Is there anypoint getting a cutting edge PC anymore?

Raymond Lin

Raymond Lin

Raymond Lin

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I used to be one of those that upgrade my PC as a whole, then get a totally new kick ass system. But right now I don't feel like there is any need to spent so much in my next upgrade in 12 month's time. My current P4 3.2C with X800xtpe still nippy enough for all my needs.

It used to be you need a certain CPU processing power to watch DVD smoothly, then it's to multi-task smoothly, now with dual core even the mid-range ones are pretty nifty at all the task you can throw at it. Games wise these days are taken care of with the Xbox360/Wii, frankly spending £300 on a new gfx days are over (I mean what was I thinking !?).

Personally, I think unless yor job requires for the processing power, spending £2000 on a system of overkill. I much prefer to spent the money in a better screen, better keyboard/mouse than cutting edge stuff.
 
Raymond Lin said:
I used to be one of those that upgrade my PC as a whole, then get a totally new kick ass system. But right now I don't feel like there is any need to spent so much in my next upgrade in 12 month's time. My current P4 3.2C with X800xtpe still nippy enough for all my needs.

It used to be you need a certain CPU processing power to watch DVD smoothly, then it's to multi-task smoothly, now with dual core even the mid-range ones are pretty nifty at all the task you can throw at it. Games wise these days are taken care of with the Xbox360/Wii, frankly spending £300 on a new gfx days are over (I mean what was I thinking !?).

Personally, I think unless yor job requires for the processing power, spending £2000 on a system of overkill. I much prefer to spent the money in a better screen, better keyboard/mouse than cutting edge stuff.
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I think it just depends how much of an enthusiast you are. If you like playing around with all the latest hardware and benchmarking / testing it etc and you get enjoyment out of it, way I see it is that it's money well spent. Obviously you will get you full moneys worth if you do actually take full advantage of your hardware. I own the QX6700, many people on this forum kept going on how I was wasting my money, but I didn#t, because I actually take full advantage of the processor by doing large amounts of CPU 3D rendering, and the performance increase in this over dual core is massive.
 
A lot of people take the view that if they buy top notch of everything at the same time they will be covered for a long time before they have to make another upgrade. I normally take a similar view but rarely buy the very top of anything (with the exception of graphics cards) Normally the very best of something costs double something with only 10-15% less performance, hence why i opt for the better value buy. And if what i say conflicts with my rig, it's because i havent upgraded in a while, although i'm saving for my next big upgrade =)
 
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Raymond Lin said:
...spending £2000 on a system of overkill...
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To some.

To me it's about right. (Base unit)
I already had the 21" and 2 x 19" CRT's.
2nd PC's/perhiperals etc.

I wanted a PC to last me a year without upgrades, and 2 years with minimal upgrades.

I recon the PC will do that no problem - It's taken 6 months until I've found games that I cannot run at top resolution. (7900GT)
In 6 months, whap in the latest GFX card and a few more HDD's - Job done.

The XP2800 is doing a top job at the mo at around 2.6GHz.
Should be enough to last me until next year (although faster would please me more... Encoding takes aaages).

But then I spend 95% of my spare time in front of the PC, have several things going on at once most of the time (Inc games running whilst stuff going on in background) but the PC runs smoothly.

Some people get machines that are way over the top.
but then some people actually want their PC to keep up with their speed!
The time spent between double-clicking photoshop and it appearing on-screen is a long time if you are waiting for it...
Less than 10 secs really... But the accumulation of those 10 secs makes for hours over the week.

So to me, it does make a difference having the PC as quick as possible, within a reasonable budget.
(£2000 being a reasonable budget for me... Only £200 GFX card tho... So 10% on GFX)
 
Personally i go for kit that is one or two generations behind the current technology, saves a lot of money and runs all current and upcomming applications with ease.

At present though the market has somewhat turned its back on the average Pc enthusiast by scrapping technologies such as AGP and Socket 462 without leaving a migration path to newer technologies, while i agree this is a good thing as it brings performance increases to the masses it leaves a gaping hole when wanting to upgrade.

Im currently running a Barton 3200+ on an Asus A7N8X-e Delux motherboard using 1Gb PC32000 DDR Memory and an AGP graphics card, this system runs all applications and the games i wish to play without issue but here is my dillema.

With the up and comming x64 technologies, Windows Vista and ever more resource intensive applications i can no longer upgrade just my CPU or add more memory or even a better graphics card but instead i am faced with the choice of:

Upgrading the CPU to either an AM2 or LGA775 based processor
This requires a new motherboard to support the new socket
A new heatsink to support the new CPU with the new socket
New memory as we are now using DDR2 memory with the new processor with the new socket.
Oh and a new graphics card because the motherboard for the new processor with the new socket doesnt support AGP so its PCI-e then.

