How often do you guys change processors?

[miecz]

How often do you guys change processors?

 

[miecz]

I ask this question, because some of you seem to have really good processors that came out maybe 6 months to a year ago, and are planning to buy Conroe now.

 

[General]

I upgrade about once every 4-5 years.

General

 

[ikjadoon]

I rarely upgrade processors, I will just build another, as by that time the machine is mostly outdated, I might salvage a few parts...

~Ibrahim~

 

[Muff89]

I never change processors, as Ikjadoon does, i'm doing the same.

What processor is your friend having?

 

[phreejak]

Once a year

 

[sweetpants]

2 times a year I would say, sometimes as much as 3

 

[scorch]

Every other year (Budget permitting). No more than 4 years though (budget permitting or not).

 

[ethel]

Once every couple of years is enough - it certainly has been recently, as clock speed increases slowed down.

I've currently got an A64 3500+ bought in Feb 2005 for £150, and I don't see that I will need to upgrade it for a while, as games are my main thing and those don't really need dual core yet.

So I expect I will upgrade in early 2007 to whatever looks a good deal then. And I will probably buy new mobo and memory as well, unless I get an X2.

 

[dougie_boy]

depends. a good product is a good product. if i feel its a worthy upgrade and a sensable one ill do it. so far ive got a socketA and a 478 downstairs and a 745 and my 939 upstairs. each time i upgrade i save the MB and CPU and put it in another PC. keeps the whole lot feeling kinda fresh.

 

[DaveUK]

I agree with the above, usually when I build a new PC I buy whatever is the 'best bang for the buck' at the time - which in the current case is the San Diego 3700+ (which is still faster in most games than the dual-core CPU's upto about X2 4400+).

By the time i'm thinking of upgrading my CPU, its normally time for a completely new architecture

A brief history of my PC's (missing bits im sure)

486 DX2-66 -> AMD K5-PR75 -> Pentium 133 -> Celeron 333 ->PIII 550 ->Athlon 1ghzish -> Athlon 64 1800+ -> Athlon 64 3700+ -> ???conroe???

I expect I might get one more CPU out of this motherboard before I change it for a new architecture version - this will most likely be a top-line dual-core CPU when they've dropped in price after the Conroe/AMD answer wars or whatever is next... idc, I'll just read the benchmarks then decide.

So, to finalise. I upgrade my CPU whenever its financially viable and whenever its neccessary to accomplish my computing goals at the time - whether its gaming, music production, or whatever. This will generally be once every year (two at most if I can squeeze more out of it with an uber graphics card or something).

 

[phreejak]

486 DX2-66 Rules!!! It was my first upgradeable computer.

I remember playing Archon on it...

Windows....no freaky ME or 95 or XP..Just plain Windows...and installing drivers was like the most insane thing you had to do

 

[the_vorlon]

I upgrade when it's worth upgrading.

I have a 3.4 ghz Northwood right now, but with good other system components (Raptor 74 gig HD, nice monitors, etc)

The Prescotts were never really an "upgrade" - even if I went to a 3.8 ghz it "might" have got be another 10% (if that) real world - not even close to being worth $600.00

If Core2 had not rolled in likely would have build a new system based on a AMD 4200 or 4600+ type CPU fairly soon.

Probably buy a E6400 or E6600 this time around. - In two years when the mainstream Core2 is a 3.46 or so I so CPU swap to get another year out of the rig.

 

[miecz]

What do you do with the older equipment? Sell? Keep?

 

[Detson]

Every 2 years or so. I plan on sticking with my 3500+ for at least another year. I ditched my Northwood 2.4 after only 1 year, but that was because I wanted to move away from Dell.

 

[DaBigHurt]

About once every 12-18 Months. But I never had the "Minimun Processor Speed Required" to play games, install apps, OS, etc. I stay within the Mid-Range to High End CPU. Same goes for Video Card-which I usually Upgrade once in a Series..

 

[xxsk8er101xx]

every 3-4 years for me and its been 3 years

How often do you guys change processors?

 

[MU_Engineer]

Well, I have an X2 4200+ in a socket 939 motherboard, so any upgrade would be pretty fruitless. But you know what? It doesn't matter all that much as I generally get the upgrade itch roughly every 4 years- that's generally when the system starts to bog down some when doing my usual keep-a-lot-of-stuff-open work. Also, 4 years is about the time when there are a lot of improvements in speed and power of everything from the backplane on up front. I want to see a *real* increase in speed when I upgrade, and it takes about 4 years to get that 2-3x+ increase that is certainly noticeable in everything that is done on the computer.

I'll save my monitors, HDDs, case, and probably the CD and DVD burners. The PSU can stay if it will still work with new stuff and if it's big enough (500W should be, but...) The old mobo, CPU, RAM, and GPU would either sit in a box in a closet in case I or somebody else need them for something or they go to refill an even older box that a friend or parent has. My parents have some rather old machines and I highly doubt that they upgrade until I do again in about 2010. I'll just buy an inexpensive case and PSU and use the 120GB ATA HDD and optical that's in their current HP 1.8 Willy and put the old gear in it most likely. That Willy sure is poky- dang.

 

[chuckshissle]

Only when my current cpu no longer provides a good performance on the latest games and softwares I am using. On average about once every year.

 

[leadtrombone]

Every 2-4 years depending on the finances.

Past three computers have been
Via Cyrix 233mhz 128mb ram 6 gig hd Gf2 mx200
Dual P3 550s 1Gig ram 80 gig hd fx5200
Athlon XP 2600+(T-bred) 1 gig ram 160gig hd 5900 ultra
coming soon: new machine(AMD?) (Intel?) don't know

 

[FatFunkey]

about 3-4years....heck u can always overclock the son of a gun for some extra time

but of course i use a northwood..shes old but stable.. but my system is getting an overhaul (basicly a new rig) in 07 ish

 

[corvetteguy]

About every 8 years. LOL

I'm serious, because right now i'm using my p2 366mhz, my first and only computer. But finally after the price cuts i'll be getting a new AM2 system with a 5000, and everything new and almost top of the line.

 

[1Tanker]

depends. a good product is a good product. if i feel its a worthy upgrade and a sensable one ill do it. so far ive got a socketA and a 478 downstairs and a 745 and my 939 upstairs. each time i upgrade i save the MB and CPU and put it in another PC. keeps the whole lot feeling kinda fresh.

Same here. My wife's computer gets the hand-me-downs, then hers goes to my basement for experimenting, linux, etc. and my daughter gets an upgrade. Wife and daughter are a little happier, as everything "works" and is a little faster, and Daddy has a new toy.

 

[Omid]

I change mine 3 times a day.

In the morning i am running my Socket 775 P4 3.06Ghz
At about 1 - 5pm i am running my pentium d 805 for all my multitasking needs

At night i put in my Pentium 965 For some hard core gaming!

 

[The_Abyss]

There's no set time limit. I've been from a P4 1.6 to a 2200+ to a 2800+ to a 3500+ and then added an X2 4600+.

Each time the upgrade was due to just needing a faster CPU, either for a game or for work.