When does upgrading you PC become a "new" PC?
I was wondering when people consider themselves to have a new PC. Technically I've had the same PC for close to 20 years now, but every part's been upgraded several times over.
I figure everyone's got a different mind about it. For me, I'd have to say when all of the big three—CPU, GPU, mobo—have completed a phase, my brain thinks of the previous setup as "the old PC".
81 replies
I don't think I have upgraded a processor for personal use this millenia
I upgrade my computer either when it's not working as desired or I come into some extra cash and wanna treat myself to a boost.
Sadly with the new memory and storage costs I'll probably ride this system out for ~10 years. (I pray she survives that long)
If I had to limit it to physically, I'd say the motherboard. It's the only thing in the box that everything has to be compatible with. Everything else is the extension.
Personally, I believe in a machine spirit. It's a nebulous concept and it muddies the water here, but really the object is new when it no longer feels like the old. If I install a new is some day and my fans don't breathe the same, my lights don't blink like they did, or the chirp of my drives sounds alien, then I know I've lost the ghost and will have to learn a whole personality. Same is true for all my objects.
The machine spirits need to be kept pleased. Praise be to the Omnissiah.
Ah yes, the classic Chip of Theseus problem.
PCtheus
New mb, cpu, ram and videocard.
I used to keep one cd drive from the 90s in every built. Technically it could be understood as the same pc I just upgraded everything around the cd drive.
Last build I made I finally ditched it. I bought a case with bays just in case but I noticed that I haven't used it in the last 10 years so I just didn't install it.
IMO, it's when you replace the motherboard. It's the real heart of the machine; without it, all your other parts ain't doing shit. And since you can get by longer on the same motherboard while still leaving everything else to be upgraded, getting a new motherboard very often necessitates getting at least a new CPU and possibly RAM if you're making a generational leap that requires a new socket type.
I always thought of the CPU as the beating heart and the MoBo as the vessel/body.
At the same time: upgrading CPU often requires a new MoBo too, so I guess they are bound together anyways.
For the original question I'd say CPU + MoBo swap is a new machine. GPU and RAM are upgrades.
The PC of Theseus!
Technically my my PC is the same PC I used decades ago. It started as a Pentium 3 with... 64MB of RAM if I remember, and something like a whopping 10GB hard drive. It's still the same PC of course, I swear!
I remember when I got a Voodoo 3d card with like 128mb of memory for my Pentium 233 WITH MMX. Played Ultimate Online like a boss.
Not very many Voodoo cards came with 128mb and only in the Pentium III/4 era. You may be remembering your total RAM.
I'm impressed the case has handled the changes. Cases back then weren't much to work with.
I have scars still from working in sharp edged computer cases in the 90s...
I built my current PC in the very first case I had back in the year 2000. Everything fits and all the screw holes still line up with modern hardware. The only downside is that it does get pretty toasty under heavy load.
::: spoiler Pic :::
Just pop the side onto a drill press, add a few holes. That metal isn't too thick
I've been thinking about that. Or maybe a bottom mounted fan, would be a shame to ruin the look.
Not if you have pets. You'll need a screen to stop hair getting into the case if you have cats/dogs.
That's still easy enough to get at most home hardware stores.
No, the case can rotate out as well.
PCeus
Chip of Theseus
The timeless "PC of Theseus" question. For me, it's when I replace the motherboard. Especially if it involves a new case.
When you have upgraded enough components that you can build another PC out of the old parts.
Definitely when I upgrade the mainboard + CPU, which usually also means new RAM. It's pretty expensive, you have to change several parts in one go and it's much more noticable in general usage than the GPU.
To me thats the line. Unless you are like, a very active enthusiast, most people, once they get their CPU installed cooler installed, etc.. you probably aren't' swapping that out. Its pretty much a computer at that point.
Yeah, you pretty much need to be some kind of early adopter for your CPU socket to seriously consider upgrading just your CPU. Otherwise, there's just no point. I actually looked it up for my last mainboard, thinking the socket is so old that maybe you can get a somewhat better CPU (i.e. Intel i7 or i9 instead of i5) for really cheap. But the parts market doesn't seem to work like that, looks like they'd much rather trash their leftover CPUs than make an attractive price.
