After how many CPU generations do you typically upgrade?

Discussion in 'Processors and motherboards AMD' started by BlindBison, Apr 28, 2021.

  1. BlindBison

    BlindBison Ancient Guru

    Messages:
    2,414
    Likes Received:
    1,139
    GPU:
    RTX 3070
    Zen 2 to Zen 3 seems like it was the biggest jump yet in terms of gaming for Ryzen gens. I've got a 3900X which is fine for what I do for now, but I'm very interested to see how Zen 4 or even Zen 5 go down in the years from now.

    In the past, I've often kept the same machine for ~5 years, but if the level of improvement gets close to what we've seen with Zen 2 and Zen 3 when Zen 4 or 5 roll around I think i'll be pretty tempted to upgrade every ~3 years perhaps.

    Currently the market is kinda awful price-wise but there are also some great hardware releases. If Zen 4 blows me away I might bite the bullet then rather than wait it out for Zen 5.
     
    Kevin Mauro likes this.
  2. Dragam1337

    Dragam1337 Ancient Guru

    Messages:
    5,535
    Likes Received:
    3,581
    GPU:
    RTX 4090 Gaming OC
    Im still on a 8 year old 4930k. Playing at 60 hz, i've just had no reason to change it.

    But if i get the screen i want, i might upgrade to a 12900k - play 4k at 144 hz with no compression or compromises otherwise.
     
  3. BlindBison

    BlindBison Ancient Guru

    Messages:
    2,414
    Likes Received:
    1,139
    GPU:
    RTX 3070
    Wow, that's quite awhile, but Intel hasn't exactly made staggering gains gen on gen most of the time (some they have though ofc -- the cumulative gains are still pretty impressive). So long as you can reach your performance targets the same CPU lasting you is awesome.

    I'm looking forward to seeing Intel's 12th gen efforts.

    And yeah, i'm looking forward to picking up a high refresh 4K adaptive sync panel with low latency one of these days, but they're quite pricey at the moment. Probably my next big PC upgrade that'll be what I look for though.
     
  4. Undying

    Undying Ancient Guru

    Messages:
    25,333
    Likes Received:
    12,743
    GPU:
    XFX RX6800XT 16GB
    I was using Sandy Bridge 2500k then jumped to Sandy Bridge-E 3930k for a long time, it was really nice cpu and 6/12t was really a futureproof. Lasted more than usual. After that went to amd again and got a zen+ 2700x. Now thinking of skipping zen2/3 and going straight to zen4/ddr5.

    Lets say 2-3 generations then upgrade.
     

  5. pimp_gimp

    pimp_gimp Ancient Guru

    Messages:
    6,700
    Likes Received:
    99
    GPU:
    RTX 2080 Super SLI
    My most recent upgrade was 8 years Ivy Bridge to Ryzen 7 3700X, before that I used to upgrade a bit more regularly. For a long time I just didn't feel the need to upgrade.
     
    BlindBison likes this.
  6. bobnewels

    bobnewels Maha Guru

    Messages:
    1,413
    Likes Received:
    1,054
    GPU:
    amd
    Last two years I bought 2x3600X/3600XT/3800X/3800XT/5600X/5800X/10850K for my gaming PC @4K and no CPU made a real difference in gaming, I just like buying crap. The one Intel CPU I bought and currently using was because it was cheap, hundreds of dollars cheap from my 5800X.
    I will be buying Zen3+ if released and Zen4/Zen5
     
    BlindBison likes this.
  7. Hypernaut

    Hypernaut Master Guru

    Messages:
    317
    Likes Received:
    120
    GPU:
    5700XT Red Devil
    If we are talking modern gaming PCs. I guess I could start at a 1.2Ghz AMD Athlon, back in 2001, then 2005 (It was a painful few years between) Athlon 64 3200+, 2007 Intel Q6600, 2011 i5 2500K, 2019 AMD 3600, and finally in 2021 AMD 5800X.

    I'm not an AMD or Intel fanboi. I jump ship when the tech is good when I upgrade.
     
    BlindBison likes this.
  8. Kool64

    Kool64 Ancient Guru

    Messages:
    1,656
    Likes Received:
    783
    GPU:
    Gigabyte 4070
    upgraded my Intel 486sx 33 to an AMD 133 overdrive chip in the early/mid 90s. had that till my K6/2 350(late 90s) then upgraded that to a k6/2 450 a year or so later(they mopped the floor with P2 and 3s) then I had an Athlon Xp2500 early 00s traded it for an athlon XP3200 a year or so later then mid 00s I had an Opteron 144(OC'd to heck at 2.9) I then got an Opteron 180 to replace it (only got 2.7 out of it:() then went intel conroe with a E6600 then upgraded that to a Wolfdale E8400 which became my i7930 which turned into an i7980 which morphed into an AMD 1600X after 5+ years(longest no upgrade run) then to my current 3700x. So give or take 2-3 years.
     
    BlindBison likes this.
  9. CPC_RedDawn

    CPC_RedDawn Ancient Guru

    Messages:
    10,411
    Likes Received:
    3,078
    GPU:
    PNY RTX4090
    Ok don't hate me..... :rolleyes:

    I've upgraded far too much recently.... :oops::oops:

    I had a 7700K and upgraded to the 1800X on launch day........ Then I upgraded to a 2700X on launch day..... Then I upgraded too a 3900X on launch day, and now I have a 5900X which I got also on launch day (lucky)........ Yea..... its WAY too much.

    Before this I didn't upgrade so often as each generation offered very little in terms of performance and Intel's chips tended to overclock quite well and easily.

