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WilliamWatts on 23 July 2010
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HappySqurriel said:
WilliamWatts said:

How long will it be viable? Well quite a reasonable length of time. Most new games aren't pushing the envelope and PC requirements have remained fairly static and will likely remain so for a while. I have friends who still game with their 7900GTX GPUs and they are perfectly happy with what they have. They just want to play and they don't care for increased eye candy. They won't upgrade until they are forced to, which will probably be sometime this year. That isn't too bad, 5 years for a GPU upgrade. I would say given the fact that the 5670 is up to date it'll be good for at least 5 years.

I'm in a similar situation with my Geforce 7800 and Athlon X2 3800 , but I didn't spend $500 in 2005 to build that system. There is no argument that you can build a $500 gaming system, and I don't argue that you can build a gaming system that lasts 5 years, but you certainly can not build a $500 gaming PC that lasts 5 years.

The $1,500 gaming system I built in 2005 will need to be replaced by a $1,000 to $1,500 gaming system that will last me until (hopefully) 2015; but that $500 gaming system will need to be replaced by another $500 gaming system in 2012/2013, and that system will need to be replaced a couple years down the line.

With all due respect I have to say you're following the wrong philosophy for PC gaming. The bleeding edge technology is irrelevant and expensive and only fit for enthusiasts. Mainstream gamers simply don't need anything beyond an HD 5670 and a dual core processor. In a like for like / cost for cost comparison consoles cost more than their list price because the console manufacturer expects to make it back from you with the cost of the games and accessories. In all fairness all you need to do is follow a Tick Tock model of upgrades.

Tick -> Complete overhaul or new system.

Tock -> If needed upgrade the RAM / GPU.

If you're going to be playing mainstream games like MMOs you can bet that they won't be pushing a mainstream system any harder than they need to. Besides this, graphics are always pushed before the CPUs become obsolete and the GPUs are the easiest parts to upgrade behind the RAM. So that $500 system will be GPU limited before it ever becomes CPU limited, however your options in that respect are far better and the progress made for your $ are also far greater as time passes.

Mainstream performance will soon be defined by laptops and CPUs with integrated GPUs like AMD Ontario and later their Bulldozer CGPU which will have less performance than that $500 mainstream PC I listed. Follow the market, don't follow the enthusiasts. You can get a great system with extremely solid performance for very little money comparatively and still have the same enjoyment from the same games. Developers have pretty much abandoned the bleeding edge technology aside from a few niche titles, so theres no need for that $1500 game PC today, not anymore.