[Josiah23]

A question for anyone in the community.
What is the longest you have gone without upgrading your PC as a whole or without upgrading components?

Do you upgrading quarterly? Yearly? Every few years? Maybe you don't remember when

I'd say I upgrade something from one of my two rigs every few months. I'm really impatient when it comes to buying PC components.

[Guytronic]

Good qweestion :)

Ummm...I can't remember how long it's been.
As you know I did move to a notebook as a desktop last month.

I guess it's been about ten years since I've upgraded in major fashion.
Mobile is taking over my on-line and data connection needs so the upgrades there have been 2-3 months.

[Laura Knotek]

It's been 3½ years for me. Since I'm not into gaming any more, I don't really have a need for the latest and greatest. Like @Guytronic I also do more on my mobile devices these days.

[MSFTisMIA]

Currently - 7 years. It runs pretty good still - AMD dual core unit. I use it for mostly local storage so it won't get upgraded until MSFT fully drops Windows 8.1 support.

[Josiah23]

Good qweestion :)

Ummm...I can't remember how long it's been.
As you know I did move to a notebook as a desktop last month.

I guess it's been about ten years since I've upgraded in major fashion.
Mobile is taking over my on-line and data connection needs so the upgrades there have been 2-3 months.

New record maybe? Nice!
Yup, mobile and portable devices are sure taking over (the world that is).

It's been 3½ years for me. Since I'm not into gaming any more, I don't really have a need for the latest and greatest. Like @Guytronic I also do more on my mobile devices these days.

Understandable. :)
The mobile world is taking over everything, lol.

Currently - 7 years. It runs pretty good still - AMD dual core unit. I use it for mostly local storage so it won't get upgraded until MSFT fully drops Windows 8.1 support.

That's going to be some time there buddy, they just stopped with Vista not too long ago.

[raycpl]

I have a ancient XP desktop in the house, I stopped using for obvious reason. The last HW upgrade was when I added more RAM, ie some 4-5 years ago. Don't have much use of it except running some DVD authoring (two words you seldom hear used anymore) software.

It was also about that time I started using the company Win7 laptop, and WP8 emerged...

Oh, I used to run SETI on it, 24-7. But no more.


... !!

[maddogmoffit]

Depends on what we are talking about.
Graphics, every other generation.
Processor and motherboard, every 5th or 6th generation.
Memory and storage, as needed.
That is the reason to have an self build system in a miditower. You switch out components based on your need or for fun.

[skydiverian]

Varies. Looking back I've had an entirely new rig every 4-5 years since 95 so arguably I'm on my 5th different rig. The first 3 were purchased complete, last 2 self build.

In terms on how often I make changes, depends on money in the bank and needs - I have replaced the motherboard/cpu every 4-5 years but my current 4 year old haswell based build is likely to last far longer.

GPU - usually every 2 years but I've had my current 970 for 2 and a half years and I simply don't see any reason to upgrade it for now, especially since I'm perfectly happy with my 24" 1200p monitor.

tbh since I started building myself, I'm on the longest stretch without making any changes to my gaming rig and apart from another SSD I don't see myself upgrading it before the end of the decade.

[Rahsna Asurac]

Great question ^_^

I am a casual gamer and though I like the latest and greatest, I tend to wait for leaps in tech evolution.

I upgrade based on the above.

Last time my graphic card got updated was in the start of 2016. My SSD was in 2014, my motherboard and CPU was in 2012, and finally my screen was in 2011.
There were minor upgrades in between like a blu-ray player, but that was out of need rather than desire for more performance 😏

[crabby2004]

Well... I just built my new rig last month... And the rig it replaced was... 10 YEARS OLD! Over those ten years, I had one GPU upgrade and that was it.

My original rig was a Q6600 with an nvidia 7600gt. Upgraded to a Radeon 7850 when the fps became unbearable.

The Q6600 did me proud until Civ 6 came out... Turns times were ridiculous and I started being laughed at by my friends.

Now moved on to a Ryzen 1600 and Nvidia 1070.

I am a causal gamer... I only game to have fun. Graphics are cool and all that, but I like getting my monies worth and as long as I have 30fps on this new rig I'll keep it, so here's to another decade!

[LightenSkies]

I have a computer that 7 years old. I don't play many games anymore due to its old and haven't had any luck on a good job for regular how. But it still runs good even after all these years. :) one day id like a whole new desktop.

[arrow002]

My first computer had a 8600m GT in it, the 7600gt reminds me of that. I wish it hadn't broken (the 8600m GT was notorious for being defective, though reballing/oven heating revived it for about a month). Pain to do on a laptop. Lasted 6 years.
The next computer, now also approaching 6 years, is soon to be replaced. So I'd say 6 years on average.
As you said, a casual gamer does not need much. A laptop casual gamer needs even less.

Talking about mobile devices... if I hadn't won a new phone three years ago I'd still be using my Windows Mobile phone from 09'. Even the battery is alright over all this time.

[Maaz Mansori]

I've been doing this for 25+ years now. Typically I upgrade the motherboard, processor, and RAM every 3-4 years, and the other components as needed, which could be a shorter or longer period of time. For example, my case is about 10 years old but my Blu-ray drive is less than a year old because the previous one died. I upgrade the graphics card when I have something that requires a newer one. For example, I upgraded to a GeForce GTX 970 last year to accommodate my Oculus Rift.

[Keith White Jr]

A question for anyone in the community.
What is the longest you have gone without upgrading your PC as a whole or without upgrading components?

Do you upgrading quarterly? Yearly? Every few years? Maybe you don't remember when

I'd say I upgrade something from one of my two rigs every few months. I'm really impatient when it comes to buying PC components.

