How many of you are building or just upgrading

[daboggeyman]

 Just wondering with the number console s out there these days are you just keeping your computer upgraded or do you still tend to build a new one as often as you once did ?
 I have of lately just been making upgrades and still running a duel core system and have toyed with a new build but kind of hard just justify. So how about it let us heard from you.

[bodger]

I do both all the time. I'll willingly do things like adding or upgrading disk drives in an existing system at the drop of a hat (or a good drive sale) and will occasionally add a bit more memory to a system. But when I get down to things like CPUs and graphics cards I hold off and do a new build using, at most, an existing case if I'm happy with it. I'm waiting right now to see how things unfold with Sandy Bridge CPUs and chipsets to decide if replacing my HTPC system is worthwhile. I recently added a fifth 2tB drive to my WHS system just because the drives had gotten so damned cheap on sale that I couldn't contain myself any more but I'd never consider upgrading anything else in that box since it is plenty fast enough, has enough memory, needs no graphics to speak of, uses very little power with its obsolete 2-core CPU and I almost never see it sitting in the closet anyway. Sometimes 'good enough' is more than good enough.

[hugh]

Neither. I have no need. I've been running the same system for years now. Even dropped the cpu speed back down a ghz or so as i simply had no use for the power. Stil havn't found a game that will topple the system so i see no logic in upgrading it.

Only upgrade i recently did was upgrading my shuttle's graphics to a 4850 as i needed dvi output, irony being that the ard, an xfx 4850 xxx is a load of shite and is bad out of the factory, naturally xfx refuse to accept any responsibility so that's all gone legal.

Have to say though that i was rather drawn by the new intel performance, especially the power usage to performace ratio, in that are it just whomps my computer

[VFR]

I have been upgrading up to end of last year but when my son couldn't play COD on my old SN45 with an AMD AthlonXP 2500+, I thought its time to "upgrade" but then you can't upgrade the AthlonXP to a 64bit processor so... a new PC.

Some new motherboards now don't support IDE's anymore and DDR1 is more expensive than DDR3 so the upgrade is re-building a complete PC instead but at least my son can play COD now - with a X6 with 6Gb of mem!!! The only reuse I managed was the box, keyboard, mouse and monitor

[daboggeyman]

I have been upgrading up to end of last year but when my son couldn't play COD on my old SN45 with an AMD AthlonXP 2500+, I thought its time to "upgrade" but then you can't upgrade the AthlonXP to a 64bit processor so... a new PC.

Some new motherboards now don't support IDE's anymore and DDR1 is more expensive than DDR3 so the upgrade is re-building a complete PC instead but at least my son can play COD now - with a X6 with 6Gb of mem!!! The only reuse I managed was the box, keyboard, mouse and monitor

 I could see were you were in need of a new PC bet that s an eye popping difference for you over your old one LOL , now sit back and enjoy and have some fun . 

[RF 2ner]

Totally rebuilt wife's computer three years ago:
Intel core 2 DUO E8400 3.0 GHz from a 700 MHz P3,
Intel DG33FBC mobo, 4 GB Corsair XMS2-6400 ram,
power supply, DVD-RW, video card, and fans.

Now it's time to build a replacement for my main computer
which is a seven-year-old Intel P4 3.2 GHz, Asus P4C800-E mobo,
and 2 GB Corsair XMS-3200xlPro ram.
It just doesn't have enough response for doing a lot of video production and editing.

Right now, I'm at the information-gathering stage:
learning about the new technology, the specs, reviews, and keeping the cost down.
Gotta learn what advantages quad-core has over dual-core, which socket is best, etc.
I do plan to stay with an Intel processor, but definitely opt for a Zalman cooler over the Intel stock fan.
The mobo will probably be either Asus or Intel, but I'm keeping an open mind.
For memory, I'm presently leaning towards Corsair.

Some of those new cases with the fan in the side panel have caught my eye.
That seems like a good way to keep the video card cool.

There's just one thing that could hold me back from rebuilding,
the old one still has some good mileage left in it.
It's like looking at new cars, realizing the old one can still
get me where I need to go, even if it has trouble keeping up
with the speed limit.  
So there's no big hurry, at least until all that inflation starts to hit us. 

[RF 2ner]

....There's just one thing that could hold me back from rebuilding,
the old one still has some good mileage left in it....

There is another thing which could delay building a replacement: "Light Peak" technology.

If fiber optic shows promise of completely changing component interface
between CPU, video card, hard drive, etc., it just might be worth waiting,
BUT then, that development and debugging could be years away, and I'm not getting any younger.
Decisions . . . decisions.  

Anyone have a feel for how Light Peak is moving along?

[daboggeyman]

....There's just one thing that could hold me back from rebuilding,
the old one still has some good mileage left in it....

