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[MattyG]

I haven't had a PC long enough to maintain it, but I suspect I'll be upgrading once every 1.5-2 years. I get the feeling that I'm going to upgrade my GPU and CPU at the same time when I decide to make the jump. I have a GTX 760 and a i5-3570k @stock (I only got the k becuause it was on sale at a cheaper price than non-k at the time, I don't feel like trying to OC.) I feel like I'd be bottlenecking a better GPU if I kept the 3570k. I'll probably jump on the GTX 800 (900?) series sometime next summer, if finances allow.

My current gaming rig:

That's one damn fine looking setup.

 

[Ceebs]

I just let it go til I feel like I am starting to lag behind in performance. At that point I replace anything that needs it, or if I need to move to a new chipset, I build a totally new PC.

 

[ThoseDeafMutes]

I don't clean mine as often as I should.

My next dusting-and-format-day is going to coincide with upgrading my video card later this year.

 

[vakarian32]

I upgrade my GPU every couple of years, usually skipping one generation of cards. I'll be buying a GTX 880 & 144hz/1440p screen next. I rarely upgrade my CPU/Mobo unless I have to, I went from an old E6600 to my current i5-2500k which is still good.

 

[texhnolyze]

Mine's 4 year old already. I clean it once in every month or so. Might upgrade the whole PC for Witcher 3.

 

[Dryk]

I've only built the one PC, about 37 months ago. I built it because my old one would've had a hard time playing some new games (I think Human Revolution was one of them) on high settings.

Kinda getting the urge to upgrade now though (i5-2500k, 560Ti).

 

[Feel_The_Pain]

I maintain my pc by cleaning the dust off it and keeping it in a cool... Oh wait....

 

[eternaLightness]

I've only had my first and current gaming pc for a little over a year, and I just added a ssd to it a few weeks ago. That's about the only upgrade I see myself doing within the next few years. This is my first gaming pc and I'm running an i5 3750k, Radeon 7950, 8gb of memory, and performance has been mostly great.

As for as cleaning goes, I'll probably dust off the exterior every few days since dust is always an issue. May check the inside every month or so but it's never that big of a deal.

 

[MrGerbils]

Every 5 or 6 years or so I build a completely new rig, usually in the $1,200 range.

Incremental upgrades never feel like they're giving me enough oomph to really care to spend the money.

 

[morpix]

Buy a new rig every 5 years. Looks like it'll take longer this cycle. 2500K and 7950OC is going great.

 

[AaronMT86]

i7 2600K/SLI GTX-580's here still from 2012, no problem gaming at 1080P (ultra/high) still. Will probably upgrade in the spring with a Broadwell CPU

 

[Baron_Calamity]

I don't have a plan. About every 2 to 3 years I get a new one but I've gone as long as 5 years. I generally swap the video card once during the life of the pc. I generally leave it alone, let it run 24/7. When I have to get in to upgrade or replace a part i will give it a good cleaning but that's it.

 

[x3sphere]

Graphics cards I swap out a lot... my timeline looks like this over 5 years or so:

GTX275->HD5870->HD5970->HD6970->HD7970->HD7990->GTX 780 SLI->Radeon 290 CF

Generally I sell before the newer cards get announced so the financial hit is minimal. In that time, I've moved only once from X58 to Z97. I've decided to move to X99 now although that build will likely last me 5 years at least, like X58 did.

 

[Tagyhag]

Every 5 or 6 years or so I build a completely new rig, usually in the $1,200 range.

Incremental upgrades never feel like they're giving me enough oomph to really care to spend the money.

I do this as well, around that price range too.

In the twilight years, if a game is too taxing, I just don't play it until I get the new rig to max it out.

 

[Holographix]

I don't ever swap out individual parts, I tend to build a computer with the highest possible spec at the time, and wait for that to become somewhat obsolete or unable to run games at high with a constant 60fps.

When that happens I build a new PC and hand down my old one to some family member. Usually ever 4-5 years.

 

[Renekton]

Blow the dust away with compressed gas.