So where as i used to be able to upgrade for ~ £100 - £200 its now gone to ~ £500

But im not complaining change is good and brings benefits to us all but this current transition phase shall prove to be costly to a lot of users.

Alas though prices are low and choice is excellent!

Paying over the odds for the latest technologies is pointless though, its like a car, you buy a Porche, yes its one of the fastest and more appealing cars on the road but bleeds money within a short space of time and then backrupts you.
 
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me i tend to do a complete pc change every 3 years. the only hing i will change during that 3 years is a new gfx. dont see the need for all new stuff each year. i bought my first pc in 1996 and im on me fourth.
 
I am similar to most in here. I rarely buy the new high end stuff as it does come at a premium. If you play it cool and wait anything between 4 months and a year you will you get the same gear for half price.

My best example would the 165 Opty I got early this year which retailed at SEK3500, which equals about £250. It can be found today for £105! It is 'old' tech to some, yet it will run any tasks with ease. Overclock it and you have a very fast CPU, only beaten by C2D.

Same goes for the 9800pro. It sold for £300, I waited a few months and got it for £170. or the X1800XT, released around a year ago and cost a fortune at £350. I waited to May this year and paid £170.

In the end it all comes down to what floats your boat. For me it is absurd to spend the premium on the latest hottest PC hardware. Id rather spend that on gifts for my girlfriend, or treat ourselfs with a romantic weekend in Europe.
 
I think the industry's trying to push out enthusiasts who aren't willing to pay top dollar to keep up. I think new technologies like PCI Express and DDR2 are fine, but they're being introduced long before they're needed. As a result, an upgrade these days costs three times what it used to, since you simply have to buy more components.

Having said all that, I still feel that PC games themselves are a hell of a lot cheaper that their console counterparts. For example, I got Prey for €30 in Smyths yesterday. The same title on the 360 rings in at €70. I also believe the PC is best for variety, with such a huge back catalogue available. Games tend to be a bit more "mature", but I suppose thats changing with all those console ports.
 
Depends what you want to do.

I have two systems; the main one is an XP1700 overclocked to 2400MHz and it does everything I need to do with it; the other is an Opty 146 overclocked to 2700MHz that does everything my kids need to do with games and the (Supervised) Internet.

A new system might well do the same things faster but not to a degree that I would be able to detect so I'm not prepared to upgrade as the cost is very high.
 
I video edit,

conroe gets me snappy performance


I love upgrading and will have parts 3 months then upgrade.

when you are on this road upgrades to new tech cost less than a night out.
 
A valid point. When you think what some people spend on alcohol and cigarettes on a weekly basis, it's frightening! Upgrading a PC every now and then pales in comparison.
 
I think it's crazy when people spend about 2 grand on a build. My brother's one, I have a mate who spent the same last april, and my £800 conroe setup is now more powerful. I've always just spent about £800 every 3-4 years which I can live with.
 
beast said:
I think it's crazy when people spend about 2 grand on a build. My brother's one, I have a mate who spent the same last april, and my £800 conroe setup is now more powerful. I've always just spent about £800 every 3-4 years which I can live with.
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Thats cool

I spend around 50-100 every few months (3-4months) On a new gfx card selling previous gen before they slump in price.

My last ASUS mobo that i had for 3months was sold for 150 making my upgrade to 680i 50 quid.

However my laptop is now 3 yrs old and is happily running vista business edition for all my admin email stuff. :D

upgrading every 2-3yrs can actually cost you more money.

I spend a little 2-3 times a year and still have the latest hardware.

Holding out means you have to start all over again and spend huge amounts.
 
easyrider said:
Holding out means . . .
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. . . that you can actually hold down a P.C for a year or two and enjoy using it and learning some new software packages etc (i.e become productive with your uber PC) Failing that you will have more free time for other things in your life without obsessing over your hardware and worrying if someone else is gonna have a better PC than you lol :D

It's very normal when you are 'new' to PC building and overclocking to have the desire to stay on the cutting edge, but after 'several' years into the hobby you begin to realise that a PC is more than the sum of its parts.

Manufacturers have a very clever way of making people buy new hardware, people part from their hard earned cash$$ for 'perceived' benefits.

Most modern hardware is now so juiced it could easily last for years but thats pretty bad news for anyone who is selling hardware.

64-bit CPU's, multi-core CPU's, DirectX 10 etc, all these things that people are 'buying into' but is the software support really in place yet?

Self delusion is a wicked thing, its all to easy to convince yourself that you 'need' this new xyz piece of hardware, when actually what it comes down to is a simple desire to spend money££.

Just think of woman and shoes/bOOts/handbags, thats what us blokes are like but for hardware lol! :D
 
I spend under £1k on a system every 2-3 years.

this is only £350 ish a year if you work it out, a bargain for what i can use it for. and my new rig is futureproofed, not many games use dual cores yet, if any ?
 
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