Current Events > For those who have built gaming PCs. Which is more likely

(+) Yeah! (+)

A) A part or the entire computer stops working
B) It gets too old for new games

I'm hoping B. Because I really don't give a shit about that... was just buying a computer in winter 2017/18 and happened to make it game friendly. Just don't want it to break, although I have a victim complex and assume bad stuff will happen

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Having zero real problems so far... seems sturdy

If you need to know my parts, I can copy/paste later, but have no idea what that peans

I'm fine with missing out on Cyberpunk 2077 or whatever. Just wondering

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i originally built this thing in 2011 but over the years i've upgraded or replaced so many parts i think the only original things are the case, half the RAM and one HDD.

some stuff has gone bad, like one PSU and some thermal paste. my original HDD is starting to make a little noise sometimes, it might be on its last legs. but the nice thing about a desktop is that it's (usually) super easy to replace a part.

it's been nice to be able to upgrade things piece by piece. i first upgraded my GPU after like 3-4 years, then i upgraded the MOBO, CPU and added RAM. then another couple of years later i upgraded the GPU again.

when a part goes bad sometimes the whole machine won't start, sometimes it just won't perform well. just depends on what went bad.

with computer parts, like a lot of things, you get what you pay for, for the most part. i had a buddy who bought a budget PSU and it died within like eight months. i bought a 'silver' rated one (one step up from cheapest) and it died after a few years. the next one i got was 'gold' because it seemed worth the extra $10-$15 or w/e it was to get something that will likely last a few years longer since replacing it is a PITA.

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I've built 2 over the last 10 years. the first one just died a few months ago, most likely psu. the newest one i built 5 years ago had a psu die a year ago. so in my experience its A.

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B.

never had a comp outright die on me before i decided to move on myself. i guess it depends on how you treat and how often you clean.

my buddy always managed to kill his gpu so whenever i used to upgrade, my old one would be his new upgrade >_>

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AsucaHayashi posted...

and how often you clean.

this is a good call out. regular cleaning will increase longevity. gotta keep that dirt and hair outta there so air can flow. every couple of months i open my case up and give it a good cleaning w/air duster and tweezers.

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I used to clean more. I'll do it tomorrow morning for sure. Was just thinking of doing it

Usually every 2-3 months. This might be pushing 4-6

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B, if only because the allure of more powerful computer parts means a better gaming experience. You can run the latest games on low settings with a GTX 760 if you really wanted to. In fact, that's what my roommate did before I threw my GTX 970 OC at him last year.

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Alucard188 posted...

hat's what my roommate did before I threw my GTX 970 OC at him last year.

i'm using a 970 and i'm still plenty satisfied with it. i only play @ 1080p and my TV doesn't go past 60 fps (lol) so even games from 2020 run well on medium or better.

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C) game streaming becomes the industry standard and the power of your pc becomes pretty irrelevant

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AMD Ryzen 5 1400 3.2 GHz Quad-Core Processor
Gigabyte GA-AB350-GAMING 3 ATX AM4 Motherboard
EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6 GB GAMING Video Card

This is my build. It was above average at the time, not sure about now
16 GB of RAM too

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I've been building computers for ages, but I'm an old fart. I've only ever had one (ancient) HDD die on me in all this time. The rest were replaced or repurposed when they got too old.

I usually build a new computer every four or five years, with an in-cycle swap for GPU almost every time at least once.

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At this point, keep using your computer until It breaks or you want to upgrade. You're going to be building an entire new one at that point.

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TroutPaste posted...

AMD Ryzen 5 1400 3.2 GHz Quad-Core Processor
Gigabyte GA-AB350-GAMING 3 ATX AM4 Motherboard
EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6 GB GAMING Video Card

This is my build. It was above average at the time, not sure about now
16 GB of RAM too

Just keep using that until you're not happy with it. I imagine you play at 1080p around medium-high settings for most modern titles? You'll want to start from scratch considering any substantial upgrades will require a new motherboard. Something that could blast some life into this old rig is to buy an SSD and put all your games on it. The performance leap is huge for load times and smoothness in sandbox/open world games.

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CommunismFTW posted...

Just keep using that until you're not happy with it. I imagine you play at 1080p around medium-high settings for most modern titles? You'll want to start from scratch considering any substantial upgrades will require a new motherboard. Something that could blast some life into this old rig is to buy an SSD and put all your games on it. The performance leap is huge for load times and smoothness in sandbox/open world games.

Yup exactly


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CommunismFTW posted...

The rest were replaced or repurposed when they got too old.

I'm really bad for keeping old tech around. I've had three or four cannibalized computers just sitting around waiting for me to do something with them. I finally took them off to be recycled, because the parts weren't worth much money. This happens every time I build a new computer. The only thing I keep are the hard drives, but I make sure to buy a new hard drive for the boot record every time. I had a Samsung 860 Evo 250 GB SSD in my last computer, and an OCZ 125 GB SSD before that. This one's a Kingston A400. I've had the same 2 TB HDD for my games over the last three computers. It still works. Probably 8 years old at this point.

Oh - the 860 Evo made it into my new computer as a games drive, and the OCZ went into an old Dell laptop that I bought for $100.

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I replaced the HDD with a SSD because it died. Later on I added a secondary HDD for storage. Upgraded my GPU because the old one died. I would've kept the old one if still worked. Eventually you will have to replace stuff. it really depends on your needs.Either make a new computer or replace some broken parts.

I don't game that much anymore, so I don't need anything more powerful right now. I built my computer back in 2014. It still works for the games I play. Mostly light gaming and streaming tv shows. If my CPU or motherboard dies I'll build a new one.

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Alucard188 posted...

I'm really bad for keeping old tech around.

I always recommend people to at least keep one computer as a linux box or media box out of their old rig stuff. I have one rig that hosts servers from time to time, mostly for friends or a discord I use, but my internet can handle that. I have another micro ATX rig that I turned into a silent media box with (also linux) but basically it's a gigantic browser for movies, shows, and music I've added to it over time. In theory I could also get a usb hub for controllers and some emulators and make it a retro console box, but I have no reason to do that personally -- but it's another idea.

Or if you hate electricity you can do F@H for charity or bitcoin for insanity.

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I never have computer broken for me. It just gets outdated, but like there are food 5 years span between upgrades

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My PC was built in 2014 and still plays anything and everything i feel like playing and nothing has broken or died.

Youll probably be ready to build a new pc before anything breaks imo

In my experience the parts that actually run the games get outdated before they break. If it works out of the box it usually works until I'm ready to move on.

Some stuff like hard drives and case fans might die sooner though.

I remember game boxes usedcto say you need the latest directx whatever that is

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Thanks everyone

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my current one is 6 years old and I could max everything up until like 3 years ago

but Ive had to replace the PSU, RAM and video card

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