I'm out of questions lol!

[Treeace]

Ok I know that most computer components are out of date almost as soon as they come out! That said in general if I get new items to build a computer what's the longevity of the items compared to price or is it really a personal preference! Thank you for any information this is a complex question

 

[MarkW]

All we can do is ballpark things. There will always be exceptions to this.

Most electronic devices used on a daily basis and properly maintained will last about 5 years. Some will die in 10 seconds or less, and some will last 10 years. However, in most cases, if you provide a nice steady smooth flow of power, they will last longer. Heat and power surges are the two main things you want to avoid.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Depending on your expectations in regard to the level of performance needed, and what you plan to focus on doing with the machine, most current hardware is looking at a 3-5 year lifespan before becoming irrelevant or severely outdated. Gaming rigs may lose the ability to keep up with the demands of current titles much faster than other systems, but if your expectations aren't Ultra everything at 8k (Sarcasm), then 3-5 years is a reasonable expectation so long as what you invest in is actually current hardware and not something that's been out already for a year or two.

Buying high quality components to start with is a good way to avoid premature failure, although it still occasionally happens, or being stuck with an underperforming rig from the start.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

i agree with the other replies, up to 5 years if you bought something in the upper tier and are happy to potentially reduce settings/resolution as more demanding applications come out. I gave my daughter an old intel q8400 pc, with an 8500gt vido card, 4gb ram and windows xp, and it is still of some use. She mainly plays minecraft on it, and some GBA/n64 emulator games.. So yeah, depends what your expectations are.

My general theory, is to get more cpu power than you need, and sacrifice on the vid card a bit for a gaming system if your on a budget. Cpu sockets become outdated quickly and cpu performance is stagnated more-so than gpu. Where gpu's are easily upgradeable and newer pcie versions will be backwards compatible with older motherboards. My setup has survived 3 vid card upgrades since i bought it, hd6850 xfire, gtx660, 7970, and i'd be looking to upgrade my gpu again before i get close to having to upgrade motherboard/cpu, it may even surive one more round after that with some overclocking.

 

[fixxxer113]

I agree with iam2thecrowe.

Getting the best CPU you can afford is probably what will make your rig as future-proof as possible. My previous system was a Core 2 Duo E8400 that is still quite fast for home/media use and can play lots of games with a decent GPU (plus the 8400 OCs very well with just a decent air cooler).

My current system is an i7 940 (very 1st generation of i7). The CPU and mobo were bought several years ago used. The i7 still runs very fast and the system has gone from a NVIDIA 8400 to a 9800 to a GTX 660. Games run fine on it and I can always upgrade the GPU even more, or maybe OC the CPU, which I haven't done at all until now.

Having a slow CPU will be an issue, because after some years you will probably be required to change CPU, M/B and/or RAM. Not to mention possibly the PSU, if some new power or connector requirements appear on newer mobos.

 

[Treeace]

Thank you guys for your answers, The average on what ever I build (new parts) should get me to the 5 year mark! I think that's a good time most cars last about that long lol.
Thank You...all for a response I will pick 1 but all are great answers!