60% of PC gamers have no plans to build a new PC in the next two years — only 25% have any plans to try and attempt a new build in the next 12 months

[-]

willwolf18@reddit

Feels pretty in line with how long most people actually keep PCs anyway.

The upgrade cycle has stretched so much that a lot of builds just get a GPU swap and keep rolling. Full platform changes every 2 years feels more like enthusiast behavior than the average gamer.

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MekotheSaurus@reddit

5900x here im in a weird spot. There's no way in hell im paying 400€ for ddr5 on top of the CPU+motherboard.

And the only upgrade for gaming (5700x3d) would be a sidegrade or even a downgrade for non gaming stuff.

So im stuck for a few years because i pass on being an early adopter, so i'll wait until 64gb DDR6 is the new standard.

[-]

alexdi@reddit

Same, though my 5900X died and I replaced it with a 5700X3D. Miss the non-gaming performance.

[-]

shroudedwolf51@reddit

I'm kinda surprised you didn't go for another 5900X or a 5900XT. Since for a while there, those were ridiculously good value.

[-]

alexdi@reddit

At the time, the 5700 was significantly cheaper.

[-]

Myrang3r@reddit

Exactly the same here. No way am I paying like 400 eur for a 32GB kit of 5200mhz ram with shitty latency when even the fucking CPU costs less...

[-]

kenyard@reddit

I'm kinda amazed at the latency of ddr5.

The slower stuff with like timings of 40+ seems to have real world performance the same as ddr4 or lower because that was all at timings of <20

[-]

crshbndct@reddit

Ugh not this again. The latency is in RAM clock cycles.

If you have 20 latency at 3000mhz, that’s the same latency as 40 at 6000mhz, but with twice the bandwidth.

[-]

no6969el@reddit

Considering I paid 190 for 64gbs that is insane!

[-]

I'm still on a 5900X here as well. I'll be honest, while it doesn't reach the best possible framerates...as long as it delivers the performance that you want, there's no reason to be sweating to get rid of it. It's a good chip on a dated, but rock solid platform.

[-]

herewegoagain1920@reddit

Many places sell bundles which brings down the individual prices. Check out micro-center for example.

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siazdghw@reddit

AMD not offering any cross DDR4/DDR5 RAM compatibility boards like Intel did really put AM4 users looking to upgrade in a pickle.

I've seen several people swap from AM4 to LGA1700 in order to keep using their high capacity DDR4 kits and get access to a far faster CPU than AM4 offers. Like a 64GB kit of DDR5 is $700, and 128GB $1700... Even just a 64GB DDR5 kit alone is more expensive than a 14900k+z790 DDR4, hence why some people are making that switch.

[-]

LR0989@reddit

It would make more sense too, considering AM5 CPUs thus far still basically have DDR4 memory controllers

[-]

Beefmytaco@reddit

They're supposed to be brining back the 5800x3d for it's anniversary so might be able to grab one then.

I'm just happy I managed to get a great deal on a 5090 recently, so I'm done upgrading for a few years now. Prolly last time gpu's can even be had

[-]

InflammableAccount@reddit

Well, it's not like you'll get nothing for your DDR4. Best upgrade paths I've seen are retailers who are doing bundle deals, CPU/Mobo/RAM together.

[-]

greggm2000@reddit

I suspect you'll change your mind in a year or two, once next gen stuff is out, and (hopefully) DDR5 is a sane price once more/the AI bubble will have burst. DDR6 will become the standard in time ofc, but that's probably 5 years away, with Zen 8 and Intel (Hammer?) Lake.

Idk about you, but there's some games I'm waiting for next year (Exodus, for one) that I think my 12700K (+DDR4) isn't going give me the experience I want.. but Zen 6 X3D or Intel Nova Lake will.

[-]

InfinitePilgrim@reddit

5950X here, only update I did was a 9070XT, I'm good for another 4-5 years. Back in 2020 when DDR4 was selling for peanuts, I got 128GB of it, best purchase I've ever made.

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stugatz_21@reddit

Would a 5950x even bottleneck a 9070xt at 1440p?

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siazdghw@reddit

It always depends on the game and settings.

Competitive games like CS, Valorant, Siege, League, etc absolutely it is a bottleneck. AAA single player games on high/ultra then the 9070XT is the bottleneck.

[-]

dc_IV@reddit

What did you pay for 128GB? I ask because I paid $340 for G.Skill DDR4-4000 late last year, but sold 64GB of it for $250 a couple monthsago, so $90 Net for 64GB.

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InfinitePilgrim@reddit

I think I paid around $400 back in 2020.

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dc_IV@reddit

LOL, and I thought $350 was pricey late last year, but the fact I could sell 1/2 or the 128GB for $250 almost makes me feel bad. I simply wasn't using any programs that used more that around 58GB total with Chrome and a couple other things opened.

Did you manage to get past 64GB since it was a Workstation? Like 3 VMs with 24GB each with be a breeze with 128GB and be very performant.

[-]

zxyzyxz@reddit

Same, also got 128 GB to try running local LLMs a few years ago, but I'm wondering if I can just sell most of it as I'm not doing much of that anymore.

