[HOTgirlsXXL]

When should a PC be upgraded?

New and better parts are always being released and because of this, one may say "I'll wait a few months before upgrade", only to say the same line 3 months later. He she repeats the same line after another few months... and this goes on for years.

It seems that if you keep waiting for newer and better technologies to emerge, you will never be able to upgrade your PC.

[TodeImmabbedo]

The only times I tend to upgrade are when I find a cheap way to max out my existing motherboard for the sake of running my current apps a little better, or when I add HDD space. I do the regular full system upgrade every 20-30 months, just to keep up with the times, but I don't think I've ever bought more than two CPUs for the same motherboard; an intro one for the full system upgrade, and then usually a maximum chip down the road.

You'll never catch me "preparing" for an upcoming software title.

While we're on the topic, I'm very much due for an HDD upgrade. This 'Cuda is stuffed.

[DadaSeeva]

When needed.

I usually never upgrade my entire system, i just upgrade piece by piece. For example:

• When I need more HDD space, I will go ahead and by a bigger HDD
• When I want to play graphic demanding games where my graphics card fails. I go ahead (look online first for benchmarks and prices) and buy a new graphics card.
• When Games/applications need more CPU power, I go ahead and buy a new CPU.
• When Games use up to much RAM I go ahead and buy more RAM

I'm due for a CPU upgrade atm, but my current CPU should hold me till next year when Intel releases their Q9450. I just upgraded my graphics card so I can play Crysis and other games better. And I have 2GB of RAM which will last me for a few more months. The problem with getting a new CPU for me is that I will also need a new motherboard so i have to somehow rake out more money.

But once I get my quadcore, I should be good for at least a year. So You really only need to upgrade if you feel you need to upgrade. If you think your fine, your games/applications work fine and you happy than keep with what you got. If you feel something is slowing down, sluggish etc, than you may look into upgrading.

[prkddfokic]

Generally, I do it like this:
when a specific component dies, I replace it with a buffer component.

But when it comes to storage, i just buy another drive and add it in.

i don't think it's healthy to schedule upgrades, you're constantly spending and never really finishing. i think it's best to replace the entire unit when the time comes. :/

[Gazeboss]

When your current computer dies.

[goctorsurger]

When you CAN afford to and when your FORCED to do so by the technological upgrade ability limitations of your current system are reached.

IE discontinued CPU socket types and discontinued AGP cards.

I tend to Upgrade once every 3 years and thats Literally a whole system built from the ground up.

[eljugadordepoquer]

Typically 3 years is standard fare for most but.. alot depends on the system your working with and what it was like when built. As a enthusiast I am constantly trying out new parts, rebuilding my main rig ect.. Part of the reason for it is just as I finally finish it a family member comes along and says I want that!

[MarlboroCig]

When you CAN afford to and when your FORCED to do so by the technological upgrade ability limitations of your current system are reached.

IE discontinued CPU socket types and discontinued AGP cards.

I tend to Upgrade once every 3 years and thats Literally a whole system built from the ground up.

[stupid]

Same, but I slowly upgrade each year, but I always keep my old rigs and components.

[jstizzle]

This is my upgrade strategy: Whenever a game is released I want to play, but my rig cannot play, I buy new parts. Fortunately for my wallet that doesnt happen too often. I will buy a 9x00 card because of Crysis. I would have bought a 8800 card but they arent good enough.

[Narcodran]

normally every 3-4 years...my next computer is gonna be a mac...and probably around next Christmas.

[DraidodaRip]

usually i upgrade mine when it is extremely, extremely unbearable to work with.
most of the time i just use design applications, so a pretty decent proc and some ram would be the necessities.. if gaming is the basis though, i usually spot a game that im waiting for, wait till its around 6 months or a year old then buy a current low or mid range card so i can play the "old" game at decent settings.

i'd usually do a full upgrade around every 2-3 years.

[UnduttRit]

When it piss me off, which is totally random

[VardyCodarexyz]

While we're on the topic, I'm very much due for an HDD upgrade. This 'Cuda is stuffed.[/COLOR]

you just need to find your way into a frys on a friday and walk out with a couple of 400/500gb drives and mark hdd upgrades off your list for the forseeable future

[Flirigor]

When my computer will no longer does what I want it to do, e.g.


I upgraded when I wanted to play nintendo 64 emulation

I upgraded when I wanted to encode divx

I upgraded when I wanted to play half life 2


or maybe when something comes along at the right price.
If my PC does what I want then it stays the same.

[Srewxardsasv]

When the jump seems big enough, double the performance is the minimum I think.

[Broorbbub]

Typically I will suddenly get the urge to upgrade because I feel like I'm starting to lack in modern interface ports and that my power is lacking.

For example I've just found out my mobo really is lacking in SATA support. Since my IDE drive died and I bought a new SATA my mobo really doesn't like an all SATA setup! It's really odd and the BIOS does a slow POST and sometimes fails to detect the drives properly and wont boot my windows SATA disk. Flick the power and next time it all works.

Also only 2 hardware SATA ports, the other 2 SATA ports need windows drivers to operate.


Currently I feel my 3500+ 1GB RAM and x800pro will hold me out for a bit longer. Games like COD4, UT 3 have really shown my hardware is still very capable with good coders. Perhaps with 8 core CPUs around the corner in 2008/2009 I think this might be the direction to go. Not to mention 64-bit support needs to take off! I'm not all that impressed with Vista so I'm sort of lost if I should upgrade to it.

[Arratherimi]

When i feel like it
i could buy something now but meh ...