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The joy of upgrading your computer

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D

dragonzdogma

Member
Does it always feel this cool when upgrading your computer?

I mean, yesterday I replaced the ram on my old laptop
I've never done anything like this- I felt like some M.I agent

I dunno man the feel of unscrewing the laptop
and replacing those ram chips or whatever they are, felt so gooood :D

is cool when your laptop speed is boosted by 30% :D

I cant even imagine the feel of people building their own computers,
could it become addictive or at what point do you just like buy a new computer ?
 
greyshark

greyshark

Member
I built my current computer - it was fun and satisfying to boot it up and have it exactly the way you wanted it. You also get way more bang for your buck.
 
A

Anteater

Member
I could see the enjoyment, replacing components don't actually take long and you end up with something that runs everything you already have better, like magic.

I'm still not a fan for actually building computers though, I just have this feeling I'd mess it up and I'd have to troubleshoot, but I have no problems with replacing simple things like gpus and I've built my first computer several years ago that worked fine, I think it's rewarding.
 
Vigilant Walrus

Vigilant Walrus

Member
dragonzdogma said:
Does it always feel this cool when upgrading your computer?

I mean, yesterday I replaced the ram on my old laptop
I've never done anything like this- I felt like some M.I agent

I dunno man the feel of unscrewing the laptop
and replacing those ram chips or whatever they are, felt so gooood :D

is cool when your laptop speed is boosted by 30% :D

I cant even imagine the feel of people building their own computers,
could it become addictive or at what point do you just like buy a new computer ?
Click to expand...

Building your own computer is a fantastic experience. Before I did it, I prefered the aesthetics of a finished system like a console or laptop- I felt it was difficult to really assemble parts that looked good together. different brands, logos and such just made it seem.. bleh. To top it off, many of the cases in the early 2000s weren't exactly pretty.

These days a lot has happened, and PC building has become easier and more convenient than ever.

The satisfaction that comes from it, is that you can decide anything about it. :)


Lots of good tech channels on YT where you can learn about building!
 
J

JonnyDBrit

Member
For me, I would say it depends in how significant it is. Particularly CPU wise, going from one year's iteration to the next wouldn't seem so significant.

But going from an FX-6350 to an i7-6700k? Oh man did that feel good.
 
C

capitalCORN

Member
I love just lining up the perfect timing to acquire the best case performance update, and pulling the trigger on the purchase button.

My greatest thrill in my recent life has been switching motherboard/cpu/ram combos, and pressing the power button to see what the deities deign.
 
D

dragonzdogma

Member
capitalCORN said:
I love just lining up the perfect timing to acquire the best case performance update, and pulling the trigger on the purchase button.

My greatest thrill in my recent life has been switching motherboard/cpu/ram combos, and pressing the power button to see what the deities deign.
Click to expand...

that's deep man :D
 
J

Jangowuzhere

Banned
Absolutely hate it

I mean, I like whatever benefits I get from doing so. But the actual act of having to unplug my PC, drag it's heavy ass to the living room, open it up and tinker with it, and then drag it back and somehow plug it back it again is a huge pain in the ass.
 
D

Dirca

Member
Jangowuzhere said:
Absolutely hate it

I mean, I like whatever benefits I get from doing so. But the actual act of having to unplug my PC, drag it's heavy ass to the living room, open it up and tinker with it, and then drag it back and somehow plug it back it again is a huge pain in the ass.
Click to expand...
Quoting my man here. Yea, the first few builds and upgrades I did felt great. Then it becomes a chore after you've done it 10+ times
 
K

Kadey

Mrs. Harvey
I upgraded from a 970, 2500k, dual 1080p monitors to a 7700k, 1080ti, dual 1440p gsync 144hz monitors. Yeah huge difference.

And I put it together all by myself with some gaffers guiding me.

WfpwQbn.png
 
A

adamy

Banned
it gets old over time. been building/upgrading computers for +15 years and the novelty def. wore off pretty damn quick.

hitting up computer fairs/shows back in the day to try to find parts on the cheap was kinda cool though.
 
D

dragonzdogma

Member
Kadey said:
I upgraded from a 970, 2500k, dual 1080p monitors to a 7700k, 1080ti, dual 1440p gsync 144hz monitors. Yeah huge difference.

And I put it together all by myself with some gaffers guiding me.

WfpwQbn.png
Click to expand...

Is This baby skynet--- are the blue lights necessary or they are for decoration purposes?
 
D

DonShula

Member
Used to enjoy building my own PC. Until the day I got everything nice and ready and started playing Oblivion and during Patrick Stewart's monologue, sparks started shooting out the back of my power supply.

I'm too old for that business now. I'll pay you for something I don't have to make work.
 