[-]

ycnz@reddit

In the olden times, I sold my 5900x and bought a 5800x3d on sale, and made $50.

[-]

_Lucille_@reddit

5800x in a similar situation.

My gaming performance is still fine @ 1440p, and I can see myself actually skipping DDR5 altogether unless something catastrophic happens (touch wood).

[-]

y59qgnie@reddit

Do the switch. I had a 5950x and went for the 5800x3d. Difference in games was huge.

Now I have the 9950x3d

[-]

MekotheSaurus@reddit

Problem is 5800x3d costs a lot of money and its hard to justify for a mere 20% performance uplift, even if i play some games that would really benefit.from it (ultra modded Skyrim).

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y59qgnie@reddit

It's not just 20%. In some games it's like +50%.
And if you sell your old CPU you wouldn't have to pay so much for a x3d.

[-]

whywhywhywhywhynot@reddit

It's also like $900 for a 4 year old cpu. RAM prices have made people trying to extend the life of their DDR4 platforms and the high end AM4 cpus aren't being made anymore so their prices have also gone sky high. You are kinda fucked either way. I would rather build a new setup and eat the RAM prices than buy old shit that inflated.

[-]

y59qgnie@reddit

Wtf? They're about $400 in Sweden.

[-]

fordry@reddit

Used ones are running around $450-500 on eBay.

[-]

saldas_elfstone@reddit

As far as Skyrim goes, the difference is night and day. Performance uplift is enormous. If I were you, I'd go for it.

[-]

ImpactCertain3395@reddit

I’m surprised the difference is so huge with just CPU, what kind of games are you playing? 4ak?

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y59qgnie@reddit

I play mostly on 4K, but even then it made a huge difference for CPU intensive games.
Like +50% performance between the 5950x and 5800x3d.

Like Counter strike, Overwatch, Path of Exile.

[-]

naicha15@reddit

It's all close enough if you're playing AAA titles at max settings / high resolutions.

But X3D chips are huge for some of the games I play. PoE in endgame scenarios, CS2 with competitive settings (4:3 stretched, low res/graphics, etc), and Factorio endgames (+60-80% UPS vs comparable non-X3D chips).

That being said, I have an Intel chip in my main rig. I do too many workstation-ish things to take the downgrade in general compute.

[-]

capybooya@reddit

Zen3 is great and not so great at the same time. For the majority of non hardcore gamers it works perfectly, and for absolutely most of other uses. But for minimum frame rates and more demanding games there's no denying its starting to show its age.

I wouldn't worry so much about DDR6 or not and just upgrade when you feel the need to, whether that's Z6 (prob not as prices are crazy even if it turns out to be performance beast), or Z7 whichever memory, or Z8.

[-]

sitefall@reddit

Same boat here. I have an AM5 workstation for work that I use only for work. But the PC I actually use personally still rocking a 5800x but with a 5090 which feels like a crime.

[-]

Itwasallyell0w@reddit

I upgraded to 7800x3d+6000cl 30 ram for almost the same price as my old rig.

sold 5700x3d for 350e

sold 32gb 3600 cl 16 bdie kit for 200e

sold old am4 board for 65e

bought 7800x3d for 250e

bought 32gb 6000 cl30 ram kit for 300e

bought new am5 motherboard which has wifi and bluetooth too for 150e

old kit 615e vs new kit 700e. Upgrade done this year.

[-]

matt-travels-eu@reddit

I have dsr5 (bought before hikes) but other parts are expensive as well 🫰

[-]

humanmanhumanguyman@reddit

I'm in a similar place. I have a used Lenovo machine with a 5955wx threadripper that I ended up using as my main. It's great for productivity things, but not ideal for gaming and quite loud. I'd love to build something with half the cores and maybe x3d in a nice quiet case, but the amount I'd get for selling this wouldn't pay for it unless I settle for a big RAM downgrade.

[-]

dustarma@reddit

I'm in a weird spot here with a 5600X, the 5700X and 5800X just aren't enough of an upgrade for the price, and the only X3D CPU sold where I live is the 5500X3D, which would at best be a mild upgrade because of its nerfed clock speed.

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binggoman@reddit

Combined with how the world is right now, I'm not surprised if PC parts' sales is at all time low.

[-]

HeyEverythingIsFine@reddit

In the same boat, I used to order parts about once a year and have been slowly rebuilding the same PC for 12 years. (case and power supply remain!)

I've been at a halt for a few years now so me and my ryzen 7 5800x, 32gb of ddr4, and 7800 xt are just going to ride off together in the sunset.

If some sort of normalcy is returned in a few years I think I'll have to start from scratch with a 3k+ hit at minimum. Not looking forward to it.

Worst part is I have an insane monitor that just doesn't have the power to push properly. 240hz Oled ultrawide for no reason =/

[-]

wickedplayer494@reddit

I've still a 5950X system to put together, and I'm bringing the 1080 Ti along for the ride, so yeah, I'm good too, thanks.

[-]

mi7chy@reddit

Was lucky to upgrade system early 2024 when prices on CPU, RAM, SSD, GPU, etc. were at their lows. No plans to upgrade the next few years and/or until the current administration that caused this are out of office.

