PC - Upgrade myself or buy new?

NiftyDigits

Let's hope not. People are discarding perfectly good machines.

PenguinJim

Or overspending on uselessly over-specified inefficient PCs at above-RRP prices to begin with.

RumRat

Older machines are generally not as quiet or power efficient as older ones. Newer ones are usually neater and smaller than the old lumps.
There is also a warranty to consider, usually much longer than the warranty on individual items.
New machines are likely to have USB3 on board as standard and other upgraded hardware.
Not to mention upgrading any old monitors...
As for upgrading the OS, well, IMO, if you have children at senior school in the house, running XP is not really acceptable. Allow them to live in the 21st century even if you don't want to.:)
I'm not advocating general users to spend large amounts of money on a new PC, but, there is more than just the price of the components to consider. Each case is very individual, one size definitely doesn't fit all.
Personally I upgrade the entire machine every 3 years. However, in general, I would say, every 5 years is a good target.
I have a very large jar by the side of my desk that takes all my change at the end of a day. Come the 3 years I always have a surplus after buying the machine I want.
Upgrading is great for some, too much hassle for others. If someone has a decent budget and is not struggling then I would say New is the way to go for them.
No point saving money if you can't treat yourself every now and then.
This is not intended to restart the debate and is only my opinion and certainly not the only solution.

NiftyDigits

RumRat wrote: »

Older machines are generally not as quiet or power efficient as older ones. Newer ones are usually neater and smaller than the old lumps.
There is also a warranty to consider, usually much longer than the warranty on individual items.
New machines are likely to have USB3 on board as standard and other upgraded hardware.
Not to mention upgrading any old monitors...
As for upgrading the OS, well, IMO, if you have children at senior school in the house, running XP is not really acceptable. Allow them to live in the 21st century even if you don't want to.:)
I'm not advocating general users to spend large amounts of money on a new PC, but, there is more than just the price of the components to consider. Each case is very individual, one size definitely doesn't fit all.
Personally I upgrade the entire machine every 3 years. However, in general, I would say, every 5 years is a good target.
I have a very large jar by the side of my desk that takes all my change at the end of a day. Come the 3 years I always have a surplus after buying the machine I want.
Upgrading is great for some, too much hassle for others. If someone has a decent budget and is not struggling then I would say New is the way to go for them.
No point saving money if you can't treat yourself every now and then.
This is not intended to restart the debate and is only my opinion and certainly not the only solution.

That is really a mis-mash.

I can tell you with certainty, that my seven year old Medion is quieter than some of the new Zoostorm machines.
As to more power efficient, I certainly don't think the difference between mine and it's newer equivalent will reflect negatively on my electricity bill
Warranty?? My machine is seven years old. I don't need a warranty :rotfl: As to the 'new' processor that I purchased for £5.99, I'm happy that it has any kind of warranty. It does.

If USB 3.0 were important, you can buy and fit a USB 3.0 card for £7.

Upgrading a monitor?? I wasn't aware that they bundled them in with new PCs. :rotfl: You'd have to buy one with a new PC anyway if you needed/wanted to upgrade your monitor. If you see any new PC that have a 24"+ IPS monitor bundled in for free(apart from an AIO), do let me know asap. What on earth....??

You are right. Every case is individual. No one is being forced to upgrade their machine. The options are discussed and then they can decide.
But suggesting that new is the way to go generally is just silly.

Like this nonsense:

If someone has a decent budget and is not struggling then I would say New is the way to go for them.

I have more than a healthy budget and the machines that I'm using are five and seven years old respectively. I have a new laptop with superior specification. But it's still in the cupboard because I have no use for it.

The fact it that the old machines are capable of doing everything that I need them to do. If that's the case for me, then I'm sure that it is the case for millions of others. But some of those people are convinced by those with a vested interest and the the lazy and inept, that they should replace their machines every two to three years.

Wholly illogical, as the latest OS needs even less resources than it's predecessor.

Have you seen the Netbook processors that they are planting in laptops these days?

This is a website dedicated to saving money. Not just consuming for the sake of it. I understand that buying new things can make people feel better. But it often doesn't make financial sense.

If you have a healthy budget and no idea how to fit a component, then perhaps buying new is the way to go for you.

But I'm here to let people know, that in most cases, it is simply not necessary. Some simple maintenance can bring your PCs performance to better than it was when new.

RumRat

NiftyDigits wrote: »

That is really a mis-mash.

I can tell you with certainty, that my seven year old Medion is quieter than some of the new Zoostorm machines.

Not really any recommendation. Mine is probably much quieter than yours. No indication of anything to anyone else.

