PC Building Simplified: Advice You Wish You'd Known Sooner! - Byte Size Tech

[@darudesandstorm7002]

this is what ive done since ~2003 when i started building my own computers. ive stretched the last few computers to 5 years of use as i dont use the pc as much as i used to. the biggest problem that i (used to) have is fighting the urge to upgrade the gpu after a few years. now i just dial the settings right down, which keeps the wallet (and missus) happy lol.

[@drumyogi9281]

It really is the best way to do it. Accept that there is nothing wrong with Medium graphics and a reasonable resolution. Having other hobbies help.

[@zingwilder9989]

I agree with you 100%. If you no longer have the need for a "constant cutting edge" machine, just put the cash into savings. I also used to love building, but nowadays I only put together what I require every 4 to 5 years.

[@rangersmith4652]

I like this advice. I stopped "upgrading" part by part and now simply build a new PC when I feel the need, relegating the older machine to some lower use case. I game at 4K, but I play older and less demanding games and I'm not an FPS weenie, so I can build a machine with "last-generation" parts--at some discount--and be perfectly fine. I used to be that 1080Ti / 2080Ti buyer (I have one of each, still active), but no longer. Let those who want bleeding edge bleed cash to have it. I'm done with that. There are better ways to spend my children's "inheritance."

[@pushatsinfrared]

I’m doing an in-platform upgrade for AM4 now but in 2-3 years I’ll be doing a full rebuild. This system is already on its second iteration and cracks are starting to appear

[@imo098765]

I generally to the skip a generation strat. Bought Kepler, skipped Maxwell for Pascal. Skipped Turing for Ampere. If Nvidia doesnt give 30% plus improvement in the $600 range. I might just skip again or buy a second hand 4080 when the prices come down

[@imo098765]

@@user-eu5ol7mx8y 1070 to 3070 is the skip the generation strat. But I dont know if we will ever see the jumps in performance again unless Intel can do something, Did we ever think we would be praying Intel does something to fix the market

[@curtismariani6303]

This is so true and excellent advise. I love to tinker I’ve changed so many parts. Mind I started to build my pc in lockdown when some parts were rare and before the Zen 3 and 30 series came out so I had to buy a number of play holder parts which I mostly get my money back on. Once I got a 3090 I stuck with it until I could get a 4090. I do plan to get something like a 8800x3d or Intel equivalent if it doesn’t need a nuclear power plant to run once available.

[@zingwilder9989]

Yup. I've been there and done that with constant upgrading. It becomes financially silly when the machine is not generating revenue for you. Nowadays, I'll employ a very capable mid-range CPU, GPU and board, then just let them ride for 4 to 5 years. Fortunately, with the Phanteks G500 case that I have, to include a 1000 Watt PSU, I should be able to reuse them next time around.

[@peterwstacey]

I'm glad Tech clarified that this advice was true for 80% of users. Everyone has a different budget, and everyone is on a different upgrade plan, since everyone has different use cases. When giving advice on the web, it has to be general advice for most users, but people should always look at their use case. I only recently started playing games more modern than the Tomb Raider remakes, so my 9-year-old i7-4770K, 24GB DDR3, and GTX 660 was fine. Switched to a i7-13700K, 64GB DDR5, and RTX 3080 12GB. Since I'm used to 1080p 30fps Medium Settings, I'll probably not upgrade for the next 15 years now.

[@earthling1984]

I'm with you. I had an i7-4710, 16gb DDR3, GTX 860, 2.5" SSD. Used that computer for over 7 years. Did everything fine. I played games (like you on medium settings mostly), rendered YT videos. I was happy with it. I decided to build a new computer in Nov. 2021. I didn't feel like waiting for, or being a guinea pig for, the AM5 platform. So I went with AM4, b550m motherboard, 5800x, 32GB DDR4, Gen 4 M.2, GTX1650 (video cards were crazy priced back then so I went with the 1650, I have now upgraded to the 3060ti). I play on an 7 year old 27" 1080x60 ViewSonic monitor. It's great. Looks amazing to me. Especially since all games I play I can max out on ultra settings now (RT off though). Hogwarts Legacy all maxed gives me 60fps locked, never dropping below. And my video rendering times got cut in half. Had this system 2 years now, and honestly I could see it lasting another 5+ years easy.

[@mikeramos91]

You were on a gtx 660 til 2023 GEEZ. I assume now you’re playing at higher refresh rate. Your system will not last u 15 years. Technology is moving faster now & games are becoming more demanding. Personally I think 5 years is a good time to upgrade or 3 generations

[@earthling1984]

@mikeramos91 5 years or so he should be good for sure. And actually processors and video cards are advancing slower than ever before. But we'll see what the future brings.

