If you built a computer to last 5 years...

AshD93

AshD93

AshD93

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What would you expect that you need to change during that time period to keep up with top performance & keep the machine working?

Assume its a computer for gaming running at 1920x1080 and on highest settings.

Just interested due to a eminent build.


Ash
 
I've had my PC a year, I imagine I will keep it for another 4 years.

So far, I've replaced the mouse, I've just ordered a new keyboard, and I'm contemplating putting the SSD from my laptop into it.

I don't think I'll change it, if I do anything, I'll build a different box. By the my CPU or GPU is out of date, probably the rest of the system will be as well.
 
Idleman said:
1. Gpu, most likely.
2. Bigger SSD, depending on price/performance.
3. Monitor.
4. Cpu/motherboard.
Click to expand...

4. Would you really expect to change a motherboard and CPU within 5 years? Even if it was overclocked?

How long would you expect it to last?
 
True about the CPU, the Q6600 for example is still a strong CPU, motherboards on the other hand are updated frequently with new and updated features but this is usually on a newer socket that requires a CPU upgrade with it.
 
If he wants to keep constantly on top of tech and always have the best gear then you are looking at pc's not lasting much more then a few months if not weeks inbetween improvements in tech. But as you say i7 920 is another good example of a cpu lasting a longtime. The way I tend to upgrade is to buy the best GPU I can afford at the time, if it bottlenecks the CPU which will take a fair few years the i7 920 still isnt bottle necked by any single gpu and it was released 2009 iirc, if it bottlenecks then replace the cpu which usually means upgrading the mobo due to differing socket types.
 
GPU would be the first.

More/Bigger HDD/SSD for storage

More RAM (if possible)

CPU (second hand)

They are listed in order of importance, for me!
 
AshD93 said:
4. Would you really expect to change a motherboard and CPU within 5 years? Even if it was overclocked?

How long would you expect it to last?
Click to expand...

Cpu would be the last thing i would update. But i might update mobo(Z77) later this year. But happy with the system i have at the moment.
But a lot depends on the games you play and what settings you are happy playing at. A lot of people like to max everything out, but i am content with the cards i have at the moment.
 
R.P.L said:
Really? And you bought top-notch stuff at the time?
Click to expand...

Depends what you deem playable, some people swear they can see the difference between 90 and 120fps and then throw £1000's at maxing out a title (see Battlefield 3), other are happy playing anything above 30fps and are not bothered about maxing out graphics settings. If you the former you will be upgrading a lot if you the latter or inbetween it will last years. either way a 4 year old top end system would easily play games these days maybes not maxed out but they still will play at deent settings.
 
Well.. This isn't a finalised build (I'm going to post a new thread for that..)


YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 Windforce 3X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £371.99
1 x Intel Core i7-3770K 3.50GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £274.99
1 x Samsung S24B300BS 24" Widescreen LED Monitor - Glossy Black £134.39
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard with FREE BOOGIE BUG XXL GAMING MOUSE MAT £129.98
1 x Corsair HX 750W ATX Modular SLI Compliant Power Supply (CMPSU-750HXUK) £105.98
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT128M4SSD2) £99.95
1 x Corsair Hydro H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366/LGA2011/AM2/AM3) (CWCH100) £84.98
1 x Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache WD10EALX - OEM £79.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £79.98
1 x Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-15000C9 1866MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMZ8GX3M2A1866C9) £59.99
1 x BitFenix Shinobi USB3.0 Gaming Case - Black £46.99
1 x Microsoft SideWinder X4 Gaming Keyboard - Retail (JQD-00006) £29.99
1 x Logitech G400 3600DPI Gaming Mouse (910-002279) £24.98
1 x Samsung SH-S222BB/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £18.98
1 x BitFenix Logo for Shinobi Tower Case - Orange £1.98
Total : £1,562.86 (includes shipping : £14.75).





How long would you expect that to last running at 1080 at highest settings. Like I said, I'll post a proper spec check later as I'm buying this in July.
 
lomez said:
Depends what you deem playable, some people swear they can see the difference between 90 and 120fps and then throw £1000's at maxing out a title (see Battlefield 3), other are happy playing anything above 30fps and are not bothered about maxing out graphics settings. If you the former you will be upgrading a lot if you the latter or inbetween it will last years. either way a 4 year old top end system would easily play games these days maybes not maxed out but they still will play at deent settings.
Click to expand...

Well I personally like high frame rates (100+), at least for FPS, but I'm happy to lower the settings to achieve that.
 
personally id throw some extra money at the GPU and get a 680 if i was spending that much on a pc but thats just me as for longevity it depends what games you play and how poorly encoded they are from a console port :-S, all in all you will never know what the next few years will bring so its pure speculation whether or not that system would handle games at the highest settings in 1 years time never mind 5.
 
Idleman said:
You don`t need a 3770k for gaming.
Click to expand...

Well this is the argument I'm having in my head at the moment. It's not just for gaming. I'll be encoding videos too.. But the thing is, I could just use a i5 and it would take slightly longer.

Main uses are work (Word, Visual Studio, MATLAB), gaming and encoding/video editing in that order.
 
I always do partial updates to my own PC, I have not built a full home system in one go for 10 years or so. having said that, the mouse mat and cherry keyboard are probably the only survivors from that.

I am relatively up to date with a hexcore 1090T and a 990 chipset, 8Gb ram, HD6950 2Gb graphics, 256Gb SSD and 1.5Tb of other storage.

I tend to buy when things get a bit cheaper or even second hand. Bleeding edge upgrades are just too meh.

CPU and mobo usually upgrade together as it is a pain to just do one and then have to redo it for the other. Most other stuff just gets put in and out as I feel the need and the older stuff gets sold

My last upgrades at nett. cost after selling older parts was graphics £40, CPU £25 and Mobo £15.

I have similar uses to above except stopped using MATLAB at home :)
 
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Think I'll have to stop reading this thread now before I get tempted to spend money... :D

Thankfully I'm not one for getting all the latest games, so haven't needed to upgrade yet. If I get tempted by Crysis 3 I'll be needing a new GPU though (currently GTX 570).
 
I replace GPU whenever a new gen comes out as resale prices tend not to drop too fast, if you sell early and then hunt for a good deal on a new one you don't lose out too much

my Q6600 lasted 5, nearly 6 years and I've now gone with a 3930k for similar reasons (I hope), although I nabbed that for about £300 so it was an awesome deal even in comparison to an ivy

other than GPU I only replace something if it breaks (e.g. a hard disk goes bad) though I can't remember the last time anything like that happened
 
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