How old is your current PC?

[Ian]

I bought my current PC about 4 years ago, and aside from recently upgrading the graphics card (and adding an additional drive) everything else is exactly the same. It still feels very zippy and runs anything I throw at it, so it may be that it'll do for a good few more years yet... which I find quite surprising given how fast things were changing a decade ago. ~7 years (guessing!) seems like a decent lifespan for for the tasks I chuck at it, and it'll last even longer with a relative that needs a PC once I'm done.

New games still run fine, although I'm not doing any 4k gaming which seems to be the challenge with newer hardware. Nothing else is particularly challenging (coding, office work, etc...), so I imagine that once games require a better CPU/GPU then I'll need to upgrade.

The current specs are:

Intel i5-3570k CPU
8GB DDR3 RAM
Intel DZ77GA-70K Motherboard
NVIDIA 960 (upgraded from a 560)
Selection of SSDs/HDDs, but currently booting from a Samsung 840

How are your PCs doing - have you had them for a decent length of time already, or are they upgraded bit my bit?

 

[EvanDavis]

My new PC was bought for me about 2 months ago and is a massive jump from the old dual core Dell I was using.

Specs:
OS: Windows 10 Home
Intel Core i5 4460 @3.20GHz
8GB DDR3 Ram
Gigabyte H81m-S2H
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970
Kingston 250GB SSD ( OS )
Seagate 1TB HDD ( Steam games )
27" Acer H277H LCD monitor.
Logitech K120 keyboard and mouse
Logitech G29 wheel and pedal box.

 

[V_R]

Feb 2014 is when I did the main upgrade. (time flies right!?)

Since then the only things I've changed were swapping out the 500GB EVO 840 for a 1TB 850, upgrading to Win 10 and the 1070 I installed the other week.

Its a beast, does what I need and there really isn't anything that has brought it to its knees yet!

I do feel we are at this point where the difference between the top high end enthusiast stuff and the high end more mainstream stuff (if you know what I mean) is not worth the excessive cost. The point of diminishing returns and all that.

For example I could go out and get a new Z170 board and Skylake 6700K and some 3000Mhz RAM, would it be worth it? Doubtful.

 

[Ian]

I do feel we are at this point where the difference between the top high end enthusiast stuff and the high end more mainstream stuff (if you know what I mean) is not worth the excessive cost. The point of diminishing returns and all that.

Yeah, completely agree - unless you're powering a Vive or 4k gaming then there's not much point in spending a lot for the average PC user. I think I'll have the same CPU for a while to come yet and only jump once there's a step change.

 

[Taffycat]

My PC is about 4 years old now too. The only thing I have changed is the graphics card, (specs below avatar) when the old one failed several months ago.

 

[bootneck02]

My PC is about 4/5 years old and a home build the only thing I have upgraded is the graphics card as the original was an on board one. The keyboard and mouse is a Nemesis Kane Pro and I am running a Home built PC:- Linux Mint 64bit, CPU Asus A88X-Plus, Hard drive Seagate SSHD 2TB, Ram 8 GB, Sound Card XONAR DS, Speakers Microlab FC360 2.1, Video Card GeForce GT640.

 

[V_R]

Still rocking the Linux then Bootneck.

 

[bootneck02]

Yep and never happier.As a pensioner cannot afford all the add ons one requires with Windows so a very happy bunnyOh and Linux distro's run extremely well on the older PC's

 

[muckshifter]

... mine is a 2016 hand crafted model based on an AMD FX8350 Black Edition 8 Core Processor.

Specs can be viewed under System Specs under Avatar


The 'old' Intel i5 2500 is still around relegated to office work that had/has no problems playing the games I play.

 

[Core]

My PC is the first one I ever built from components. My old one was an HP that had a GPU die on me and it turned out that the PCI-E slot may also have been malfunctioning. At any rate I would have had to buy an aftermarket PSU for it because the PSU the HP had did not have power cords for PCI-E cards, and, also, I was not entirely sure that the replacement GPU would entirely fit in HP's box...

So I ended up buying most new components, including a case. It was a nerve-wracking experience. I'd done most hardware installations on my PCs over the years but I had never touched the processor, and I was determined to keep the i5 from the old PC. I remember I started at around 10 am and finished at around 6 pm, sweating bullets the entire time. I bought a new motherboard that supported my i5, removed the processor from the old mobo and put into the new one, thermal paste, aftermarket fan...