[@mikeramos91]

@@earthling1984 CPUs have been advancing faster then before. 10 years ago there was a long period of time we’re Intel made little to no changes in their processors because there was no competition. They we’re top dog for a while. 4 cores was high end for many years until AMD stepped in. We are now at 24 cores for high end. As for graphics cards they are advancing less in terms of raw power but advancing more in terms of software tricks like DLSS/frame generation. Games recently have been recommending pretty high graphic cards. Unfortunately these days some games require upscaling for ultra settings. With the a 3080 10gb he probably won’t be good in 5 years as the vram will cripple the card long before it’s raw power isn’t enough anymore. But then again he said he’s used to 1080p 30 fps medium settings 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@earthling1984]

@@mikeramos91 I guess you weren't around for the 90s or 2000s

[@dcabral00]

Excellent advice. Although to be honest, I have a 4090 and would be very surprised if I feel the need to upgrade after two years.

[@alias5152]

Best advice ever... That's how i do it.. always having WoW moment.. + it turns cheaper than upgrading every year..if you calculate it all..Ofc you need to have prepared cash for it and give it at once.. but you will never have a problem... and you will always be in that high level "bubble"..

[@williambreeze2659]

Solid advice guy's!

[@JGComments]

Thanks. This pushes me toward a 7800 X3D versus a 7700 XT.

[@higgsbosonfan]

The "buy a console if you want something cheap" only really applies to some people. There's more to a PC than performance. I play a lot of PVP games which means consoles are out of the question for me. Consoles force v-sync, kbm support is limited and even when it does work the ports are limited to 125hz, most devs focus visuals over framerate, and online adds to the cost over time.

[@fyreblade1262]

I'm def one of the top 5%. maybe it's a Generation thing. Growing up in the 90's with PC's bred us with this having the best mentality. 144hz 4k has to be butter smooth. Currently on a 13900ks with a 5.8GHZ all core OC. 4090 and 7000mhz DDR5 Ram. 1300W PSU and liquid custom looped. Looking for a pcie 5.0 drive now. It's just what some of us do.

[@earthling1984]

I'm with you, or I was. Been building since my teens (almost 40 now). The PC's I built during HS and College were the best of the best. Raptor 10,000rpm HDD's in Raid, Dual 8800GTS video cards in SLI (yes, there was 8800GTX, but I just got the GTS's), and all the bells and whistles available at the time. Remember lightscribe cd-roms? Where you could 'print' onto the back of the disk an image, words, whatever. But now I am not always needing to spend 5k on a new build. I built my current desktop back in November 2021. B550, 5800x, 32gb 3200 ram, gen 4 m.2, EVGA 550w PSU (was on sale for $50), gtx1650 (video card prices were crazy, I have now upgraded to a 3060ti). I am old school and I am fine with 1080x60. I can max every game at 60fps locked and never drop below. 1440 will probably be my next step in a few years with my next system. And 4k years after that. It's nice to have the best of the best. But, I feel like I have the best of the best, because I stayed at 1080.

[@FragbiteOeXistenz]

1300W for what? Lol

[@earthling1984]

@FragbiteOeXistenz Yeah, 1300w is a bit much, lol. Especially since today's pcs have way less power-hungry accessories (no hdds, no cd roms, etc.). I'm running my system on an evga 550w. It was on sale for 50 bucks, and I knew it would be plenty. 2 years later, working great. 750w now a days is plenty for basically anything. What's crazy is back in 2007 when I built the pc I discussed above, I had a 700w. I actually went down.

[@keanubartolata3465]

When do you think is the better timing to change PC, CPU [socket] end-to-end of generation (4-year cycle) or start-to-start of generation? Of course, GPU doesn't matter, I buy the best I can afford, and it fits no matter what. I used to wait until both Intel and AMD releases and wait for independent reviews before making decision.

[@ByteSizeTech]

End of generation. Think Ivy Bridge, Haswell Refresh, Kaby Lake, Coffee Lake Refresh... Rocket Lake was the exception, yuck

[@keanubartolata3465]

@@ByteSizeTech TBH I was thinking start of generation would be better because of upgrade path. But who am I to argue, you're the best.