[-]

Dfield91@reddit

I went from a 1080ti to a 4090 (msrp)

[-]

chefchef97@reddit

I would've definitely impulse bought an AM5 upgrade by now, but with current prices that temptation isn't there, which has been great

Unfortunately I'm a consumerist git and I've spent the equivalent on other hobbies

[-]

Temporala@reddit

It's a good time to buy a great monitor instead.

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siazdghw@reddit

I kinda disagree. OLED is just now coming to mass market in cheaper price segments but I really don't like the pixel arrangement and text quality on even the newest 1440p OLED monitors; 4K is sadly where it's at for OLED and of course that means most people would also need a GPU upgrade.

If you already own a good quality 1440p IPS screen, I wouldn't jump to a 1440p OLED unless you're not picky or have bad eyesight. I would slip straight to 4k OLED, not because I think 4k is a vastly greater resolution in general but because it mitigates the current downsides of OLED panels.

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ThePizzaDeliveryM3n@reddit

Thanks for saying I have bad eyesight. 😭.

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ThePizzaDeliveryM3n@reddit

I'm on a 5700x3d with a couple broken pins. Thank God it's still running like a charm 😂.

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Shmeeking1@reddit

Hoping my 5700X3D holds up for another 2-3 years.

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siazdghw@reddit

It already is a bottleneck, and 'obsolete' compared to similar priced chips on the market. But of course it all just depends on your GPU, game, resolution and settings on how worthwhile an upgrade is to you. With you being on DDR4 and not DDR5 I can see why you're trying to stretch it out further in this current market.

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Shmeeking1@reddit

I've yet to see a bottleneck with my 9070 XT at 1440P with the games I play.

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SwoleJunkie1@reddit

The way my 5700x3d +5070ti runs all my games, I really don’t feel the need to upgrade until AM6.

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severanexp@reddit

My i7 7700k and 1080ti will have to survive another 10 years if this keeps up…

[-]

mostrengo@reddit

What's your outlet for consumerism these days?

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LeSeanMcoy@reddit

Yeah, I built my PC when the 30 series came out. Honestly assumed I'd upgrade every 3-4 years as I'm an enthusiast, and wanted to upgrade to the 50 series as 5 years made a lot of sense... but man, it just doesn't seem worth it value-wise. Most games still run at 90+ FPS with my 3080, and if I want a better value CPU, I'll just get some 5700x3D or the equivalent.

Might upgrade when the 60 series comes out... but even then idk anymore.

[-]

no6969el@reddit

The impulse time was when everyone was saying to wait cuz it was just coming out. Now it's just super late fomo

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SupportDangerous8207@reddit

I wonder how much of the keyboard hobby currently is just people who can’t afford new pc parts but can afford switches

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vk6_@reddit

This data is kind of meaningless when there's nothing to compare against. Have these percentages changed significantly compared to previous years? Who knows.

It's a big stretch for Tom's Hardware to say that this data is somehow indicative of a trend caused by the global memory shortage, when there isn't evidence that a trend exists at all. Like other commenters have said, the survey results can easily be explained by the fact that PCs have a long upgrade cycle regardless.

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Real_Cucumber994@reddit

Does anybody other than hardcore enthusiasts "plan" on building a new pc? I doubt it. Eventually you realize the games you are buying aren't running well and decide you need to upgrade. Or something breaks.

Why else would anyone upgrade if what they have is doing the job?

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zacker150@reddit

Assuming a five year upgrade cycle, 60% is exactly where we expect the number to be.

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RagnarKon@reddit

Yeah… I do wonder what the typical upgrade cycle is for most heavy users (gamers, media creators, etc.). Be curious to see numbers from the past versus today’s numbers.

Traditionally it was 3-5 years for me, largely depending on release dates, generation cycles,
etc. But we’re approaching 6 years at this point and I haven’t even considered upgrading, first for me since probably mid-2000s.

[-]

king_of_the_potato_p@reddit

Built my PC about a year ago, Corsair vengeance CL30 6000mhz 32gb expo set for $124. The sad part is, back then I was wanting to wait for an even cheaper price but their was some really good sales going on at the time so I figured why not.

Between ram and band, wish I had snapped up more especially the 4TB 990 pros at $269.99

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-TesseracT-41@reddit

Okay. Most people don't upgrade as often as every two years anyways, regardless of component prices, so this is not really surprising.

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Capital-Froyo-4359@reddit

Yeah, these numbers seem pretty expected even ignoring prices because improvements are coming so much slower these days. Used to be a 2yr old computer was basically useless to play any new game.. but now you can easily play most games even with a 5yr old build.

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kenyard@reddit

I mean you can upgrade a component or two.

I've a 3080 that if normal GPU progress had continued I would probably have gone for an upgrade

It's actually fine for gaming around 1440p but runs into a few issues with cuda and AI tasks which is where I'd like the vram for.

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TheCh0rt@reddit

I used to think “I can always upgrade the CPU” but that becomes the least important upgrade, if it’s even possible. The performance gains of upgrading one or two generations are barely worth the effort I’ve found

[-]

Daneth@reddit

I upgrade based on GPU. I always get whatever is fastest and sell the prior GPU. Last two generations I've come out ahead so whenever the 6090 drops I'll get one regardless of cost.