T

ThreePiMatt

Member
I just put together a near complete new PC yesterday (same case, PSU, and SSDs). It's definitely fun when everything comes together. Managed to POST on first boot, but there's all those little trials and tribulations. Like, how the radiator on my new AIO cooler gets in the way of my case's expansion card retention bracket. Or when a bunch of new 120mm case fans and then I find out only the back fans are 120mm and the front are 140mm. Silly little things.
 
iNvid02

iNvid02

Member
its a great feeling, watch some pc build videos and you might find its something you wanna go yourself at

dragonzdogma said:
Is This baby skynet--- are the blue lights necessary or they are for decoration purposes?
Click to expand...

necessary, blue lights cool the ram and stop it overheating
 
K

Kadey

Mrs. Harvey
dragonzdogma said:
Is This baby skynet--- are the blue lights necessary or they are for decoration purposes?
Click to expand...

They just look blue in the picture. They change colors and can flash, strobe, etc. And I can completely control them any time.

giphyb0cb0.gif


Not just the computer itself but my whole setup. Pic is a little outdated. I have a different mouse, etc. All color controlled.

7mRX1W6.jpg
 
P

Pakkidis

Member
I don't like upgrading my computer. I like buying a whole new computer every 7-10 years, feels like I jump generations ahead.

I went from a 128 mb vid card to a 3 gig vid card just to give you an idea of my last upgrade :p
 
nkarafo

nkarafo

Member
I also like the feeling when you upgrade the video card and replay some games just to max out those pesky options that teased you for years.
 
P

pestul

Member
It's amazing. There's always a little moment of panic when you first fire up a new build. My last full build seemed DOA and I was about to give up when it just magically started up. I was trying all kinds of things like resetting the cmos, checking cables, seating.. and it it just eventually worked. It was weird.
 
T

ThreePiMatt

Member
I will say, the one thing I hate about building PCs is just how hideous "gaming" hardware is. I hate the idea of case windows because of how ugly most hardware is. Too many LEDs, motherboards with ugly, sharp, angular heatsinks.
 
Thelonelykoopa

Thelonelykoopa

Member
WaterAstro said:
Doesn't feel good for the wallet.
Click to expand...
Yes it does, Just imagine all the money you saved from upgrading you computer as opposed to buying a new one. That being said im a worrywort when it comes to upgrading my compuer so the satisfaction that comes from it is coupled with panic from being worried that you are fucking it up lol.
 
Vigilant Walrus

Vigilant Walrus

Member
ThreePiMatt said:
I will say, the one thing I hate about building PCs is just how hideous "gaming" hardware is. I hate the idea of case windows because of how ugly most hardware is. Too many LEDs, motherboards with ugly, sharp, angular heatsinks.
Click to expand...

Many/Most peripherals with LED can have them disabled, and as far as ugly looking interiors, its a question of finding the right color scheme. Like this;

ku_sKQBD0lImaxresdefault.jpg
Click to expand...

Person bought a pack of sleeved cables which tidies it up, and uses a simple All-In-One-Cooler, that removes the big heatsink.



I agree that motherboards are usually not attractive, but there are some decent looking ones:

ASUS-X99-Motherboard-_3.jpg
Click to expand...
 
Black_Stride

Black_Stride

do not tempt fate do not contrain Wonder Woman's thighs do not do not
dragonzdogma said:
Does it always feel this cool when upgrading your computer?

I mean, yesterday I replaced the ram on my old laptop
I've never done anything like this- I felt like some M.I agent

I dunno man the feel of unscrewing the laptop
and replacing those ram chips or whatever they are, felt so gooood :D

is cool when your laptop speed is boosted by 30% :D

I cant even imagine the feel of people building their own computers,
could it become addictive or at what point do you just like buy a new computer ?
Click to expand...

The day you start working on cars(if you do) you will feel like a god.
Get a rolling chassis and a few months(read years) later the thing is blasting down the freeway.
Youll look at it like a proud father anytime someone compliments you on the car.



Kadey said:
I upgraded from a 970, 2500k, dual 1080p monitors to a 7700k, 1080ti, dual 1440p gsync 144hz monitors. Yeah huge difference.

And I put it together all by myself with some gaffers guiding me.

WfpwQbn.png
Click to expand...

Damn son, was gonna do a very similar upgrade after having had my 2500K for so long.
But decided against it.....just got the graphics card for now.
My ASUS is set to breath or off.

I like the breath at night, cuz its visible from the front fans and my friends always freak out the first time they notice light coming from behind the fans.

ThreePiMatt said:
I will say, the one thing I hate about building PCs is just how hideous "gaming" hardware is. I hate the idea of case windows because of how ugly most hardware is. Too many LEDs, motherboards with ugly, sharp, angular heatsinks.
Click to expand...

Dude, just get a case that doesnt have a window, then all the LEDs and shit inside the case are not visible.

Im pretty damn sure some of the best cases come with window-less options.

The only light visible through my case is through the front fans when its dark, and shutting the LEDs off can be done super easily through software.

On Topic
I upgrade too rarely for it to feel like an actually upgrade, its almost always basically a full rebuilt, with needing to change the Motherboard, CPU and RAM.
 
W

Waaghals

Member
Its addictive as fuck.