Reinstall Windows 7 once it feels bogged down till CCleaner can't help.

Get new $400 GPU every fresh process node (40nm -> 28nm -> 20/16nm)

Play PS4 version of Ubisoft games.

 

[CassidyIzABeast]

CCleaner
Microsoft Security Essentials
Malwarebytes
A can of air from Wally World
Fractal Design R5 case. Dust filters on the case do 95% of the work.
Stop looking at reviews for new parts to upgrade when I don't need them.

 

[mrpookles]

I'm on my second ever gaming PC build. I had the first for about 2.5 years, then made gradual upgrades over the last 6 months to where everything is new. I don't intend on upgrading for another 2-3 years, particularly as I play on the big screen a fair bit and am happy with 1080p for now.

GTX 760 4GB in SLI, 4770K, 16GB RAM.

 

[10k]

/dead

Usually when Tom's Hardware or Digital Foundry does an analysis on an upcoming game and shows that my GPU can't maintain 1080p60 on max I know it's time to upgrade. The average timeframe for that is about three years. I upgrade my GPU every three and my CPU every four years. I upgraded in May 2013 to a GTX 780 and i7-3770k OC'd to 4.2GHz so I'm good till about 2016 for the GPU and 2017 for the CPU.

I don't care about having the newest hardware every year, that's a quick way to go bankrupt. But I do buy the best available when I blow my load and upgrade every 3 years or so.

 

[Mraggoth]

I've maintained my current rig since 2009 and recently decided to upgrade. Since then, I've done a number of things to it. I had this problem (and still props up again on occasion) where the graphics artifact and my computer bsods. I've done several things like replace my motherboard, gpu, upgrade the psu and gpu. One of my ram sticks went bad so I just plain removed it. I went from a GTX 285 to a 560ti and from an 800w to a 1000w. When I get my new system, I probably won't even need to invest into a new psu since the one I got is plenty sustainable.

 

[-MD-]

Built a rig Oct 2012 for $1100 (3570k, 660ti, 8gb), only thing I plan on changing in the next few years is my GPU.

I'm not a graphics whore so as long as I can run stuff at 60fps/1080p I'm good, I'll never be the guy buying new GPUs and stuff every year.

 

[Arm73]

You remind me of a friend of mine who always buys a new car ( the newest Audi usually ) every three years or so, with the money that he makes by reselling the old one with little loss ( as such cars still retain the resell value when not even tree years old and are taken good care of) and adding a couple of thousand Euros ( in low, monthly payments ) .

He always has the nicest car, and he doesn't have to spend a lot of money on maintenance, as his car is usually brand new.

Your concept doesn't sound new to me, but it's the first time I've seen it applied to PCs.
I guess it's alright if you are good at finding a buyer relatively quickly all the time, otherwise, like the others, I'd stick to a good motherboard / CPU and upgrade the GPU/Memory every once in a while.

 

[Tablo]

I hope my recently built 4790K, 16gb ram, 1 TB SSD build will last for at least four years with GPU upgrades. My 670 is gonna have to wait for 16nm Finfet TSMC to upgrade.

 

[Tablo]

Play PS4 version of Ubisoft games.

omg literally died xD

 

[C.Dark.DN]

Sounds really smart. I'd like to have 100% new hardware every year.

The first and only PC I built was in 2005. I got a gaming notebook in 2012. I replaced the gpu, psu, and heatsinks a few times in the desktop. The ram, cpu, and mobo all developed issues and never got replaced.

But as a buyer in your method I'm not sure about it. The cost of a rig built a year ago, minus $200, plus all the wear and tear.

 

[innervision961]

I just finished up my first gaming pc build since about, oh I dunno, 10 years. :/

{Asus Maximus VI
I7 4770k
Windforce GTX 780
16 gb}

I have been out of the game for a long time and, honestly, I don't have the money to throw around upgrading and building constantly. I love PCs though, I do zbrush and photoshop work and I need a good desktop.

