Price Today vs 3 Years Ago

[Chakka]

I finally bit the bullet and did an upgrade...major one in my book. However, when I ordered, I decided to take a look at my old invoices from Newegg and ZZF and I did a little comparison. Plus, as you can see, my strategy of tail-end technology upgrades hasnt changed in 3 years (have not listed everything like hdds, sound card, monitor, etc, which I will reuse).

Current upgrade today:
1. EVGA 750i - $190
2. Intel e8400 cpu - $197
3. 4gb gskill ddr2 1000 - $90
4. Palit sonic 9600gt x2 SLI - $240
5. PcPower 750w 60a single rail psu - $150
6. Antec 900 - $90
7. Total = $957

Previous upgrade 3 years ago:
1. MSI K8N Plat - $170
2. AMD 3000+ - $147
3. 1GB Cosair value ddr 400 - $91
4. MSI 6600gt x2 SLI - $358
5. Tagan 480w 28a single rail psu - $100
6. Thermaltake Tsunami - $96
7. Total = $962

Amazing to me how far technology has advanced at these same prices...this rig eventually became my daughter's rig and it still runs just fine for her needs (one of the 6600gts died so no SLI today). I upgraded the next year with my current rig in my sig for about the same price.

Eventually in a year or two Ill probably do just one simple upgrade which will probably be a single video card that hopefully be far superior to the 2 palit sonic 9600gt in SLI (SLI looks much better today than it did 3 years ago) - which is what I did with the 7900gt (EDIT - largest purchase ever made for a single computer part at $310 which I will never pay that much again for a single part except maybe a monitor) that I purchased over a year later.

So I figure around $1,000 every 2 to a stretch 3 years isnt too bad in my book, or should I say pocketbook!

[Xero (1)ne]

In the 7-8 years I've had my PC, I'm sure I haven't spent more than $2,500 on upgrading and adding onto it yet.

[Andrew1990]

Looks good, I personally have not had one "new" computer in about 4 years. I started off with this

AMD Athlon XP 2800 Barton
HP OEM Motherboard
512mb of Ram
Geforce 6600 256mb

I then found on ebay that I could get $160 for my processor and motherboard(was based on an Asus Nforce 2) so I upgraded a wee bit to

Intel Pentium D 805 $133
ECS P4M800-Pro $45
+256mb of DDR400 $30

Then in December of last year I bought an ECS SLI motherboard for some reason and have been using that. I also traded my X1600pro for a 7800GTX on a forum(couldnt believe the deal) and picked up some Crucial Ballistix single sided ram and RMA'ed them for the double sided sticks for a total of $30. I recently ordered a Celeron L which set me back $38 but it should last me for a while.

I probably have spent less than $300 out of my pocket on upgrades. That isnt bad seeing how it has lasted me well over 4 years.

[joz]

I think you could make a better PSU and CPU comparision.

[Chakka]

I think you could make a better PSU and CPU comparision.

Its really about how far technology has come in just 3 years. My new 750w psu with 60a on the 12v rail is twice the power for 1/2 more the price. Same with the cpu cause I dont think dual core was out back then.

My point is that for $1,000 today you get a lot more for your money. I just hope my gov rebate check gets here from uncle sam before I get billed on my credit card...

[Andrew1990]

Well as I see it,

Your old system played moat games at the time on usually all high settings for $960.

Your new system will play most games out now on high settings for $950.




It seems that the $$$/Performance is still intact.

[Pablo 54]

$1000 is a sweet spot. My first 200 mhz computer with 4 mb of “extra” video ram (Number Nine) cost me $3600 in 1996. The second P4 was $2200 in 2000. I scabbed parts off of it for the next three builds spanning 7 years. None of the builds cost more than $900. My latest build from last October was a bit over $1200 though.

A grand is a healthy chunk of money but if the build goes bad, I seem to be able to mentally handle that better than if I would have plunked down $2000 - $3000. Regardless, my wife never knows what I spend on computer parts. All invoices and receipts are locked in a safe. Nothing better than a sarcastic “Told you so you freakin’ idiot” after an Athlon goes poof. :jawdrop:

[joz]

$1000 is a sweet spot. My first 200 mhz computer with 4 mb of “extra” video ram (Number Nine) cost me $3600 in 1996. The second P4 was $2200 in 2000. I scabbed parts off of it for the next three builds spanning 7 years. None of the builds cost more than $900. My latest build from last October was a bit over $1200 though.

A grand is a healthy chunk of money but if the build goes bad, I seem to be able to mentally handle that better than if I would have plunked down $2000 - $3000. Regardless, my wife never knows what I spend on computer parts. All invoices and receipts are locked in a safe. Nothing better than a sarcastic “Told you so you freakin’ idiot” after an Athlon goes poof. :jawdrop:
did u remove the hsf for some reason?

[Chakka]

Well as I see it,

Your old system played moat games at the time on usually all high settings for $960.
Your new system will play most games out now on high settings for $950.
It seems that the $$$/Performance is still intact.

Agreed exactly..back 2-3 years ago I certaintly could play games on high. Then about 1 1/2 years ago I had to lower settings so I upgraded to a single 7900gt (SLI really didnt work well back then) and was able to continue high settings in games. Lately, I cannot do so again and that is normally the time I start thinking about upgrading. My overall theory - why play games if you cannot turn on all the features?

I agree also with pablo that $1000 seems to be the sweet spot - in theory and in practice for me. And if things dont work out - still kicking myself for going SLI 3 years ago because it was the latest and greatest - if individual parts cost under $200 you dont end up kickin yourself in the "---" yourself if you replace or upgrade later.

Looks like nVidia got it right with these new 9600 gt cards according to reviews even the one here on Bjorn3d. Got my fingers crossed.

[Pablo 54]

The OC’ing abilities of the Asus A7V133 were not fine enough plus it was an original Athlon 1GHZ. I am pretty sure I just over did the VCORE. Or at least that is my story and I am sticking with it.:grin:

[wolf2009]

nice upgrade , gr8 mobo and sli cards.

[Chakka]

nice upgrade , gr8 mobo and sli cards.

Yep thanks...really spent time thinking it through:
1. mobo - dual x16,x16 sli and 6 phase power design for max overclocking stability
2. palit sonic sli cards - factory overclocked, 3 phase power design and with aftermarket cooler already attached - all reviewers are saying this one is operates far cooler than other 9600gt and has much headroom for overclocking further - all for $120 each.

I also overdid the psu with a PCPower and Cooling 750w - why - it should run quiet all the time because I should never overload it with the rig that I have put together. My whole rig is designed to run quiet...Ill let everyone know the results later if my plan goes accordingly or not.

[PP Mguire]

Its not more along of how far technology is grown. Its just that prices for high end stuffs and mid range has stayed pretty much the same. 3 years ago a 3200+ was top of the line and you had a 3000+. Also the 6800Ultra/GT where top of the line and you had 2 6600GTs which where midrange of the time. Id say if anything prices of video cards have dropped alot.