    I have a 4770K for a long time overclocked to 4.5GHz before I upgraded to a 7700K. I only had the 7700K for a few months and found the chip to be insanely hot for what it was. I even delidded it and dropped 20C off it, but hit a wall towards the 4.8-4.9GHz mark. Must of had a bad chip or board.

    Before the 4770K I had an i7 960 D0 for years overclocked easily to 4.4GHz. Before that I was on a Q6600 G0 overclocked to 3.6GHz (one of the best chips I ever owned). Before that I was on a X6800 Core 2 Extreme and before that I was on a single core Athlon 4000+

    GPU's is a different story, I had a 9700 Pro for ages, then a 6800 Ultra, then an ATI X1900XTX, then x2 X1900XTX in crossfire, then an 8800GTX Ultra which I had for a long time until I upgraded to a GTX480, then a HD7970GHz, then x2 HD7970GHz, then a GTX970, then GTX980Ti, then a GTX1080, then a GTX1080Ti and now a 6800XT.
     
    BlindBison likes this.
  10. cucaulay malkin

    cucaulay malkin Ancient Guru

    Messages:
    9,236
    Likes Received:
    5,208
    GPU:
    AD102/Navi21
    gpu-every gen except this one since I can't buy a card.sometimes twice in one gen.
    it may be surprising to many,but I personally liked 980ti-1080 upgrade most in the recent history.A 250w card for a 180w one,noticeably faster where 980ti struggled to keep 50fps I got 60,and overclocked like a dream,got 2164mhz game stable and 2177mhz bench stable on palit sjs card.980ti overclocked very well too,but it was unbearable with all the noise and heat.1080 - easy peasy.That's why I can't stomach the power draw on 3080.I ordered it on launch,but frankly I'd rather have a 3070ti with full ga104 die and gddr6x or a 6800 non xt if amd's dlss equivalent turns out equally good.

    cpu - until it can't perform what I need it to
    I was on z97 for 5 years before I moved to z490,got a placeholder 10500 with b-die ram and it was running circles around 5775c already in MT games,now I got a 10700f and I'll stay on it until it can't do 60fps.
     
    Last edited: Apr 28, 2021
    BlindBison likes this.

  11. Mufflore

    Mufflore Ancient Guru

    Messages:
    14,691
    Likes Received:
    2,671
    GPU:
    Aorus 3090 Xtreme
    Between 3 and 5 years between upgrades recently (lol).
    Stayed with Sandybridge for 5 years, Skylake for over 4.5 years, before that was less time between upgrades.
    I'm still using my 6700K as a browsing and light gaming PC with a 10700K for hardcore gaming.
     
    BlindBison likes this.
  12. tsunami231

    tsunami231 Ancient Guru

    Messages:
    14,725
    Likes Received:
    1,854
    GPU:
    EVGA 1070Ti Black
    WEnt from 920 to 6700 so six gen so at very lest 5 years between builds
     
    BlindBison likes this.
  13. Mineria

    Mineria Ancient Guru

    Messages:
    5,540
    Likes Received:
    701
    GPU:
    Asus RTX 3080 Ti
    Think I went something like this over the years: 286 - 486 - Cyrix 5x86 - P2 - P3 - P4 - Athlon X64 - Q9650 - 2600K - 4790K - 3700X - 5800X
     
    BlindBison likes this.
  14. KissSh0t

    KissSh0t Ancient Guru

    Messages:
    13,832
    Likes Received:
    7,590
    GPU:
    ASUS 3060 OC 12GB
    Thinking back I started with AMD Athlon 64 3000 > AMD Opteron 195 > AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE > AMD FX-8320 > AMD Ryzen 5 3600...

    Actually... I think I had one cpu before the Athlon 3000 but I can't remember the model, one of the Athlon XP chips
     
    BlindBison likes this.
  15. BlindBison

    BlindBison Ancient Guru

    Messages:
    2,414
    Likes Received:
    1,139
    GPU:
    RTX 3070
    lol that’s a ton of parts that’s awesome
     

  16. BlindBison

    BlindBison Ancient Guru

    Messages:
    2,414
    Likes Received:
    1,139
    GPU:
    RTX 3070
    Good thinking same here — I’m currently on the Zen 3 train, but Intel’s 11400F or 11600K maybe are pretty good for gaming at the price seems like. If they start winning again I’ll hop back over.
     
    Hypernaut likes this.
  17. BlindBison

    BlindBison Ancient Guru

    Messages:
    2,414
    Likes Received:
    1,139
    GPU:
    RTX 3070
    It’s awesome having the most modern chips imo :p if you can afford it more power to you mate
     
    CPC_RedDawn likes this.
  18. BlindBison

    BlindBison Ancient Guru

    Messages:
    2,414
    Likes Received:
    1,139
    GPU:
    RTX 3070
    Sometimes twice in one gen dang, that’s unexpected. Still, it’s always nice to have better performance. I use my computer every day for hours (work / gaming) so I think for people in a similar boat the investment can be worth it.
     
  19. BlindBison

    BlindBison Ancient Guru

    Messages:
    2,414
    Likes Received:
    1,139
    GPU:
    RTX 3070
    Yeah, to aim for every 5 years or so when the cost really hurt, but these days I aim for maybe every 3 years or so myself. I’d upgrade every year I think if money was no object, but of course that’s everybody :p
     
  20. nhlkoho

    nhlkoho Guest

    Messages:
    7,755
    Likes Received:
    366
    GPU:
    RTX 2080ti FE
    every 4 intel gens usually
     
    BlindBison likes this.

Share This Page