If I need a new CPU upgrade at that point to not bottleneck 4k performance, I'll evaluate based on reviews and benchmarks, if not my 13900k survives another generation (unless it literally burns itself out finally).

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itchy118@reddit

Sure, just the question was about building a new PC, not upgrading. I haven't built a new PC in like 7 years. I've replaced nearly all of the components since then (some of them more than once), but never a full new build.

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Ayfid@reddit

I upgrade about once every 5 years or so, so if anything this headline seems like people are a little over eager to upgrade.

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HarvestMana@reddit

Plus having a Ampere card - 30XX or higher you get all the features of DX12 ultimate like workgraphs.

Although, no current games use workgraphs, they will be an important feature in next gen consoles in different workloads to boost performance.

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RedTuesdayMusic@reddit

I was lucky enough to buy 96GB 6000/30 in September along with an 8TB PCIe5 drive. Haven't even built that computer yet, because my 5800X3D still slaps

[-]

Key-Invite5027@reddit

This depends on the type of game you're playing. If you're playing competitive games where frame rates are crucial, you'll likely need a Zen 6 or Nova Lake processor.

The same applies to the GPU.

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psychonauteer@reddit

I'm rocking my 1070 build from 2016 , I have no plans on building anything new for a long while. Even then, I'll probably just buy a build off of fbmp.

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Itchy-Throat-4779@reddit

I built mine 3 years ago 🙏......all high end parts. I have 3 previous. Builds which are very capable I think I'm good for the next 8 years.

[-]

Kontrolgaming@reddit

eh if i had the money I would upgrade my old ass cpu, but other than that you're kinda right. holding out is smart 😄

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SetoKeating@reddit

My pc is not compatible with win11, I picked the worst possible time to be in need of a new build

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lukfi89@reddit

Keep calm and install Linux

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Seanspeed@reddit

God no. I've looked into it, and you're trading problems for more problems.

Like, just one specific app I rely on a lot - Guitar Pro, does not work on Linux. That one thing alone makes it a deal breaker. And that's ignoring how many other problems Linux has with audio stuff that I read about.

Either way, I'm happy to stay on Win 10 til I've got my new PC all together and built. Genuinely think Windows 10 has been great, certainly after only jumping in after it was already a couple years old.

[-]

lukfi89@reddit

Sorry to hear that. Yeah, some specific apps can be a pain to get working, or don't work at all.

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Seanspeed@reddit

If your PC is incompatible with Win 11, you dont need Win 11 in the first place.

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Popellord@reddit

Not really surprising. What is the typical upgrade cycle for a new computer? Four to Six Years? Probably even longer nowadays because we have enough games which just don't need more power.
I've got an AM5-Board and will just upgrade the CPU in a few years when they are finished supporting the plattform. Perhaps upgrade the GPU in a few years.

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Homerlncognito@reddit

DDR4 became commercially available in 2014. AM4 socket is from 2017, Ryzen 5 from 2020. A mid to high end system from today is gonna last over 10 years.

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siazdghw@reddit

"last over 10 years"...

Yeah, no. People always exaggerate the lifespan of CPUs, but when you actually compare the difference it's a slaughter.

2700k vs 12900k or 5950x

8700k vs Nova Lake or Zen 6 | or today's comparison the 270k plus or 9950x3D

Performance aside, there are also big efficiency gains, RAM speed+bandwidth, platform upgrades, security upgrades, etc.

Realistically 5-6 years is where hobbyists, gamers and professionals should be doing upgrades.

[-]

Homerlncognito@reddit

Obviously depends on one's needs/wants. 8700k is still usable today IMO. I had an i5-3470 until 2022 (10 years old). It was definitely showing it's age, but still okay-ish. Pentium 133 in 2004 (9 years old at the time) was absolutely awful, you couldn't even load some websites and Half-Life from '98 was an unplayable mess even at lowest settings.

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InflammableAccount@reddit

I mean, it used to be. Issue is that GPU's stopped vastly improving generation-over-generation for the same price (or lowering, depending on how inflation was going.)

So you used to be able to spend $200-$400 every few years and get a MASSIVE upgrade. That all changed with nvidia's 20 series, where prices started to climb dramatically gen over gen.

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RxBrad@reddit

Unfortunately, for too many people (particularly here on Reddit), consumerist satisfaction needs to happen at any cost. They're complaining, but they're still buying that quadruple-priced RAM.

Unless quadrupling RAM prices causes the number of sales to dip by more than 75%, the RAM manufacturers still saw their "line go up". So it just reinforces that they should stick with their terrible pricing.

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F9-0021@reddit

Some people buy anyway, but the bigger thing is that some people need to replace broken hardware or upgrade to a new platform for one reason or another. Anyone else that absolutely doesn't need new memory simply isn't buying.

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RxBrad@reddit

"for one reason or another", more often than not, is just that they need to show off that they have the newest hotness...

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RxBrad@reddit

Hey, downvote me all you want. Just know that you're the reason we'll never see $75 32GB DDR5 kits ever again...

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Seanspeed@reddit

For me, it's not consumerist satisfaction.