I have been using the same PC for almost 5 years now... and it was a cheap PC 5 years ago lol.

[userworx]

Prev 2002-2017 Nforce2 with AMD Mobile Barton 2600+, 1.5GBram, VGA Ati 1950GT
Now - i7 7700K, Z270G Strix, M.2 SSD 960Evo

[bobsentell]

A question for anyone in the community.
What is the longest you have gone without upgrading your PC as a whole or without upgrading components?

Do you upgrading quarterly? Yearly? Every few years? Maybe you don't remember when

I'd say I upgrade something from one of my two rigs every few months. I'm really impatient when it comes to buying PC components.

Mine is custom built by me. The longest I went between upgrading components is three years when I we unemployed, for obvious reasons. I just replaced my 1600x900 monitor from 2009 for a pair of 1080p monitors. The oldest component in my computer besides the HDDs I use as backup storage is the motherboard. When I replace it, I plan on going to Ryzen. I'm waiting on their "second generation" so that they have all the bugs worked out.

My next upgrade will be a whole system overhaul. New MB, SSD, CPU, and GPU. I'm using a discontinued LAN box as a case that I love because it is about 85% vents. The power supply is more than sufficient and my pair of 1080p monitors is enough for me for now. I would have loved to have gotten a 4K curved display but I think I'll wait on that.

[PeterFnet]

3 years, and that's now. Whenever there are tangible changes in architecture and/performance, I upgrade. For example, when Intel releases the next generation for the i-Series processor next year with their next-gen Thunderbolt 3 controller, that's when I will upgrade. There hasn't been a new Thunderbolt 3 chipset for a few years.

[MikeB0514]

Depends on what we are talking about.
Graphics, every other generation.
Processor and motherboard, every 5th or 6th generation.
Memory and storage, as needed.
That is the reason to have an self build system in a miditower. You switch out components based on your need or for fun.

Pretty much the same for me. However, I won't upgrade unless some application/game I'm looking to run, needs more than my desktop can provide.

[kaktus1389]

Last time I waited for 4 years, this time I built a more capable PC so I believe this will last me 5 years. In my opinion desktop PCs should be upgraded every 5 years and phones and laptops every 2-3 years.

[Clive Rennie]

Its been awhile i have a core i5 with 16 gigs of ddr 3 ram 1 terabyte ssd plus 2 terabyte hd for storage i.e. itunes pics stuff like that 2 gig amd video card but its not certified for vr or mixed reality do i need to just change the video card the cpu is 5th generation otherwise my system is extremely fast for everything else

[Davisdd Pasdt]

I'm at 3 years

A question for anyone in the community.
What is the longest you have gone without upgrading your PC as a whole or without upgrading components?

Do you upgrading quarterly? Yearly? Every few years? Maybe you don't remember when

I'd say I upgrade something from one of my two rigs every few months. I'm really impatient when it comes to buying PC components.

[TennisGuy45]

I just went 5 years.

I use my rig for movie encoding and gaming primarily.

I like to do one "big" upgrade with higher end components less often vs a smaller/cheaper upgrade more often.

My i7-3770k & AMD 7950 did me well for 5 years and probably could have gone a bit longer but it did start to struggle in newer games even @1080p.

I wanted to move up to 4k resolution gaming plus decrease encoding times. The Ryzen 7 high core counts and massive pixel pushing power of the 1080ti offered the opportunity to do both.

Hopefully this build last me 5 years too. I could possibly foresee upgrading the gfx card sooner to get an even better 4k experience in ~2 years.

[NutmegState]

YMMV will vary depending on what you do with your PC.

If most of what you do is web based where you are reading websites, visiting Reddit, Facebook, Twitter, Twitch etc. then a mobile device is all you need be that a phone or tablet.

If you are high-end gamer e-sports competitor you may need to change to newer components more frequently

if you are doing something that is CPU or GPU intensive for example for video editing or photography meshing and or editing as well as some desktop publishing you may upgrade to save even 15min of processing.

If you are a software developer, you may have a single large PC with 64gb of RAM and multiple NICs for software development purposes locally before you do something up on the cloud.

IMHO, it is very much work load related when you upgrade. There is no universal timeframe.

I have an ancient laptop with Dual Core Due i5 which I keep in my workshop that use for YouTube or researching how to make a woodworking part. And, when not trying to find a tutorial and use it for Netflix streaming. Until it stops working, that will be fine.

On the other hand, I have an X99 MB based PC with 32gb RAM for software development and when not developing for gaming using a 970. That will soon get an upgrade to a 1070 and I will be upgrading to faster RAM as it was not available when I first built my desktop.

If I am just surfing the web from the couch, then it is a Samsung Tablet.

[Magnus Serrander]

I don't upgrade components. I buy a new laptop when needed. Right now I'm using a Surface 2 from 2013, and are planing on getting the new Surface Pro... So that will make it 4 yrs.
Phones are useless to do anything on, the screen is to small. But I usually upgrade phones every 3 yrs.

[Shalin Pather01]

A question for anyone in the community.
What is the longest you have gone without upgrading your PC as a whole or without upgrading components?

Do you upgrading quarterly? Yearly? Every few years? Maybe you don't remember when

I'd say I upgrade something from one of my two rigs every few months. I'm really impatient when it comes to buying PC components.

I still use a PC with a Core i5 2400 (Good ol' Sandy Bridge) and it still performs beautifully.

With my laptop, I use a Sandy Bridge processor as well (2450M) i.e. I haven't upgraded in 5 years and I'm still able to get beautiful performance out of the both of these PCs.