Just curious - why some folks upgrade or are upgrading their computers.
Many posts show that some people strive to have the best.
Some posts show that some people strive simply to improve their individual experience.
I know many variables have been left out.
Not to be taken seriously.
Just curious.

Why not write the reasons you are upgrading too - so we can see what motivates others.

Two reasons actually... First and main reason is because my current computer is quite old and doesn't even play 1080p movies or any current game. The other reason is because the computer at my parents house is barely good enough to surf the internet and takes ages to load anything. So I figured I would build a new one for my apartment and bring my current one to my parents house so I can browse the internet with ease on the weekends...

I usually upgrade on a "as needed basis" to better handle differnt things I'm doing with computers.

The frequency is a big tough to judge.
Usually just over 1 new computer a year which cycles out an older computer. (I have quite a few for different reasons.)

I usually build a new system every 3 to 4 years depends on what I can't do with the computer at the time. I currently have the one in my signature and a dell which I bought cheap from a friend for my daughter. I recently got a $398 laptop form walmart on black friday. I can play Crysis just fine with my computer (maybe not on high) but its decent to me. I was going to buy a new computer in November but I think I will hold on another year because my computer is holding on just fine.

I find that it's over all cheaper to constantly upgrade then to build a new system every 2 years. I always try to upgrade when I can both get the best value for my old stuff and whatever I'm upgrading to has come down in price since it's initial release. ie Sold my FX60 for $330 and bought a Q6600 for $255. Honestly I didn't need the upgrade but it would have been dumb not to.

So how well does that q6600 run in that 939 socket, and DDR?

just purchased an 8800GT 512 which should arrive later this week, because my 7800GT 256 was no longer cutting it after i upgraded to a TH2G DE... the increased demand was expected to happen though.

You're missing one possible option in the poll. I was just annoyed comparing the Q6700 at work with the Pentium 3 at home

For me I usually rebuild a system every few years. This time around I'm going to be going to Windows Vista (64) for the first time from XP and I want the system to be perfectly adequate for that. Secondly - I'll also appreciate the extra performance for Adobe Creative Suite 3 and the 64 bit advantages for some of the Cakewalk music applications which I intend to get. I want to be able to play COD4 and other games on very high settings on a larger monitor too. Nicer FPS would be nice in Crysis so I can get it on in multi-player.
I'll be upgrading from a P4C800 E deluxe, P4 3.4Ghz, 2 gigs DDR400, X800pro and 2 Raptors to Maximus Formula, Q6600 Overclocked to 3.4ish, 8 gigs DDR800 and hopefully 2 of the ATI 3870x2 in crossfire.

I used to want (or liked the idea of having and saving for) the best that reviews had to mention - but now I want to get the best I can afford, whilst enjoying a decent upgrade performance experience and hopefully any money saved can be better spent or used elsewhere.

Im just trying to eep up with technology, and it just so happens that building a new pc may help me render in 3ds a little faster (upgrade from one core to 4 cores)

What enthisiast needs a reason to upgrade? How about....because it is there! Sometimes the enthusiast just needs to maintain his edge with current technology, other times it is because he wants to try something new, but either way it is fun!!!

My X2 3800+ and 7800gt are pretty classic, but I think this summer it will be time to buy a new machine

Meh... It's a hobby.

-Wolf sends

i update everytime i feel my pc cant keep up with games.

New major build every 12month give or take a month or 2, half way in between I'll throw in a minor upgrade, usually videocards + more HDDs. I just like to play with new toys.
Counting the days until Macbook Air comes

Yeah that's right. No reason necessarily needed. And it sure is fun.

When I'm not out working or running (jogging) - I spend most of my free time on this machine. Not sure that's such a good thing though.

That's amusing. As far as it goes, the notebook I use at work, and the client PC's are a step below my home PC's. The notebook's a Lenovo business model and the client PC's are old Pentium 3's with one Athlon XP. I don't count the servers in the mix, some are old P4 era Xeons and a couple are Opterons.

Later in the year, I'd like to get my own notebook that has at least a dual core with a mobile 3000 series GPU that might handle gaming on the go on occasion, but a notebook's not my highest priority right now.

Two of our current systems at home have Phenom ready ASUS 690G boards, but I will hold off on one because my Athlon X2 4600+ is still decent. So is the Athlon X2 4600+ with an Nvidia 405 chipset in my son's PC. My wife wants a quad core (she only has an Athlon 3800+) for her graphics and modding, but I told her it's best to wait for her Phenom till May when B3 is available.

We do have worse monitors than at work (they're 19" CRT Viewsonics). My wife and I have Viewsonic 17" CRT's, an A70f+ and an A71f+. Our son has a 15" AOC. So, I'm getting two 22" Viewsonic LCD's and our son will use a bigger CRT for a few months. He said he won't mind. As far as games are concerned, it's time to replace the 1650 Pro and 7600GS in two of our computers, and get a new card for the other, which only has the 1250 IGP.

So, it will be two 3870's and either an 8800gt (should be 512, but might have to go 256) or wait for the 9600 series.

Two monitors and three cards are enough right now. So, I'm glad there are reasons to wait for the Phenom. For my PC, I'm willing to wait till 45nm. After all, I doubt that Hellgate London, The Witcher and other RPGs this year will stress our CPU's out and I doubt that our CPU's will bottleneck the cards at the higher resolutions of the LCD's.

My philosophy is a new build every 3 years with upgrades in the off years. We almost got 2900XT's and an 8800gts this time last year but I felt that better cards were coming and I was right. So I built two Athlon X2 systems for my wife and kid last summer. If I switched to Q6600 or got the B2 stepping Phenom's now, then I wouldn't have the cash right away for the graphics and monitors, which are more crucial as our GPU's and monitors are somewhat old and outdated for even a budget gaming rig like I have to go for as we have three people to build for.

Once I slap B3 Phenom's (maybe even 65 watt 9500's) into our two system's later, then these PC's might be good to go for a whole 3 years and I can skip PC upgrades a couple of years. We put up with a couple of Northwood P4's from just before Morrowind to last summer, and they had an AIW Radeon 9800 Pro and a Radeon 9600 XT!

Personally I build a new PC about every 3 years some times I wait a bit longer if I know something big is going to happen e.g. Core 2 Duo. During that time I’ll upgrade the video once (currently I’m waiting for the HD 3870 X2 to arrive to replace my existing X1900 XT 512MB) normally around the 18th month mark, a secondary hard drive for files and games, a new gadget (I might get a Blu-Ray burner if they become cheap enough) and some extra ram.

My next major upgrade isn’t due until September 09, I can’t imagine what spec its going to be, perhaps an 8 core CPU from Intel? 4 Gb DDR3, Vista 64bit (you’ve got to take the plunge at some point), Radeon R7xx/GeForce G100?

I upgrade mainly on impulse. Maybe I go out one week and see and see a really good deal on something... well, if it's better than what I've got... I may end up buying it. (That's how I got my 245bw )

yipsl,

It can be quite rewarding building for other family members like you do. My next build means that this rig will be completely passed over to my other half. Although she rarely uses a pc past email, basic games and watching vids.
It's nice when more people benefit than just ourselves in the deal. Plus, when you live with a female and have to watch the spending a little more (compared to being single/living alone) - you get a little more elbow room when they get to benefit too!
Thanks for posting.