I was hoping I would see some tips in here on PC maintenance. How can i keep this ~ $2000 worth of hardware running and performing great GAF? I'll take any and all help there

 

[alexandros]

Nowadays PCs don't really need a lot of maintenance. Keep drivers updated, use an antivirus, run ccleaner every now and then and you're set.

Lol, great gif!

 

[jwhit28]

How do you guys handle dust? It feels like every few months I should just disassemble the whole thing and clean it. The fan blades are the worst. My case (HAF 912) has some pretty good dust filters.

 

[Durante]

I'm using the same basic build (mainboard+CPU) since 2009, so a full 5 years when I upgrade later this month.

I probably buy a new GPU every ~2.5 years. I also added 6 GB of RAM (to the existing 6) at some point.

Really, PC hardware ages much more slowly than it used to.

 

[Demigod Mac]

Recommend this for dusting:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001J4ZOAW/?tag=neogaf0e-20

It is LOUD but it sure gets the job done. Way better than compressed air cans.

 

[Deleted member 125677]

upgrade the worst parts/bottle necks every three year or something like that.

vacuum at low intensity, especially the fans and stuff, every now and then

 

[JBourne]

Every few months I take it out to the yard and hose it off, clean off all the RAM discharge and pour in a few fresh tubes of thermal paste.

 

[Kysen]

I spend a bit extra and buy the highest spec CPU/GPU combo and upgrade every 3-4 years.

 

[Ivory Samoan]

Built my latest rig in 2012 - i7 3770k / 7970 3Gb / 16Gb 1600mhz / 1TB+SSD / Corsair Vengeance case / 750 Corsair PSU / Sabertooth Z77 mobo) - still holds up very well today, and I see it holding up well into next year.

I have pencilled in some upgrades for next year when it may start to struggle with high end games on high settings.. but only some parts (GPU->780ti / OC the i7 + upgrade all my cooling / Add some more HDD space) - mobo/psu/memory/case/cpu all will be fine with a little tweaking.

GPU seems to be the thing that moves the quickest, apart from that - seems golden.



TL;DR - Always buy what is considered (but never really is) future proof at the time, it's worth it in the long run IMO. My PC is 2 years old but still performs as well as most new rigs being built, which is great stuff I reckon.

 

[gelf]

My PC is around 5 years old now. All I've done in that time is upgrade the GPU once from a GTS250 to a GTX660. So glad cpu requirements have stagnated long enough to allow me to stick with an i7 860 for as long as I have. I'm dreading having to move up from it.

I try to buy things to last so as to avoid upgrading as much as possible as I hate that side of PC gaming. Never cared for max settings. When I get a new system I try maxing out a game my last system couldn't and usually come away feeling I didnt miss much.

 

[Mango Positive]

2008 - core 2 duo & 8800 Gtx
2010 - i5-760 quad core @ 2.8 & GTX 460
2011 - GTX 560ti
2012 - GTX 680
2014 - i7-4770k

That's about been my progression. I'll likely get the next Nvidia release.

 

[Sapphire Dreams]

I assembled my PC rig in 2011 and I only upgraded the GPU and that's only because my old GPU died.

And for maintenance I use air dusters.

 

[daninthemix]

There are two types of PC gamer - those who spend all their time obsessing over the rig itself, and those who actually play games. Very occasionally, someone will be both of these things at once.

Upgrade when there is a tangible need - i.e. you can't play a game you want to, or you can't play it at a decent frame rate.

 

[Reuenthal]

I usually upgrade each 4-6 years but buy a pretty good pc. If it hasn't broken, I just play some of the newer games on lower settings than usual while leaving the rest new but not very demanding games on high settings. I replace some parts that might have problems. Right now I got my good gaming PC so it is everything maxed.

 

[red731]

omg literally died xD

rip in peace

On topic - I've built my PC year and five months ago so no need to upgrade now, but I am cleaining it all the time on system level.

First thing I will chage will be 7970GHz 3GB in case I would need to.

 

[xBladeM6x]

Really, PC hardware ages much more slowly than it used to.