Anyone have a feel for how Light Peak is moving along?

 I just notice that you seen what I did about the Light Peak Technology in another topic , so looks like we'll still wait awhile for it but it will be a good step forward in computers

In January 2011, Intel announced that the first Light Peak implementations would not be fibre optic but strictly copper based. [1] [2] [3] [4][5][6] No speeds were claimed but most commentators were relatively sure that performance of Copper Peak would not exceed that of USB3 or SATA 6Gb by enough to justify such a drastic shift in protocol and interface [7].

        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_Peak

                                                                                                http://www.sudhian.com/forums/index.php/topic,106607.0.html

[RF 2ner]

I just notice that you seen what I did about the Light Peak Technology in another topic, so looks like we'll still wait awhile for it but it will be a good step forward in computers

That "wait" is a good reason to go ahead with present building plans,
and see how that "step forward" works out in a few years.

I remember how "bubble memory" was going to take over the computer market
about thirty years ago.  Hmmm . . . where is it now?

And then about forty years ago, "fluidics" was supposed to replace active
semiconductors for digital logic circuits.  Hmmm . . . today most would
reply, "Fluidics???  What's that?"

On the other hand, fiber optics is here to stay.  But new applications of it
still need time to develop and prove themselves.

It's really amazing how far and fast computer improvements have come. Wow!
There's always some new toy to add.

[RF 2ner]

  Change of plans.
If I move to a new second generation 1155 pin Intel processor, it not only means
a new mobo and memory, but would mean giving up XP pro and going to Windows 7.
Since some of my old valued software may not work anymore, possibly the very
software driving the rebuild, I hesitate changing to Windows 7 as long as XP
is still supported.

What about moving half-way from my P4 to a core 2 quad like a Q9650?  That still
means a new mobo and memory, with the processor costing almost $100 more than a
second-generation i7 2600, or $160 more than an i5 2500K.  The total would cost
just as much as the bigger step, but at least all my old software would continue
to work (and faster than now).

Either way, it looks better financially for me to wait 'til XP is no longer supported
and then do EVERYTHING from scratch, including operating system.  In the mean time,
I'll reinstall the XP pro, and streamline XP and the other operations as much as
possible.  That could be a good learning experience.  I have found that The Ultimate
Troubleshooter (TUT) is a useful tool in trimming out the fat of unneeded background
programs that rob resources.

The rebuild should be a lot of fun in a couple of years.  Can't wait.

[daboggeyman]

 RF I have both XP Pro and Vista on a partitioned hd and works out great for me , my wife has Win 7 on her lap and really don't see much difference in it and Vista but I have a lot of the eye candy shut down on Vista . I'll keep XP for a while some I can get all I can out of some of my older software . Just a thought . 

[lge-ff]

Interesting thread.. Just going to keep the last generation hardware going for now as the slowest working thing on my computers is me. 

[RF 2ner]

RF I have both XP Pro and Vista on a partitioned hd and works out great for me... I'll keep XP for a while some I can get all I can out of some of my older software . Just a thought .  

Hmmm....booting from either XP or Windows 7 sounds promising.  That way I could still use the
old software in XP while taking advantage of much improved hardware and Windows 7.  Then over
time, replace the old software as needed.  Then would come the question of 32 bit or 64 bit.
Or wait 'til 2012 for Windows 8 and change everything at once. 

[hnyman]

...would mean giving up XP pro and going to Windows 7.
Since some of my old valued software may not work anymore, possibly the very
software driving the rebuild, I hesitate changing to Windows 7 as long as XP
is still supported.

Well, I change PCs every 2-3 years, and then also naturally install the OS. I installed Vista in 2007 to my SP35P2 Pro, and last year it was time to switch to Windows 7. First I in-place upgraded to Windows 7 in SP35P2, and that went very smoothly. Then I switched PCs later last year, and then installed Windows 7 x64 to the new PC (http://www.sudhian.com/forums/index.php/topic,107431.0.html) .

There is no reason to stick to XP. Despite the bad press, Vista was already quite ok with modern hardware (especially after the SP), and Vista 1.1 = Windows 7 is even better. Windows 7 has much better support for dynamic network conditions and modern hardware than XP.

Practically all XP programs run in Windows 7. The only main exception are ancient 16-bit DOS / Windows 3 programs, (if you install x64 version of Windows 7, like I did). And even then there is the "XP mode" in Win7 Pro, Ultimate and Enterprise, with which you can run older programs in a built-in virtual PC. There is really no reason to reinstall XP at this point.