At the end of the day, I could never buy another desktop off the rack. Aside from the rock solid performance this machine has given me, what really has sold me on building my own is the case. It's a Fractal Design's Define series case and this thing is just first-class in every way. It has trays for 8 HDDs, great cooling, quiet... It's just amazing.

Core i5-2300
16GB DDR3
Asus P8Z77-V LX
AMD R9 270
128 SSD and a bunch of HDDs

 

[floppybootstomp]

Several months.....

My other PC is coming up for 5 years old, early Intel i7 and still performs fabulously.

 

[Ian]

At the end of the day, I could never buy another desktop off the rack. Aside from the rock solid performance this machine has given me, what really has sold me on building my own is the case. It's a Fractal Design's Define series case and this thing is just first-class in every way. It has trays for 8 HDDs, great cooling, quiet... It's just amazing.

Good work . Once you've built your own, it's hard to go back - it's far more satisfying (and often cheaper!). I did buy one off-the-shelf Dell PC when there was a crazy good deal on, but that's an exception.

My favorite thing about self builds is also the case - my existing one is a Corsair, which makes it extremely easy to upgrade/add hardware. There are barely any screws, everything just fits together in very clever ways .

 

[floppybootstomp]

For example I could go out and get a new Z170 board and Skylake 6700K and some 3000Mhz RAM, would it be worth it? Doubtful.

Which is precisely what I did earlier this year Except my RAM is 2400Mhz DDR4.

And FWIW I believe you're correct, the improvement Vs outlay factor doesn't equate

And here's a thing, I didn't really notice much of an improvement at all until I went from Win 7 to Win 10, now this machine flies. So, for all it's faults (My HDD's are open books to MS and Cortana being the main ones) Win 10 does seem quite ok.

I must change my computer specs for the forum.

 

[V_R]

What did you upgrade from? I was more implying if I upgrade to the new latest and greatest chipsets, CPU's etc form what I have now, and yes I know people that would and have done just that.

To me the difference in performance vs the cost is daft. Hell my old 920 D0 i7 was/is still a decent chip today!

 

[Becky]

It was a nerve-wracking experience.

I know what you mean! I built my current PC (almost the same specs as @Ian's above but I've still got the 560) about 4 years ago, and I was very nervous fitting the CPU onto the board, and then the cooler on top of that. I'm pretty clumsy, and had visions of it going horribly wrong!

PC is still doing great, so can't have done too bad a job

 

[floppybootstomp]

What did you upgrade from? I was more implying if I upgrade to the new latest and greatest chipsets, CPU's etc form what I have now, and yes I know people that would and have done just that.

To me the difference in performance vs the cost is daft. Hell my old 920 D0 i7 was/is still a decent chip today!

Here we go... Old computer (Now in bedroom):

And new computer:

 

[V_R]

Ah yeah that's a nice little upgrade.

I've been looking at DAC's, trying to decide if it would be an improvement on my soundscard or not... Hmmm.

 

[Connie233]

Mine is about 5 year old and used to watch tv & play games. But now it looks like to be too old and maybe it's time to change a new one.

 

[floppybootstomp]

nf

Ah yeah that's a nice little upgrade.

Well, as I've mentioned, in hindsight I think I'd have stayed with what I had for a year or two more as in real terms there wasn't much of an improvement for the rather significant outlay.

I've been looking at DAC's, trying to decide if it would be an improvement on my soundcard or not... Hmmm.

I use a DAC with my main machine and it is an improvement. But it depends how good your soundcard is and the quality on the DAC onboard the soundcard.

I bought a pre-assembled DAC PCB (all components on board) from Ebay with a suitable transformer (DAC had onboard smoothing/rectification), bunged it in a case which meant I paid a total of around £70 for the equivalent of a £300 ready made DAC.

When considering a DAC, tread carefully, there are many dealers preying on 'audiophiles' who love to charge them champagne money for a beer product.

I've heard good reports about some of the USB DACS.

I'm using a Creative Soundblaster Z atm, an OEM model that cost about £60. Soon to go though as Creative give no Linux support at all.

 

[bootneck02]

Mine is about 5 year old and used to watch tv & play games. But now it looks like to be too old and maybe it's time to change a new one.

Hi Connie just because it is 5 years old don't think it is getting past it, if it does what you want keep using it. What Operating System is on it and what is the system speck?