My current PC is a 3570k from 2012, and I'm using a 120GB SSD for my operating system drive still. lol I've otherwise got two 1TB HDD's that I'm still running all content on, including games. My GPU is a GTX1070 which can still play plenty of games, just not newer ones. Also still on the original power supply and motherboard and whatnot. Hell, I'm still using the original thermal paste for my CPU cooler well over a decade old now!

I could probably be more patient as my PC still works, though not great(I cannot keep my OS SSD from being perpetually full and slow nowadays with Windows updates, either), but I'm worried things wont get any better for quite a while, and I'd been way, way patient enough. Or worse, that pricing will get worse. So far, GPU prices haven't gone up as much as I feared, but they still could.

So yea, I've been buying parts already for a new PC cuz I dont want to wait til my PC develops some bigger fault and I'm stuck with worse options since I absolutely need a functional PC. Doing it slowly, waiting for the better deals I can find, but yea, I've certainly had to splurge on 32GB of DDR5. I could have gone cheaper with DDR4 and an older system, but it's just bad value in the end when I want my new PC to last me the next 10 years or so overall. Overall, inflated pricing is going to add about 30% to total build costs over what I probably could have done. Sucks, but it's not totally unacceptable.

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obsertaries@reddit

The other day I randomly looked on Amazon to see how much a GPU upgrade would cost and lol nope!

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ElvisDumbledore@reddit

meh. I don't feel the need to buy a new rig right now, regardless.

Maybe when TES 6 or Fallout 5 come out.

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nd4spd1919@reddit

5800X3D and a 4070ti + 5600X and a 2070, I would have loved to go up to a 9000 series chip and a 5080, and migrate the older parts downstream, but no way in hell that's happening right now.

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SourceScope@reddit

Im just happy i bought a balls to the wall gaming setup back in july

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OrangeKefir@reddit

For once I've actually timed this right and snagged AM5 9800X3D, 32gb DDR4, 9070XT during black Friday last year. Ram prices were just starting to go mad so only got slightly ripped off there. Other stuff was a decent buy.

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Chronia82@reddit

Isn't that a pretty normal percentage though? When i was in this business we always basically counted with a cycle where a customer would basically shop once every 5 years on average, so basically we expected on average at best +-20% of our 'market' to be interested in replacing their system in any given year.

So to me +-60% not buying the next 2 years doesn't feel out of whack percentage base, as those 60% would normally have build in the last 1 to 3 years, and thus not be expected to upgrade for atleast 2 more years.

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bubblesort33@reddit

Is that unusual? A 1/4 of people wanting to build a new CPU in the 12 months seems perfectly normal. Were 1/2 of people really building new PCs every 12 month a few years ago???

1/4 of people wanting to build a pc in the next 12 months means they typically have a plan to build a PC every 4 years. That seems perfectly healthy to me. Maybe people are just too addicted to the upgrade cycle, and need to chill a little.

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ash_ninetyone@reddit

I mean. I've no plans because there's nothing much worthwhile me upgrading on.

I coooouuuuld replace my 9800X3D with a 9950X3D.

I coooouuuuld replace my new RTX 5070 with a 5090.

The only other "meaningful" upgrade is a second nVME for games where a regular SSD has bad loading times off of.

But why would I? Memory prices are redonkadonk.

That's gonna impact GPU prices. The CPU upgrade only matters if I play the few incredibly CPU-bound, highly-threaded games out there.

Face it, it is just not a good time to build or need a new PC right now. It was already an expensive hobby before. It's even more so now with how data centres have been causing supply shortages.

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doscomputer@reddit

first off, this survey is dubious in its sample size

secondly, do people really plan on buying a PC that far out? Like usually its a need where it suddenly manifests, or money comes into a persons life and they can afford to buy some new toys.

If anything, I think most people deep in this hobby are planning to build a new PC, when DDR6 finally launches. A crazy number of people are still holding out on DDR4 platforms, and there isn't going to be any pressure to upgrade until a truly massive leap in performance comes along.

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Siritosan@reddit

Currently got 5 years with at 3080 ti 12gb I expect 5 more years before new build if it doesn't give up.

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capybooya@reddit

Great buy in hindsight, that extra 2GB over the regular version, or 1GB over the 2080Ti helps it chug along as games get dangerously close to that kind of VRAM usage.

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Even_Caterpillar3292@reddit

I bought my rig with a 3080 for Flight Simulator and that game has gotten much better with streaming. It runs the game fine and there are tweaks for making it better with 10gb. Hopefully, in 5 years, things are better. The world is just insane now with prices increases over the years.

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russomd@reddit

Pc gaming hasn’t drastically got more intensive in 3 years and most gaming pcs are good enough. My son’s computer is a AMD 5600x with 32 gb of ram and an nvidia 3070 and we can just wait out this fiasco.

[-]

kenyard@reddit

Console gaming also stagnated a lot. Ps5 and Xbox are 6 years old in November.

There's nothing even in the pipeline.

The latest consoles have been switch 2 and steam deck.

[-]

epraider@reddit

There are both next gen PlayStation and Xbox’s on the horizon, but not until 2027 at the earliest.

