Do I need a new PC/upgrade?

A

Ayoralyn

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 30, 2011
Messages
226
Hello everyone,

I have for some time now considered changing out a few parts of my PC, and when I checked the date of purchase, I realised just how old my PC actually is. It's not super old, but my video card is 3½ years old, and the rest is 4½ years old. It still runs fairly smooth to be honest, but it gets very hot. I am a happy camper if it doesn't get hotter then 85 degrees celsuis when play. But it is more often around 87-89. I bought a new case that didn't seem to change anything, now I'm thinking maybe it's just because the video card is old? Anyways, this is what I have:

CPU: Intel I7 920 2.66GHz
CPU cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus
Motherboard: ASRock X58 Extreme
RAM: Kingston 3x2048 MB DDR3 HyperX
Storage: Crucial M4 128GB SSD (For OS)
Storage: 2x Western Digital 1.5TB
Videocard: EVGA GeForce GTX 570 SuperClocked
Monitor: Samsung 27" SyncMaster S27A950D 3D
Case: Corsair Cabide Air 540

Think I have considered changing, mainly due to sheer age now is the motherboard, the CPU (I figure it won't fit in newer boards), the ram, and then maybe the video card. The videocard is not THAT old to be honest, but I don't have many other explanations as to why it's getting so hot. I believe I switched mine for another refurbished one from EVGA, but I can't remember when. Also considering getting another larger SSD for games instead of my normal drives, and just using them for storage.

Let me know if you think I need a completely new PC and I can quickly answer the sticky questions regarding new PC builds. Thanks in advance!
 
The GTX 570 wasn't exactly a cool running card. Though play around with the fan settings in the driver control page. Just to be clear: when you're talking about 87-89C, are you talking about just the video card or the CPU + video card or the entire system?

But to answer your main question: Whether or not you should upgrade to a new PC basically depends on your answer to three questions:
1) What are you using the PC for?
2) Is the system meeting all of your performance requirements right now?
3) Do you think you can wait with the current system until 2016 when the next round of bang for the buck CPU + mobo + RAM upgrades occur?

#3 is the biggy. If you choose to upgrade the CPU + mobo + RAM in the period between late 2014 and mid to late 2016, you're basically going to be spending quite a bit more money as that's when the pricing of DDR4 RAM is still relatively high and DDR3 RAM pricing increases. I predict that it won't be until mid to late 2016 when we'll see DDR4 RAM being cheaper than DDR3 RAM.
 
Hello Dangman, thank you for your response.

To answer your questions, when I'm talking about the temperatures, I'm talking about videocard only. I don't know how hot my CPU is or the entire system to be honest. But I think last time I checked the CPU wasn't running quite so high temperatures.

1) I am using it for gaming. Nothing hardcore though, nothing competitive. I've seen several people mention a few games such as BF4 and Arma3, I am not playing those kind of games. Most games I play is not super demanding. I play Diablo 3, This War of Mine, a few roguelikes, Arklash and Metro: Last Light at the moment. I play very few AAA titles and those I do it runs fine.
2) I kind of answered this, so yeah, it runs fine at the moment.
3) I live in Denmark, so I don't know how many CPU + mobo + RAM combos we get here, but I know you have quite a few offers in the US. That said, my logic tells me that if a price change occurs, it is more or less worldwide. If games doesn't get too much more demanding then they are now, then yes, I'd probably have no problem waiting a few years to upgrade my system. So my concern would be if my system would be able to handle games until mid-late 2016? Of course you can't predict that, but I have no real need to play on ultra settings. I like being able to play on high though, and I could also easily survive medium settings for a while if need be.
 
Your logic is correct in terms of pricing. In fact, the price increases/difference is even larger due to the fact that you're in Europe. As for whether or not your system will last until mid-late 2016 is largely dependent on whether or not you're going to be playing AAA games of the future. Simply put: Even in current games like BF4 and Arma 3, your current CPU is a bit aged and you would do fine with an upgrade now. But if you're sticking with Blizzard games and indie games, your current system should easily last until mid-2016 CPU wise. GPU wise, you're definitely looking at a GPU upgrade rather soon.
 
If you stick to light games and your 570 cuts the mustard then wait it out. If you find new games are to demanding then I would grab a new video card to help boost performance and wait on upgrading the rest of the system like Dangman suggested.
 
Mister E said:
If you stick to light games and your 570 cuts the mustard then wait it out. If you find new games are to demanding then I would grab a new video card to help boost performance and wait on upgrading the rest of the system like Dangman suggested.
Click to expand...

All right, thank you. That's how I understood it as well. Okay, I think I'll wait then, see if I can manage it :3 Thanks guys for your input. Much apreciated.
 
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