I don't. I build new every time. previous PC was 1080Ti Ryzen 1700 16GB, current one is 9070XT 9850X3D 64GB. There's something about being able to build a new PC while knowing you have a fallback ready.
When you upgrade the motherboard that's a new PC.
What if it's sitll using last generations parts aka with am4 going from B350 to B550. New motherboard, but completely capable of using the exact same old parts.
Hmmm... I've never upgraded a motherboard just to use the same CPU and RAM. I've upgraded CPU and upgraded RAM and considered it the same PC, but when I upgrade the motherboard it's for more modern CPU sockets and DDR generation and PCIE version.
Are people really upgrading motherboards and using the same CPU and RAM?
Maybe I'll change my opinion to new motherboard/CPU at the same time?
Yeah, i just did due to RAM prices going insane and remaining so in the foreseeable future. Went from B450 to B550 due to old MB being slightly unstable and to squeeze out as much life from the CPU and ram to last out the RAM shortages.
Less viable option with intel, but with AMD I've done it before as well, basically to squeeze out as much as possible from a limited budget. Getting a lower end MB and later upgrading it when a decent sale comes up.
I would consider new PC as, upgrading to a new MB with a new socket forcing the upgrade of a CPU and RAM as well.
Replacing the motherboard.
I would've thought that too. But recently I had to swap a new mobo in after a failure and no other parts got done. Felt like the same PC just working again.
Yeah I think upgrading the mobo would be more accurate, when it's a big enough change that you need to replace RAM and the CPU as well.
But you probably had to disconnect about everything, so in a way, they all became simple parts, in a way. Then, once your new mobo is connect, it becomes a new whole, a new PC.
I'd say mobo and GPU changed is a whole new PC.
I knew someone who had essentially replaced every single component in their old PC over and over again, which resulted in the guts of a (then) modern gaming PC inside an old 486 tower because everything still fit.
Is it the same computer?
Nice sleeper build. On some level I want to get an old case for exactly this vibe, on the other hand the ventilation in these old cases sucks and I hate computer fan noise ...
Yeah that's an odd one. Because I've used old parts to build secondary PCs and they were basically my old PC restored. So at some point I got a new PC but it never felt like it lol.
I think as well if I got a new case on top of a new mobo, that constant visual feedback of new. It'd be my new PC but with some of the old parts in it still (most)
In my head, for basically no reason, the motherboard is "the" PC. It's the one large part that really sets the overall generation. I could swap my previous PC's motherboard into my new case, the thing is DDR4 RAM and an AM4 CPU would have to come with it.
Because I do shit like build a SFF PC with an ITX board in a small case, and then turn around and build a fairly standard mATX board in a mini-tower, a lot of the case, case accessories, and GPU are fitted to the system. It would actually be pretty stupid to put the parts of my last PC in my current case because they'd swim.
When windows insists your key is no longer valid, because to many parts have changed and you better buy a brand new licence or link your old licence with you microsoft account. But of course you never did befor upgrading, so now you are stuck in an endless loop of trying to find the right buttons online to fucking link your licence to your account and get it approved for the upgraded pc, but it won't work and where did that one link go? And why won't micorsoft allow me to use my key oh god, oh no. Please microsoft!
Penguins are coming for me.
I have the hdd bay plate off a laptop with a broken screen that I bought off a friend about 15 years ago. Every time I've needed to spin up a windows I put the code for that machine in and promise I'm upgrading to the current OS from an early win7 release. Works every time.
At some point I ought to cut it down and decorate it as some modern magical charm.
Haha, I had that recently setting up a VM. Using my old key I had since Win 7 came out, just upgraded along the way. Suddenly it doesn't work.
"Uuuuuh... Wtf do I do now?"
I got it working, but after forgetting how painful a Windows install is and then setting it up properly, I gave up. Got Vivaldi on and just was so over it at that point, knowing there was still at least an hour of more work to put in before Windows was under control.
we got a hammer in my family thats over 1000 years old...
Usually I consider my PC a new PC once I change the motherboard. Everything being connected to it, if I change it, it means all my parts go back to being parts, then part of a new whole.
If I want hardware I can't plug into my existing MB, I just buy all new parts and build a new PC and give my old one to one of the kids or something.