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F9-0021@reddit

I don't really feel like those are necessary, or even wanted yet. Current gen only has like 10 or 15 games that are worth playing, and a good chunk of those were also released on last gen. I don't feel like studios really got the most out of the PS5 or especially the Series X. They could extend the generation to 2030 and it would maybe then start to feel like there was something worthwhile done with the hardware.

The alternative I feel is that the PS6 and the next Xbox would slot in as ultra premium consoles for $1000+ and current generation would continue to get releases along with next gen. That would really screw over PC players though, since PC optimization (or lack thereof) will target the next gen performance like it always has while hardware costs continue to skyrocket.

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capybooya@reddit

Not sure how I feel about 2030 but to extend to 28 or 29 instead of the expected 27 (7 yr cycle) makes sense, at least to ensure there are enough new hardware features and specs and that they don't skimp on RAM which has hobbled several previous generations. From rumors, it is very likely that the specs are finalized though, so I fear we'll get what we're getting anyway and I hope its enough that mid and late next gen won't be a massive annoyance.

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f3n2x@reddit

There won't be any next gen consoles until the memory shortage is solved, which is probably 2028 or 2029, if not later.

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capybooya@reddit

Shame about the console stagnation, but its also developing times for the games/software, maybe even more of an issue than console hardware IMO. Games take so long and so much money and resources to finish compared to 10 or 20 years ago. And some are still made to be back compatible with previous gen consoles. If everyone was maximizing for the current gen we'd probably see more impressive games. But with current hardware prices and the disappointing consoles sales because consoles can't be made cheaper mid-gen this time, it all contributes to that stagnation.

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Seanspeed@reddit

Console gaming also stagnated a lot.

Yea, everything being 60fps nowadays really cut the legs from the hardware leap the consoles would have otherwise provided. Scalability is a thing, but devs would undoubtedly be doing more as a baseline if they were targeting 33.3ms.

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russomd@reddit

Problem is they sell 5090’s for $3000 and AI datacenter cards for $100k each. They don’t care about gaming anymore.

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Burgergold@reddit

My last 2 builds are from mid 2019 and end of 2024

First runs a 3600 with a 580 8gb and 32gb ddr4. Used by 14yo and 11yo

Second runs a 7700x with a 6650xt 8gb and 32gb ddr5

I have no intention to change anything for at least 3y. Maybe then I will look for gpu but I dont have 1000$ to spend on that

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Man_in_a_chair@reddit

Built in 2017 (6700k/1080) which kept me going till this past holiday season when costco had those crazy deals. Now with a 9800x3d and 5070, i will see how many years i can stretch this out.

Btw, the 2017 rig didnt die, it just lives in my workshop for garage gaming and other workshop stuff.

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Ok-Major876@reddit

Yeah, that percentage you said is wrong, when you mention those who want to have a gaming PC but no money ever to buy it, and with this shocking prices that percentage increases, what am trying to say , just be gald y'all have gaming PCs

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delkarnu@reddit

So, the headline is basically, "PC gamers build a new PC every 5 years or so." 25% in the next year is high, systems last and stay relevant far longer now than before.

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peaveyftw@reddit

COVID basically derailed my PC-tinkering for a bit. I'd been making constant upgrades on my machine for a few years and was planning a big mobo / gpu / cpu / ram changeover, but then prices went crazy.

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lululock@reddit

I'm staying with my AM4 platform until it dies or its CPU is not sufficient for gaming anymore. Spoiler : the 5800X is still pretty decent for gaming, especially on the older titles I play. I have a 9060XT in that build and I'm still GPU bound.

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Cheeze_It@reddit

Well yeah.

I am halfway debating on seeing if I should get one of those Arrow Lake refresh chips and just holding onto it for a bit until RAM comes down in price. Then going all in and buying a fuck ton of it.

Or I just wait longer.

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DanuPellu@reddit

Make the PC parts insanely expensive and then be surprised about how bad people don't plan to build a new one...

Stating the obvious.

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Elthros@reddit

100% of PC gamers already have a PC

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RHINO_Mk_II@reddit

What about PC game emulators ^/s

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Curious-Ear-6982@reddit

Shocking revelation 😮

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dropthemagic@reddit

With the price and availability this is gonna be for people spending thousands on a pc.

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vegetable__lasagne@reddit

If AMD were desperate for consumer CPU sales couldn't they port Zen 5/6 to AM4? It'll just need a new IO chip and it would probably sell extremely well.

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Seanspeed@reddit

They're not desperate. They're doing quite well and aren't worried selling 'x' less consumer CPU's when they're selling that same 'x' more much higher margin Epyc CPU's.

And no, it wouldn't be as simple as just replacing the I/O die. And performance would likely be majorly affected.

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TechTechTerrible@reddit

Small performance gains for huge prices, it makes perfect sense that people wouldn’t upgrade.

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DoradoPulido2@reddit

When do vendors plan to keep a stock of parts at MSRP? Kind of hard to plan a build when GPUs are selling for $1,000 over the original price.

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Seanspeed@reddit

It's really only the 5090 that's wildly overpriced. Otherwise, all other GPU's seem slightly above normal pricing, but nothing too egregious, especially if you're paying attention.