As to more power efficient, I certainly don't think the difference between mine and it's newer equivalent will reflect negatively on my electricity bill

As you don't know you can't really say. However I'm willing to bet it will.

Warranty?? My machine is seven years old. I don't need a warranty :rotfl: As to the 'new' processor that I purchased for £5.99, I'm happy that it has any kind of warranty. It does.

It's not about you and your machine though. If you are happy fine. It's a little arrogant to assume that others don't need a warranty.

If USB 3.0 were important, you can buy and fit a USB 3.0 card for £7.

If I was talking about upgrading parts, I would have suggested that. I wasn't so I didn't.

Upgrading a monitor?? I wasn't aware that they bundled them in with new PCs. :rotfl: You'd have to buy one with a new PC anyway if you needed/wanted to upgrade your monitor. If you see any new PC that have a 24"+ IPS monitor bundled in for free(apart from an AIO), do let me know asap. What on earth....??

Plenty of PC/Monitor bundles out there. Anyone with a monitor that's 8 years old will see a difference if they upgrade to a decent new one.

You are right. Every case is individual. No one is being forced to upgrade their machine. The options are discussed and then they can decide.
But suggesting that new is the way to go generally is just silly.

Like this nonsense:

Silly to you obviously, but, you are only talking about you so no surprise there then.

I have more than a healthy budget and the machines that I'm using are five and seven years old respectively. I have a new laptop with superior specification. But it's still in the cupboard because I have no use for it.

.....and you talk about illogical and wasting money.....No one is saying what you are doing is wrong. If it makes YOU happy then fine.

The fact it that the old machines are capable of doing everything that I need them to do. If that's the case for me, then I'm sure that it is the case for millions of others. But some of those people are convinced by those with a vested interest and the the lazy and inept, that they should replace their machines every two to three years.

Yes, you keep saying, but, it's not all about you. I wouldn't be so egotistical to presume to speak for millions.

Wholly illogical, as the latest OS needs even less resources than it's predecessor.

Have you seen the Netbook processors that they are planting in laptops these days?

In your opinion and yes.

This is a website dedicated to saving money. Not just consuming for the sake of it. I understand that buying new things can make people feel better. But it often doesn't make financial sense.

Saving money and tech advice. Saving money can become an obsession. I personally save money for buying the nice things that make me happy. No point being the richest corpse in the graveyard.

If you have a healthy budget and no idea how to fit a component, then perhaps buying new is the way to go for you.

I do and I can.......I get my car repaired at a garage as well...

But I'm here to let people know, that in most cases, it is simply not necessary. Some simple maintenance can bring your PCs performance to better than it was when new.

I don't disagree. That's all you needed to say........Once. We got your opinion. I don't think I disagreed with anything you said in my post. I just gave my opinion and an idea of what I do. No one is forced to follow....

NiftyDigits

RumRat wrote: »

Not really any recommendation. Mine is probably much quieter than yours. No indication of anything to anyone else.
As you don't know you can't really say. However I'm willing to bet it will.
It's not about you and your machine though. If you are happy fine. It's a little arrogant to assume that others don't need a warranty.
If I was talking about upgrading parts, I would have suggested that. I wasn't so I didn't.
Plenty of PC/Monitor bundles out there. Anyone with a monitor that's 8 years old will see a difference if they upgrade to a decent new one.

Silly to you obviously, but, you are only talking about you so no surprise there then.
.....and you talk about illogical and wasting money.....No one is saying what you are doing is wrong. If it makes YOU happy then fine.
Yes, you keep saying, but, it's not all about you. I wouldn't be so egotistical to presume to speak for millions.

In your opinion and yes.

Saving money and tech advice. Saving money can become an obsession. I personally save money for buying the nice things that make me happy. No point being the richest corpse in the graveyard.

I do and I can.......I get my car repaired at a garage as well...

I don't disagree. That's all you needed to say........Once. We got your opinion. I don't think I disagreed with anything you said in my post. I just gave my opinion and an idea of what I do. No one is forced to follow....

I have to admit that I lost interest in reading after your very first sentence.

You have absolutely no idea as to whether your machine is quieter than mine. That is pure fantasy. Just today I had to check if my fan was working, as I could not hear a thing and that is with the side of the Tower off.

I cannot imagine that yours can be quieter if I can't actually hear mine. :rotfl:

As to it not being about me and my machine...again you are way off the mark. That is the whole point. How similar in spec the OPs machine is to mine. and how it can be brought up to spec for a minimal cost.

No one expects a warranty for their own seven year old machine that is still working. What is wrong with you? As for the extra components, they may have their own warranty.

As for the monitor, that is separate from a tower purchase and therefore is not relevant to whether you change your PC every two to three years.