Thaaaaaank you. I grow so tired of people saying that a 1 year old (high end) card is "obsolete".

Recommend this for dusting:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001J4ZOAW/?tag=neogaf0e-20

It is LOUD but it sure gets the job done. Way better than compressed air cans.

I have one of these as well, and it's amazing. Loud as shit, but quality product.

 

[hepburn3d]

Every so often I get a nice can of compressed air and clean the hell out of my PC if it's lucky some fresh thermal paste

Edit: Might invest in one of those things ^ looks pretty cool

In terms of upgrading I only upgrade when I want to play a game on a setting I can't achieve. That doesn't have to be 4k, 1080p is great and at least Medium to high settings.

Intel Core i7 4770K HD4600
16gb Kingston Hyper-X DDR3 1600mhz
2GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 770
120GB Tungsten SSD
1TB SATA3 Hard Drive

Unfortunately once Oculus Rift goes consumer I fear this updating process may become harder and more frequent if they start to achieve 4K resolution.

 

[Gipsy Danger]

I usually keep my machine until I can no longer get 60fps on High settings. Then I'll look at what needs upgrading most and get a mid-high end replacement. Although, sometimes I'll just have some extra money and purchase an upgrade for the hell of it.

 

[xBladeM6x]

Oculus achieves 4K resolution.

If you mean in the headset itself, like a 4K headset display resolution, I wouldn't count on it. They were already having trouble going from 720p -> 1080p when it came to input / output lag, so I'd imagine 4K isn't coming in Oculus. At least not in the initial consumer release.

 

[Renekton]

Unfortunately once Oculus Rift goes consumer I fear this updating process may become harder and more frequent if they start to achieve 4K resolution.

Aren't their kits focused on 1080p/60?

 

[artsi]

I buy top of the line components (GTX 580, i7) and they last 2-3 years. Then I buy the same tier components again (GTX 780, newer i7) when I need more frames and go on for another 2-3 years.

Mostly just invest in quality products that last longer and give better performance. It's not expensive in the long run compared to buying cheap crap that breaks down and performs bad.

 

[Cannon Goose]

Built my first gaming PC back in 2012 and have upgraded the GPU and CPU cooler since then. I think I'll get a few more years out of this thing before it starts to become obsolete.

Were I to upgrade anything right now, I'd buy a roomier case. The CPU cooler I got is a Noctua NH-D14 and MAN THAT THING IS BIG. It makes me a little apprehensive when I think about opening up the case and doing some cleaning.

 

[Zabojnik]

I usually don't have a plan. I upgrade when I feel the games I want to play or will want to play in a couple of months demand it. I don't game nearly as much as I did years ago, so it's getting harder and harder for me to justify throwing hundreds upon hundreds of € into upgrading / building a new PC. There's no real need either. A few days ago I retired my trusty old GTX 570 and bought a used (but basically new) GTX 770. All in all, I spent less than 150€ and basically prolonged my PC's gaming life for at least a year. Feels good.

I have the next big upgrade planned for when the Rift hits.

 

[Fattony12000]

Well, for starters, I don't call it a "Gaming PC" or a "beast".

I simply upgrade the hardware when I need to, and play the video games on it when I want to. Sometimes one aspect will precede the other in the case of me getting a GTX 570 for the launch of Battlefield 3. It's looking like the next upgrade will be a GTX 880 for when The Witcher 3 comes out.

I'm also keeping an eye on the upcoming Intel CPU + DDR4 RAM stuff.

 

[hepburn3d]

If you mean in the headset itself, like a 4K headset display resolution, I wouldn't count on it. They were already having trouble going from 720p -> 1080p when it came to input / output lag, so I'd imagine 4K isn't coming in Oculus. At least not in the initial consumer release.

Aren't their kits focused on 1080p/60?

I think I've just assumed that 4K was their eventual goal. If they're aiming for 1080p then that's perfect but from what I've read the visuals are still pixelly when using the DK2. If 4K Oculus is not going to happen in CV1 then I'll be much happier and maybe my rig will last longer.