On the other hand, if I want a big upgrade and I have a bunch of leftover parts, I generally throw them into a new case with a lower-end MB and lower end versions of whatever I kept in my old PC and wind up with a leftover "old" PC anyway.
But I rarely can afford to upgrade my computer. I already gave away my old PC to a kid who needed it and I'm just using my work laptop as my only computer. I owe myself a new PC, but it looks like I'm going to be spending over $5k by the time I have the money saved up for it. That's a spicy meatball.
I've noticed some good secondhand stuff recently. If you think like getting a project car; $50K brand new, but got this one for $10K, needs about $10K of parts and some love then it's ready to go.
The case of PCeseus.
For me it is the mobo + cpu + power supply since I do it rarely enough that I need all three. I usually do RAM at the same time, but sometimes expand it between upgrades. GPU is on a different cycle to spread out costs.
I used the same case for almost 2 decades, so it is definitely the innards that matter.
Weirdly, the case. If the case is the same, my brain doesn't register it as a new computer, but the case changing makes it feel new even if the only thing that changed is the case
When the hostname changes. So, never.
I'm definitely reusing hostnames when fucking around with my Raspberry Pis, too ...
The ship of theseus says hello
You have to decide what it is that defines the entity
The title of "my gaming PC"? Whatever which holds the title is that PC at any given moment.
Defined by some property? Desktop setup, game/file collection, hardware type (whichever has the hardware most suitable for the task, eg. the most capable PC being your gaming PC, etc)
Defined by substance/components? OS image, motherboard / CPU, or even just the case, etc...
You can even use all definitions at once with completely different choices in each, because your current gaming PC might become your next home server as you buy a new PC, then you move around some components like RAM, reinstall a device, make one a media center for your TV, etc...
If I can build a new PC with the old parts. Wait...
I call it a new PC if its a new case.
Although a new motherboard and CPU is a close second.
After a CPU/GPU upgrade of more than two generations, each or combined, which usually necessitates a motherboard upgrade. Not always, but almost always.
Yea, motherboard is my metric. It's what defines the base system capability.
When it's a new build lol
And a new build means a new motherboard, at the minimum.
We call that the Trinity in my family: mobo, ram and cpu.
When you swap in a new motherboard.
When the motherboard gets updated. Because you can only upgrade the CPU so much before you have to get a new motherboard to get something better. And if you upgrade the motherboard you have to get a new CPU.
In this context, an upgraded motherboard has a newer socket type on it. Not just going from a budget motherboard to a top tier.
mobo if it has no soul, otherwise storage
MB/CPU/RAM
Without these 3 it's just an upgrade.
There is no "new" or "old" PC. It's just my PC, keeping up the best it (and my wallet) can.
usually upgrading to an OLD model is a considered new. i dont play high end games, or edit videos at all, also not a tech person.
Whenever you have to do a clean fresh OS install…
By this metric, back when I used Windows, I got a lot of "new PCs" while still on the exact hardware as the old one - not even because I changed anything substantial, but because it's hard to impossible to keep a Windows install from slowing down due to clutter and bullshit. Hasn't been an issue at on Ubuntu, even though I'm still accumulating a lot of installed applications, packages etc.
When more than 50% of it has been replaced, it's a new PC.
NEVER. Only if you throw out your old one and buy a completely new one!!!!!
2 out of the 3 of motherboard, CPU, GPU
I think platform upgrades are the most sensible time to consider it a "new PC". You have to upgrade your motherboard and CPU at the very least, and most likely your RAM, too.
Not a new motherboard as like with AMD, i can use 3 generations of motherboards with the same socket.
So going over to next generation motherboard with a new socket, which forces the upgrade of CPU and RAM as well. Meaning 3 core pieces are already upgraded, usually GPU and storage gets upgraded during tha time as well or at least next up in upgrade path.
I have never changed everything at once so therefore: same PC, only evolved.
Mobo (including CPU).
Since my first ever PC build ages ago, I have always reused at least a couple parts between builds. I have never replaced the cpu, mobo and GPU at the same time.
I'd consider it if 90% or more of the component is brand new and have to be upgraded in one go, else it's just upgraded.
Triggers broom enters the chat
As long as it's the same hard drive (or image), it's the same computer. New computer whenever it's a completely fresh install. I've had the same case since 2013ish. It's had a few new computers in it.