I bought a 24" monitor years ago, just as I would have done if I had bought a new PC. So how is your monitor argument relevant??

I bought my mother a new laptop and then fixed her old one(which I'm now using), so I haven't had the opportunity to use the laptop that I bought for myself.

Nicer things in life? Do you mean spending money on a new PC when your old PC can do the same job in the same way for less money?
Wow....your neighbours must be impressed by your pointless new PC.

The fact is that you don't know enough about the subject to be arguing the toss. So you should stick to what you know...whatever that is.

As to my opinion. It is backed by helping many hundreds of people to give their machines a new lease of life. Whilst your opinion is just...your opinion.

The irony of it all is that you come on to this thread spouting that the good info has been lost in a sea of 'opinions' and then you commit exacty the same faux pas.

You should have watched your step before you placed your foot in your mouth.

andydiysaver

Parva wrote: »

And here comes the Linux brigade. You do realise that people like you making comments like this are what actually puts people off of Linux? I've done Linux in various distros (Ubunto, Red Hat to name but two) but the leap from Windows to such an OS is not the walk in the park that you think it is. Yes, I can do it and I know many others who can and I'm sure Linux will get ever more user-friendly but Windows it is not.

xp isn't the problem, pound for pound it is leaner than 7 or anything ghastly and bloated after 7 will ever be , the lack of support for it is, Ubuntu is the friendliest Linux interface, and windows 8 wants us all to believe our computers are mobile phones -and aside from that , the OS is a personal choice and eye of the beholder.


so to facts not preferences, the hardware will cause you problems if you want to upgrade it because it is ageing and limited in routes to upgrade. the tech companies particularly intel are infamous for doing a new socket every time so you have to get a new MB. That said, I would hazard a good guess you could source and put together a far faster machine with as much or less outlay as upgrading what you have there. don't go for super new - that is where the margin is to be had. go back a couple of years, at least over 6 months anyway, buy new "nearly new" tech, and you're laughing, why? because mr I upgrade every second isn't interested as it's been on the shelf longer than 5 minutes, so the driver of price there isn't a factor, but it's also many years more up to date than your current rig, and not in demand - so there you have it. perhaps buy a recently out of date AMD board, a recently out of date AMD chip put the saving you made in doing this on a supported OS and you're laughing. Job done.

PenguinJim

andydiysaver wrote: »

...windows 8 wants us all to believe our computers are mobile phones...

Hehe, you're the second person I've seen online who thinks that the only Windows 8 interface is Metro. It has a desktop interface as well, that looks like... well, Windows. (Although why we're still discussing W8 in 2014 is beyond me - get Windows 8.1! Much better. Free upgrade from 8, too)

There's no need to recommend Linux to non-techies. It will be beyond them. Anyone who can use Linux effectively already knows what it is and considers it as an option anyway.

RumRat wrote: »

Plenty of PC/Monitor bundles out there. Anyone with a monitor that's 8 years old will see a difference if they upgrade to a decent new one.

For anyone reading this and thinking of upgrading or buying new, I'd strongly recommend buying the monitor separately. You'll have more control over your purchase and be able to choose the most appropriate model. Any "savings" from a PC/monitor bundle tend to be offset by SMS (s***** monitor syndrome).

Nodding_Donkey

Parva wrote: »

And here comes the Linux brigade. You do realise that people like you making comments like this are what actually puts people off of Linux? I've done Linux in various distros (Ubunto, Red Hat to name but two) but the leap from Windows to such an OS is not the walk in the park that you think it is. Yes, I can do it and I know many others who can and I'm sure Linux will get ever more user-friendly but Windows it is not.

I used to think like that and, like you, had tried a couple of Linux distros in the past but I recently had to replace my PC (an old XP box) and decided that this time I was going to bite the bullet and get away from Windows for good. After a bit of research I tried Zorin OS and I've got to say it's been great. Even my FIL (Chief Luddite) gets on with it. The latest release has long term support, it's free, it looks just like Windows 7 so it's not such a culture shock to new users, it works and it's easy to set up and use.

Well worth a look

RumRat

NiftyDigits wrote: »

I have to admit that I lost interest in reading after your very first sentence.

You have absolutely no idea as to whether your machine is quieter than mine. That is pure fantasy. Just today I had to check if my fan was working, as I could not hear a thing and that is with the side of the Tower off.

I cannot imagine that yours can be quieter if I can't actually hear mine. :rotfl:

That makes exactly the same point that you are arguing against...Everything then goes down hill.....
You are coming across as the forum queen who is just arguing for the sake of it.

Anyway, the forum is not intended to massage your ego, so we'll agree to disagree.

To those of you who sent PM's with your support, thank you.