[RF 2ner]

There is no reason to stick to XP. Despite the bad press....Practically all XP programs run in Windows 7. The only main exception are ancient 16-bit DOS / Windows 3 programs, (if you install x64 version of Windows 7, like I did). And even then there is the "XP mode" in Win7 Pro, Ultimate and Enterprise...

Keeping to one OS does sound simplier to maintain.
I'm just slow to change the OS.  Gotta buy new reference books, etc...

I know my son and daughter really like Windows 7, and he's the IT guy where he works.

Thanks for the input and food for thought. 

[Naki]

I upgrade very rarely... No new PC for 3-4 years now.
Using an old AMD Socket 939 PC with NVidia NForce 4 SLI chipset. Opteron dual-core CPU @ 2.4 GHZ (stock, no overclock), 4 GB of RAM, and Windows 7 64-bit Ultimate.

Latest upgrade was USB 3.0 PCI Express card with 2 USB 3.0 ports + USB3.0 HDD external 2 TBs (AData) + PQI Flash drive 16 GB USB3.0. And also a new mouse, MS SideWinder X8 (a gaming mouse).

[Crabby]

Having been through three early model Shuttles (two SN40's and one SN45)...

I bought four (!) refurbished SN95G5V3's from Shuttle many years ago as this model had all of the various problems sorted out (maybe except for Nvidia's issues with the third version of their chip).

My son got one that was seriously overclocked, my wife got one that ran at stock settings, I ran one that was pretty well overclocked, and one sat in the closet for spare parts.

My wife's now runs a very fast Opteron that was bought for next to nothing on eBay.  It works fine for Internet access and Word and is the only one still running.  My son got tired of problems with his, literally trashed it, and bought a fast laptop.  Mine developed some problem I could't fix and was swapped with the spare machine.  It eventually developed a problem.  I think I could make a good one out of the remaining two.  However, I now use my machine for photo stuff and it runs five hard drives, so I'm using a full-size case.

I'm about to build another Shuttle for an HTPC and am trying to pick one.  Cost is a factor.

[daboggeyman]

 Well making the move to upgrade again bought CPU , Memory and ATX mobo but the mobo is D.O.A so back to finding a reliable mobo suitable for video and gaming with a respectable warranty.  

[tino]

I have been thinking about upgrading my now ancient Shuttle for the last 4 years.

However it still runs and does everything that I require and as I don't use my PC for gaming, thats essentially browsing the Internet, development, (although it is starting to get tedious to wait for things to compile with that) and watching movies and tv. All of which is copes with just about.

It is running a heavily modified Linux Kernel with lots of tweaks to suit the hardware mind so it gives me better performance than I would get if I was running Windows on it.

[daboggeyman]

 Well that's the same here , my pc is been really good till I started doing some video editing and it not bad there either , not going over board but going to move to a quad core AMD cpu (3.6 Ghz ) and 8 GB of DDR 3 1600 ram with a Cas Latency of 8

[daboggeyman]

 Well got my PC changes made and so far I'm satisfied , I know this weekend if it was worth the $400.00 USD I spent , plus I got a lucky deal via E Bay . Pick up a new version of Nero Premium HD for .01 cent LOL could believe it plus the guy made good and shipped it. Still have to get a Blu Ray Burning rom and a copy of Win 7 64 bit. See my sig for my upgraded system spec.s Nothing fancy but fits my needs

[Phuncz]

The most recent upgrades I made where an XFX Radeon HD 6870 1GB Dual-Fan, it's pretty quiet and it handles most current games in 1920x1080 without a problem. It'll probably be enough for Battlefield 3, that's what I'm targeting to play most this year. I was planning on getting another 4GB of RAM but apparently most games don't really benefit from more than 4GB of RAM yet, so that was delayed. I also got an SSD, OCZ Vertex 2 90GB 3.5", which helps a lot with system responsiveness and game loading times.

[daboggeyman]

 @ Phuncz   -  I really wanted to get a Sapphire 100314-2SR Radeon HD 6870 Video Card but it wasn't in the budget this go round , had a lot of good service from the  Sapphire line of cards , I don't do as much gaming as I once did as of lately been doing a lot video work.

[Phuncz]

I specifically wanted the XFX dual-fan because apparently it is the quitest HD 6870 out there and it stays cooler too. In an SFF-case, those are two important items for selection I've also have had multiple XFX cards, never had any problems.
The Sapphire wasn't bad but I couldn't find it for a good price.

[crosscourt]

Havent upgraded for awhile.

Still using a E6500 dual core at 3ghz with 2gb of ram and a Geforce GT 240.

I play such a variety of older and newer games I compromise a bit on the newer games to save cash.

If youre willing to compromise a bit on resolution and settings you dont need to upgrade as often.

Most of the upgrading ive done has been on older hardware my A64 and P4 systems for various uses including gaming and Linux testing.