[SOLVED] Lots of mid range parts > Top range CPU + 1 Top range GPU

[varga.mine.levike]

So i talked about with one of my IT specialist friend and he said that using some of the good old and not so expensive parts like 2 gtx 1060 or 1080 and an i5 or i7 is better than building a pc with a single rtx2080 or titan X and with the hottest Ryzen or I9 CPU and with a maximus VIII (holy sh** that thing is really expensive) as these will become obsolete in 4 years. Is that true?

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Your friend is nuts! But then I would say that. Listen there is no comparison. If you want an amazing gaming experience and a system thats relative for 4-5 years go all out.

If you wanna have a poor gaming experience, wonder why stuff keeps stuttering and your gameplay isn't as you'd expect, then stick an i5 or i7 in there with a GTX1080.

Now with all of that said, it depends on what I5/I7 you're talking about!!

Spending big bucks on a system means it will last, and still play games in 4-5 years. But nonetheless, new hardware comes out all the time, and it's only a few months typically after purchase, and then the next better chips comes out. PC systems are never really obsolete (unless they die), but in comparison to the next 'one' it will be slower. and so on.

Take my own system for example. 2 years ago my Ryzen 1600x was a great midrange CPU with pretty amazing performance (for what it was). now the Ryzen 2600x is already out (and is about 10$ faster) and by the end of the year the Ryzen 3600x will be out, and it will be stellar! This happens. That the hardware world we live in. Nothing is future proof. The more you spend at the beginning, the less you have to spend down the line. But that's the fun part for me. Upgrading bits as I go along.

 

[Eximo]

I think your friend is trying to explain that it is easy to overspend. It is more economical to build a mid-range system every few years then it is to buy the most powerful components. If you want to stay on top you are going to constantly buying the next latest thing. Re-sell value of those components is quite diminished just by taking them out of the box.

So the crazy guy who drops $4,000 on a high end system will be good for several years.

The guy that spends about $1000, then two years later spends another $1000 will have a system equal to or nearly equal to that $4,000 system. Also easier to sell mid-range components used.

Obviously the numbers are made up, but there is some truth to this, particularly when it comes to gaming.

2 GTX1060 isn't viable, they don't officially support SLI, and very few games have bothered with multi-GPU support using DX12.

I have that GTX1080 that I bought new when it was released $650 as I recall. Still have it. Most GTX1080Ti owners are also still in good shape. So buying high end can work long term. I have a more middle-range i7-7700k. Not one of the HEDT chips or even one of the new Hex or 8-core Intel chips. Still adequate for gaming. Now my system would be more in that $3000 range, but I didn't buy it all at once. I ran that GTX1080 with an i7-4770k for a while. I'll probably hold out for Nvidia's next release before upgrading my GPU which will have put me in around a 4 year cycle on the GPU.