It is quite possible to build a cheap and economical gaming pc, but once you figure out how to build one, you are very easily tempted to keep putting things in there.
 
B

BHK3

Banned
You're all weirdos, building my first PC was the worst experience ever, I'd gladly pay someone else to always do it for me.
 
C

clav

Member
Eh...what?

Joy of maintaining a laptop like removing 100 screws to reapply thermal paste is not fun.

Dusting out particles stuck on fans is not fun.

Maintain a car like changing out the water pump. I think you might find that "fun."
 
J

jay

Member
My computer was put together in 2011 and is still running fine. Which is a shame because I really enjoy the hours of research, planning, then building a new computer entails. Stupid frugality.
 
C

clav

Member
jay said:
Stupid frugality.
Click to expand...

Reason why people bother to do this in the first place.

Same with DIY'ing anything.

Fun is YMMV.

Mindlog said:
Youtube is an amazing source for learning about the most random things possible. Also often times a great resource for what not to do. Generally always entertaining.
Click to expand...

Sometimes information is incomplete, making a 20-30 minute job extend to 3-4 hours.
 
P

| Praxis |

Banned
Even though I have built my own PC's for years and taking apart and upgrading computers and laptops (sadly mostly Apple devices) is part of my job I still get satisfaction from it.
 
Subpar Spatula

Subpar Spatula

Banned
Ionno. I see no joy in it. My piece of shit runs most games just fine. It's a head scratcher why someone would pay to upgrade their computer just to play LoL. Not saying you do but there's this mindset from gamers that better computer means something even if you're playing WoW, LoL, or whatever.
 
A

Agent_ShortBus

Member
Yup always feels good. I love tinkering, taking apart, and fixing things. You should try working on your car nezt, you get the same feeling times ten👍.
 
L

linkboy

Member
Or the joy of replacing it.

I've had a POS Sony Vaio laptop since 2013. I hate it, but couldn't justify (aka afford) a new laptop.

Pulled the trigger on a HP Elitebook 8770 a few days ago. Sure, it's a bit older, but I'm not a power PC user and it'll be nice to use a laptop that isn't a grade A POS.
 
C

CosmicGroinPull

Member
Yeah I like building PCs because I like fiddling with things. Upgrading (changing out a part) does nothing for me though.

The best is putting all the components into a well designed case with things like quick HDD removal slots, etc. Unhhhhhhhhh
 
S

super-famicom

Member
I built my first gaming PC last summer. Spent a lot of time researching all the parts and carefully installing everything. Feels good man.
 
J

John Kowalski

Banned
I'm closing in on an SSD upgrade from my ten year old hdd and I don't know what kind of contraceptives I have to buy for something like that.
 
badblue

badblue

Member
I just upgraded my computer. New mobo, CPU (4670k to a 7700k), and ram (1600mhz to 3000mhz). Topped that off with a clean install of windows. Nice and fast now.

Of course now I'm seeing the stock temps of the 7700k with my aio liquid cooler are terrible. Just at stock speeds, I'm seeing 65-70c under normal gaming load. I don't know if a new aio would help, or if I should attempt a delid.
 
G

gelf

Member
Jangowuzhere said:
Absolutely hate it

I mean, I like whatever benefits I get from doing so. But the actual act of having to unplug my PC, drag it's heavy ass to the living room, open it up and tinker with it, and then drag it back and somehow plug it back it again is a huge pain in the ass.
Click to expand...
How I feel unfortunately. I can do this stuff but I never actually enjoy it.
 
T

True Savior

Member
It's all cool until something doesn't work. And because you are not well versed in the thing you need to read and read an read and the joy quickly disappears and you understand that you can't really know everything about things you want to know.
 
K

Khaz

Member
I just replaced the old HDD with an SSD in my laptop. It literally gave it a second life, with lightning fast boot and loading times. I'm really glad I did it. The process was quite straightforward too, with a cloning utility and a sata usb adapter I just had to run the software and switch the drives and I was back on my usual Windows session, except faster.

I'm waiting for more RAM now, I'm not sure it will be that much of an improvement but at least I'll have it maxed.

I kind of want to replace the minipcie wifi card with a wifi+bluetooth one, but I have no use for bluetooth. It would be for sheer completeness at this point.
 
J

j_k_redtail

Member
It can be frustrating. I built a PC a couple years ago to play around with overclocking and to make use of some old parts. Then the motherboard died. I exchanged it, and that worked for a while. I upgraded the CPU, video card, and RAM. Then the replacement mobo died too. I finally bought a new motherboard (different brand), reassembled everything and ... no boot. I took everything out of the case and reassembled it with minimal components... still no boot. Tried another PSU -- nothing. Tried the old RAM - no luck. Tried the older CPU - still nothing. Finally I called the company and they said that the mobo needed a BIOS update to run either of the CPUs. (This wasn't disclosed on the company website). In order to update the bios, I'd need to get an older CPU that would work. So I borrowed one, updated the BIOS, and reassembled the PC piece by piece.

Loved every minute of it.
 
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