i generally buy odd parts here and there every 6 months or so. But major upgrades are every 3-4 years roughly.
I think as long as the computer runs everything you want acceptably well then no need to upgrade
How often do you upgrade?
- Thread starter Lief
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i generally buy odd parts here and there every 6 months or so. But major upgrades are every 3-4 years roughly.
I think as long as the computer runs everything you want acceptably well then no need to upgrade
I'm just a bit of a cheapskate when it comes to computers (even though I'm an IT professional 
). I don't like the rapid depreciation on premium parts which may not give me any real world advantages anyway. Value for money is more important than bragging rights for me 
). I don't like the rapid depreciation on premium parts which may not give me any real world advantages anyway. Value for money is more important than bragging rights for me 
every two years or whenever a good game i've been waiting for appears. had this rig for quite a while as nothing's gone wrong with it and it does what i need and still plays the games i play at a decent framerate. struggled a bit in the BF3 beta though (30fps) so time to part with some dosh again. been stalking this forum for a while just to get a feel of what's hot and what's not. maybe a gfx upgrade for now and wait a bit and go sli on a new build, not sure yet. 2k set aside but the more i save on that budget the more trackdays i'll get in next year 
Soldato
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CPU/Socket upgrade every 3 years and new GPU every 1.5-2 yrs.
Since July (I got a job finally) I've bought a new case, new 2TB hard drive and new graphics card. Today I bought a new keyboard with a built in trackpad. For Christmas I'll be getting a new motherboard, processor, ram and cooler. So in answer to your question, I would say every 6 months, or as-and-when
put an SSD in there
It feels like my Q6600 has been around since the dawn of time. Lasted very well but it will go next year with the arrival of IB I should think...
Same here. There's been nothing on the single player front that I can't run to either a good standard or even maximum settings which is almost always the case; just doesn't seem like worth the upgrade sometimes. Mind you, I know I'm at the stage now where when next upgrading the gpu it would be unwise to still remain on the 775 socket. As Bulldozer hasn't fulfilled the hopes we had, then like you say, IB it'll more than likely be.
Edit : I am thinking about keeping the 4gb of ram I have and then re-using it for the next rig. I don't really see any advantages 'now' for changing it for something marginally better and then doubling it, though I did consider the opposite a while ago.
Oh, to answer the OP's question, I normally upgrade every two and a half to four years (for the main rig).
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Associate
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I probably upgrade something each year but a full upgrade is something I probably only do once every 3 or so years.
Bought my Q6600 set up in 2007 and finally upgraded this year. I think I got it lucky with the q6600 after all its been a great chip with equally great overclocking potential. Can still hold its own in most apps these days too.
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This, though with 'or when something breaks and is out of warranty' added.
My Q6600 motherboard and memory have been in my PC for 4 years and still going strong. It's been the CPU equivalent of the 8800GTX and definitely my best ever component purchase.
Last component I changed was my Raptor for an F3, it was just too small and games juggling on steam was getting annoying. It also turns out it may have been responsible for all the blue screens I was starting to get.
Before that was my GTX 280 which died and I replaced with a GTX 570 after I just couldn't stand gaming on a makeshift 8800GT any longer.
Next planned upgrade is the CPU/Mobo, likely due to Skyrim. Like Huddy, I'll probably 'mend and make do' till Ivybridge comes out. Might change the case at the same time but will decide at the time
I just built the system in my sig about 4 months ago. Before that i hadn't upgraded in a long time (was running a P4 HT 3.4ghz lol), i never played games on PC so didnt have much reason to upgrade.
I plan on keeping up a little more up to date with hardware. I will probably stick with this CPU/Mobo/RAM until the next "socket" to replace 1155 comes out.
I plan on upgrading my GPU pretty soon.
I plan on keeping up a little more up to date with hardware. I will probably stick with this CPU/Mobo/RAM until the next "socket" to replace 1155 comes out.
I plan on upgrading my GPU pretty soon.
Soldato
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My computer is perfectly capable. I just felt like upgrading. That's what money does to me :'(
I got my current system (i7 930) last year and my video card is about 12 months old now ish (GTX480). I have 12GB of DDR3 triple channel RAM (I'm on 1366 socket) and frankly it is like greased lightning so I have no reason to upgrade to SandyBridge and probably not even Ivy Bridge when it comes out. I will most probably wait for the next one after Ivy.
I only upgrade when I can't do stuff that I want to do at the speed I want to do it at now I do a fair amount of gaming so if anything it would be the GPU I would upgrade next before anything else.
Stoner81.
I only upgrade when I can't do stuff that I want to do at the speed I want to do it at now I do a fair amount of gaming so if anything it would be the GPU I would upgrade next before anything else.
Stoner81.
I upgrade when some major component breaks or I just cant run what I want to(which is rarely ever). There's not much point upgrading regularly nowdays unless you do really CPU intensive work. Most games are mostly DX9 still, so they will run on any card from the last few years, and most normal user software doesnt require special hardware, so even a 3 year old computer is fine nowdays.