[@alexsiniov]

I build platform for 8 years with flagship hardware, upgrade Video or CPU when I see reasonable jump in performance for GPU and end with maximum cpu platform can allow. Recently upgraded by AM4 3900x - 1080TI to 6900XT and maybe next year will buy 5950x to improve overall performance of PC by 50%, but since I game at 5120x1440p 120hz, Zen 3 wont have that performance jump over Zen 2 at such resolution in gaming.

[@Cheesedream]

Lol, I better get a wow moment with my new build. Going from an 8 year old laptop to an i5 13600k/ RX 6800 XT

[@tigerhunter3203]

Great advice! When's the next livestream?

[@daniil3815]

Tbh, normal pc builder can manage to upgrade every 6 years if buying smart and enough high end. Do you remember 1080ti and how long it lasted for 1080p gaming? I think you can easily get 6 years of gaming on 4080/4090/7900xtx at 1440p. Also seems like a good idea to buy in the middle of console generation (40xx and 50xx is perfect timing imo). Games became way more demanding since ps5 releases, but now we will have time until games made for ps6 which is probably 6 years from now.

[@StefanEtienneTheVerrgeRep]

Some advice I wish I known sooner is that Thermal Paste won't double as lube. Poor Lishten had to learn the hard way.

[@dianaalyssa8726]

Sounds about right.

[@jackiechan8840]

I had my 1st self build for nearly 10 years! 4 years too soon for a tight arse like me. Same mobo and cpu for almost a decade. Intel i5 3570k. Still works fine. Buy a quality PSU as it's most likely to die 1st otherwise.

[@christinaedwards5084]

I’ve always stuck to 5 years, 4 years is too soon.

[@addidaswguy]

I got a 3700x with a 5700xt in 2020. It still runs fine, but it makes an annoying noise all the time, and whenever I do cinebench or at night. Wouldn't that be a GPU fan? Anyway I have about $1,400 to spend, I found someone who is selling a 13600k and a 3070. Do you think that'll be a decent enough of an upgrade? (I used to build my own PCs but I had something happen when I broke something and lost my confidence 😢)

[@4n0n87]

After awhile you figure out you don't need as much as you think you do. You kind of figure that out along the way. i5-9600k, 2060 since 2019. I will upgrade probably next year just in case a itch for a new triple a game comes along, but that is my only reason, prolly could get another year out of it honestly. I don't steam or multitask if gaming. 2DCAD, KZbin, gaming.

[@laszlodajka5946]

Im in a strange scenario. I have an am4 r7 5800x3d with an xtx. I plan to keep the xtx for 4-5 years but thought maybe in 2 years i upgrade to am5 and zen5. And of course all that on 1440p

[@christinaedwards5084]

Similar to me I bought a ryzen 5 5600 in July and from what I understand am6 comes out in 2026. I’ll buy the latest am5 and ddr5 ram then. I expect my 6950xt to last till 2027/8 but if something decent comes out and I still get a decent price for my gpu I’ll upgrade that sooner.

[@jiggerypokery2962]

Could you go like for 3 years use the same GPU but for 6 years use the same CPU or is that simply expecting too much from your CPU. 7800x3d is pretty cheap at microcenter when bundled. Any 8700K owners want to tell me how it is in 2024?

[@Lexiforlifeacm]

Plan to go from 10700K to 14900K and went from 2080 super to 4080 should be nice. My new gpu gave me WoW factor 😊 since I play on 4K and can’t wait to get next gen M.2 SSD with faster Ram with the I9 14900K will be my first ever I9 always ran I7’s

[@didamnesia3575]

I also have a 10700k with a 4090 playing in 4k. I am not upgrading to 14th gen until I see hard numbers for gaming. Your use may be different, but at 4k the gpu is the bottleneck. But you will see smoother frames even if the gain is only 2fps-20fps

[@Lexiforlifeacm]

@@didamnesia3575 it’s more for my multitasking and faster memory and M.2 that I want to upgrade to I9. 14900K

[@FishSnot]

that exactly what I've been doing, just every 5 years

[@michaelmapalo3514]

Or upgrade when your pc does not serve you as fast as you want

[@STRET24]

Agree but would swap 'build' for 'buy'! 4-6 yrs is a good range...

[@daniil3815]

6 years only if you time it right. Buy in the middle of console generation to have comfortable 6 years. If you buy at the end of console generation or at very beginning, your gpu will age like milk. Just look at 3070 for example, at 2020 it seemed perfect gpu for 1440p, but for latest AAA made for ps5/xbox sx, it’s not enough.

[@jskndeol]

Good advise, don’t buy PC now!! Wait for GTA 6. That will be the new benchmark in 2024/25. For gaming.