinking I like the layout I'll use it in another build but I never do. I guess I've fallen into the trap of shiny new things.
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I've got an all aluminium Cooler Master Wave master in the loft. It's huge, fairly sure it has 8cm fan mounts. One day...
 
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Constantly upgrading and tinkering.

AM4 saw me through 3900X/5900X/5950X, a couple of RAM kits, numerous coolers etc. Started with a 1080 then 3070FE then 3090FE.
 
Not much. I put a new SDD drive and some memory into my current one, and a new HDD into my last. I don't think I've ever upgraded a graphics card.
 
jammir said:
I'm curious, in the last 25 years of me building my own PC's I cant really recall a time that I upgraded a cpu, ram or gpu in any of my builds, if anything survives my "upgrades" its only really the psu and storage. I've built over 30 rigs in my time and usually have minimum of two PC's at one time usually three and I dont even reuse the case. Am I just in the minority of PC enthusiast that overhall their whole rig every 12-18 months just to try out new hardware and new esthetic ideas? Most build I do are unnecessary and overkill I know, but thats what I enjoy most about the hobby and journey.

I've never factored upgrade path or buying into a dead platform into my buying decision. I may seem like a Intel fan as im doing the 285K blasphemy build right now (as 80% of my builds have been Intel), but I buy not only what performs well but largely also the esthetics of the parts in the build. I just want to see if anyone else shares my approach to PC's or am I just a weirdo?

So I guess my question is does everyone buy based on spec's/performance and longevity in mind, do you buy what you need at the time and leave space to grow upgrade in the future as your needs change, build something that also looks pleasing to you or dont care how it looks as long as it does the job?
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I tended to avoid drop-in CPU upgrades with Intel, as the socket had usually changed by the time I upgraded. That was back in the days when mobos didn't cost more than CPUs though...

AMD have made it a bit easier - I went from a 3700x to a 5900x on my old x570 Ace, and I'll probably do a straight CPU swap on my current one at some point unless there's a mobo feature I desperately need, which is unlikely.

I upgrade my GPU a lot more frequently, as I tend to pull the trigger early on a high res monitor and get stuck in an upgrade cycle to get playable frame rates. I try to make my CPU last at least 2 GPU upgrades.
 
When I originally built my first PC in 2017 with a 1060 6gb and Ryzen 1600 I didn't really have upgradability in mind. I just wanted something better than my PS4. Once my PC stopped being able to play stuff at a high level I got a PS5.

Recently I was kinda getting annoyed by the PS5 poor performance in some games so I thought about building a new PC again. Was actually really surprised that all I needed to put new life into my machine was a 5700X3D and 5080.

I think in the future I will just stick with PC due to being able to upgrade (plus mod games and not pay for PS Plus)
 
Always used to do upgrades here and there but got to say am4 is fist time iv done do much, went from a 1700 to 5600x the 5800x and now to 5900x. Worth it when the platform offers tangible speed bumps
 
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