Future Proofing Tips?

[corbet31]

I'm looking to build a new PC for myself and was wondering if anyone had some tips about "Future Proofing" it or building it in a way that I may pay $50 extra now in order to save $200 when it comes time to upgrade. I know there's no full proof way of knowing this since technology it constantly changing and next month there may be a new chip set that comes out that destroys all the others.But here are some of the "example questions" that I'm talking about. Should I get a higher watt PSU than I may necessarily need now? Or are the new things using less power? Also I'm not super rushed to build this new PC. Would I be better off waiting for the next line of CPUs to be released or the GTX 700 series than purchasing whats available now? And which current intel socket size is likely to stay around so when I upgraded my CPU I wouldn't also have to replace my motherboard? I know right now gamers don't gain anything from the i7 over the i5 but will they in the future? And would it be worthwhile to get the 2011 over the 1155? I know theres kind of a lot of questions here but what I'm really looking for is what I can do during this build to save myself money when it comes time to upgrade. If you have any answers to these or any other tips please let me know!!

Thanks!

*Just for some more info I'm planning on building a high end gaming PC. I may do some video rendering and editing but not much at all. This build is meant to be centered around gaming for the most part.

 

[redguy54]

Build the PC you can use now, is my best advice.
By the time you need to upgrade, everything else will more than likely need an upgrade aswell.

 

[Italian bear]

Eventually you will want to upgrade the cpu and then that relates to whether or not you need a new motherboard to sit it on. I just made a bit upgrade from the pc I built two years ago and im keeping the ram, closed water cpu cooler, case and psu. Surprise surprise everything is corsair except the case and even back then I was looking at corsair. In short, maybe a case that can house an Xl-Atx motherboard, good powerful quality PSU maybe 1000w?? Ive a corsair 850w and its still going strong.and the ram is ddr 16 gigs of vengeance.. so yeh Ultimately a good PSU and Case

 

[mikerockett]

For the most part my advice would be build a sensible rig you can afford and will be able to afford again in the future. Basically dont spend $2000 on a computer now and hope it'll last 8-10 years when you could buy a $1000 computer have it last 4-5 and buy another for $1000 at the end of that time.

Only real thing to future proof is getting a nice large case. That's the kind of part that you can re use over and over as long as you take care of it.

 

[ogasnor]

I saw the thread title and was about to drop in and express my extreme dislike of the words "future proof" and how there really is no such thing.

Then I saw all three of the responses already, and I have to say, they expressed it in a much more concise and much less ranty manner than I was going to.

 

[diellur]

1) Get a case you'll be happy with for years...they last.

2) Only consider a powerful PSU (>600W) if you want multiple GPUs...it's a good option, especially for multi-monitor gaming.

The next gen of Intel CPUs is going to change the socket size (S1155 to S1150), so any CPU you buy now will be out-of-date then...but it'll last you a long time. Quad-core CPUs are enough for the forseeable future. Buy whatever GPU you like...you can add them later, as long as you get a motherboard that supports Crossfire (AMD) or SLI (Nvidia). SLI is only available on more expensive motherboards, however.

You can't futureproof 100%, but you can buy components sensibly...plan to use your motherboard/CPU/RAM for the next 4-5 years, with a mid-life GPU upgrade.

 

[corbet31]

Best answer selected by Corbet31.