It's really RAM and storage that are really painful at the moment.

Though of course we can argue GPU's are just heavily overpriced in general these days, even at 'normal' pricing.

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TemuPacemaker@reddit

Yep, 5070 is only like $50 over the lowest ever price here. Which isn't great but not terrible either.

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pacmanic@reddit

If you thinking about a new build even for next year, get your motherboard, cooler, power supply, case right now. Prices will never be lower for those right now. Let’s say ram and storage prices unexpectedly drop a little in a year, you can guarantee motherboards, coolers, power supplies will increase to make up for this years losses.

Even if this prediction is completely wrong, if you kept everything sealed. you will only lose a little on resale.

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SJGucky@reddit

I built my PC back in 2024 and upgraded to a 5090 last november using the lowest recorded price.

My plan is to upgrade my CPU and GPU in the next 2 years (10800X3D and 6090).
But I also plan to upgrade my platform only when AM6 is EOL to AM7...

FYI I actually got a lot of my money back from selling used parts, so the 5090 was not that big of an investment.

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DiggingNoMore@reddit

I built last year. 9800x3d, RTX 5080, 96GB DDR5-6000 CL30, 4TB M.2, 2TB M.2, 14TB HDD, blu-ray drive.

I'm expecting eight years of usage, taking me to retirement.

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ILoveTheAtomicBomb@reddit

I’ll hopefully get a 6090 the same way I got my 5090, selling my 4090 for the full cost of the 50. Insane times we’ve been in right now

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SituationSoap@reddit

This survey is not useful without a baseline from before prices spiked. There's no data here on whether the 12 month number would have been 30% or 80% in 2023.

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jenny_905@reddit

There's going to be casualties, lots of firms are almost 100% in the enthusiast/gamer space.

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MetroidvaniaListsGuy@reddit

My PC is a 6.5 year old gaming laptop. I aim to replace it with a steam machine.

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PigSlam@reddit

I have plans to upgrade my AI rig. I barely game at all any more.

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HappyAd4998@reddit

My mobo is x470 8 years old and I have zero plans to upgrade my last upgrade was back in 2022. My 5700x, 16g 3600mhz, and RTX 3080 10gb is more than enough for the game I play. I was able to play Doom Dark ages at high settings with a high frame rate @1440p. The game looked amazing. So far the only games I have trouble with are UE5 games but I don't really play them since the engine is crap and I can't stand the stutter either way.

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y59qgnie@reddit

I've got the 9950x3d and a 5090. I'll be good for a while.

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DynamicStatic@reddit

I bought a 5080 about a year ago, really wish I had bought a 5090 at this point.

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AngryMonkey420@reddit

I'm running an R5 3600 and RX6600. Waiting on confirmation for whether or not I'm getting a job and I'll just upgrade my GPU/CPU. I can't see myself spending the money on going AM5 just yet.

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He110_W0r1d@reddit

Eh I have a 4090 and I want to move to Linux. Until amd doesn't release a GPU with the same power I will be sitting pretty.

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VanWesley@reddit

What % of that 25% is because they have access to a Microcenter for the bundle deals?

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OttawaDog@reddit

I have an RTX 4070. I'm hoping to use it to 2030...

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BarKnight@reddit

80% probably buy a pre built.

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hula_balu@reddit

Gpu, ram, then memory shortages. Soon computing will be out of the hands of the masses. Everything will be on the cloud under subscriptions and every one will be stuck with little streaming boxes…

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jai_kasavin@reddit

I'm gonna wait for the PS6, and every launch game having path tracing. Only the will I upgrade from 10400f and 3070, and the 8GB ram is a pain point like you wouldn't believe. Has been for 2 years

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BrightCandle@reddit

I want a new GPU for my main PC to replace the 3080 but just will not pay 5080 prices. I also want to replace the guts of my NAS/Server which has AM4 5600G in it with something that can take more and faster SSDs but pricing of RAM is just too steep at the moment. Gradually just being priced out of the market with these nuts GPU, RAM and storage prices.

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EdwardERS@reddit

These poll results look like normal results before the ram/storage shortage. I've used the same video card for 4-5 years before and a platform can last longer than that.

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randomkidlol@reddit

prices crashed sales volume but margins are going up for hardware manufacturers. earnings for all the major hardware manufacturers have all been up significantly in the consumer side for the past couple years. theyre never going back to low margin high volume business again.

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fauxdragoon@reddit

I’ve been on the same cpu, motherboard, and ram since 2011. What’s another couple of years?

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EnolaGayFallout@reddit

Almost upgraded my AM4 to AM5. But since ram shortage, I upgraded my monitor, keyboard and mouse.

And my pc table and chair.

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Ecsta@reddit

I priced out wanting to build one to play some VR games and maybe do some model training on the site. It's just ridiculously expensive for the GPU alone that I decided to wait a few years and see where the dust settles or just buy a PS6 when it releases.

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teaanimesquare@reddit

I am going to try and just buy a new gpu if I can, 3080 starting to show its age for 4k gaming

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kaszak696@reddit

I won a jackpot with my PC (bought a 7800X3D, 64GB 6000 RAM and 5070Ti few months before the AI RAMpocalypse) and i'm pretty sure i used up a decade's worth of my luck allotment.

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Limited_Distractions@reddit

Half the games I play daily could still run fine on my previous Skylake system. Feels like already bad conditions for the platform upgrade cost to like double from previously cheaply priced components. I'm one of the people that probably would have made the AM5/X3D platform jump in the next 1-2 years but it just feels like the money spends better basically anywhere else

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siliconandsteel@reddit

I have upgraded just as pandemic started and still have a huge backlog. There are a few games I would like to try after upgrading, but not that many yet.

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wrrd@reddit

I don't plan to build one for another 5 years or so. But then that's because I built one in December of last year when it became apparent how things were headed.

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yabucek@reddit

About 1 in 4 people are thinking of upgrading this year in a hobby where you typically upgrade in 3-5 year cycles?

Truly breaking news.

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LivingGhost371@reddit

For context is this only people that would consider building a PC in the first place as opposed to just buying one already built?

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toddestan@reddit

60% of PC gamers having no plans to build a new PC in the next 2 years, and 25% having plans to build in the next 12 months would mean an upgrade cycle of every 4-5 years, which seems pretty normal to me. My guess is even the for the people who are considering an upgrade, that is coming with the caveat that prices come down or else they'll just hold off.

As someone who upgraded to LGA1700 (from LGA1155) about 2.5 years ago, I certainly have no plans to upgrade anytime soon.

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TortieMVH@reddit

I have 5 PCs at home. One for me, my wife and 3 kids. It ranges from a 5600 with a 1080ti for my youngest kid to my 7800x3d with a 4090. I used to upgrade often and pass down the old one to one of my kids or friends but now I don't plan to buy any PC related hardware in the near future unless a PC part dies.

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whaletosser@reddit

I want to build a new pc because my old is dinosaur age but I am not going to pay 400 eur for ram so I am not building one.

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DeepJudgment@reddit

My 5700X3D will easily last me until AM6, whenever that's coming out

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Solaihs@reddit

I upgrade mhardware every 8 years, this is a good cadence to save up money slowly (little every month over time) and then buy a massive upgrade when the time comes.

I went from a rx580//1700x to 7900xt and 5950x on the same mobo, with a total of 32gb of ram. It's not top spec, certainly not anymore, but will easily last the next 7 years with the games I play

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Blue-150@reddit

Interested to know what it was before, can't draw much of a conclusion on how much worse it's got without a before snapshot.

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Altruistic_Finger669@reddit

I will have to bite the bullet because i have too many issues with my current build. So have to go from am4 to am5.

But probably wouldnt if i had a choice.

Ram prices will cone down at some point, but never to previous prices

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bigbugzman@reddit

As long as my 4070ti holds out, I’m not upgrading anything.

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I_Dont_Have_Corona@reddit

Spent all weekend fighting my broken AM4 rig as I do not have the money for a new DDR5 system.

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JonWood007@reddit

This seems normal. A decent midrange build lasts 4-6 years these days. If you have a good cpu, you can even extend this to like 8 years.

Not sure how rampocalypse changes things but it is gonna make even the idea of upgrading prohibitively expensive.

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Tuhajohn@reddit

I'm waiting for project helix, if I'll like it then I'll choose this.

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owlexe23@reddit

Why would they? Everything is extra expensive.

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TackyPoints@reddit

75% or PC gamers are struggling to not sell their rig, or can’t sell it because nobody has any expendable income to buy it anymore. What the fuck are you?

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hackenclaw@reddit

I am dragging along my gaming desktop with OCed i7-2600K + 1660Ti,

I have 2025 legion 5 pro laptop, but half of the time I also game on my old desktop.

I dont think I am buying new desktop until 2030, probably longer depends on how long my gaming laptop last.

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fpsgamer89@reddit

I might plan to build a new PC when DDR6 comes out. Might not be cost effective but I never utilised DDR5 speeds at any point. Been on AM4 for almost 7 years and went with a CPU upgrade rather than going to DDR5.

It would be nice to get in on DDR6 early if the prices aren’t ridiculously insane.

I think that given the ridiculous DDR5 prices and the fact that it’s been out for a long time, many people might as well wait for the launch prices of DDR6 along with tire prices of the AM6 and Razer Lake platforms, which won’t be within the next 12 months but could release by 2028.

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Kermez@reddit

I slapped 5070ti on am4 and have 0 intentions to upgrade for next 5 years.

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rchiwawa@reddit

If i hadn't feltcompelled by the FCC's fuckery w/ routers i wouldnt have bothered probably until 2030.

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Banana-phone15@reddit

2 years? I am. I have no plans for at least 5 years

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Eclipsed830@reddit

Hoping my 9950x3d and 64gb of cl28 ram lasts me at least another two years.

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heylistenman@reddit

No, next year you will have to upgrade to the 9965X3D2 PRO and 128GB to keep up. Sorry, man.

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79215185-1feb-44c6@reddit

Because I don't do gaming, and can't readily get access to affordable RAM (I bought 64GB of DDR5-6000 in 2024), I can't justify buying any new hardware. If anything, I'd be interested in a Mac if I could find one that supports my existing 4 monitors + Drawing Tablet.

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