Hardware So how long will a high-end gaming PC last before going "out of date"?

[VincentBeasley]

I've been a console gamer all my life and the BS is finally starting to get to me lol. Graphics aren't a big issue for me so I don't really care about playing everything in 60fps, 4K and VR while having it make me a smoothy. I just wanna continue playing the newest games with decent specs. How long do most gaming PCs last before becoming completely unplayable. I'd like to at least get 6 to 7 years out of it. Otherwise it's not worth the price tag.
Edit: Also looking into emulation. Preferably up to PS2 but above that would be swell

 

[Supster131]

If you don't really care about graphics and frame rate, a high-end gaming PC can last you for maybe 4-5 years?
The high end PCs of 2011 can still kind of plays games from today.

Emulation should last forever. You will be able to run PCSX2, no sweat.
As for anything above that, well a high end PC can most certainly emulate the Wii (Dolphin) and the Wii U emulator (CEMU) is also looking promising.

 

[gudenau]

If you don't really care about graphics and frame rate, a high-end gaming PC can last you for maybe 4-5 years?
The high end PCs of 2011 can still kind of plays games from today.

Emulation should last forever. You will be able to run PCSX2, no sweat.
As for anything above that, well a high end PC can most certainly emulate the Wii (Dolphin) and the Wii U emulator (CEMU) is also looking promising.

4 cores >2ghz with a decent GPU should crush dolphin. :-D

 

[Supster131]

4 cores >2ghz with a decent GPU should crush dolphin. :-D

Oh hell yeah. Especially if you're on Windows 10, DirectX12 on Dolphin is so good.

 

[TotalInsanity4]

If you pick your parts right and don't mind turning game settings way down towards the EOL, you could probably skate by on an upwards of 8 years

However, it should be mentioned that a major upside of PC gaming is that every 2-4 years you can plunk in a new graphics card and be good to go for a while at a relatively low cost

 

[VincentBeasley]

If you don't really care about graphics and frame rate, a high-end gaming PC can last you for maybe 4-5 years?
The high end PCs of 2011 can still kind of plays games from today.

Emulation should last forever. You will be able to run PCSX2, no sweat.
As for anything above that, well a high end PC can most certainly emulate the Wii (Dolphin) and the Wii U emulator (CEMU) is also looking promising.

That's what I want to hear lol. Back in the day there were legit reason people played on consoles. But nowadays it almost seems pointless having a console with the decline of Jrpgs, local multiplayer and various other things.

 

[Luckkill4u]

What type of price tag are you thinking of? You can really scrap together what your looking for on the cheap but for longevity you probably need to spend at least $400~.

 

[Lucar]

4 cores >2ghz with a decent GPU should crush dolphin. :-D

On the contrary, dolphin is pretty CPU heavy. My 2.7 GHZ i7 has issues in demanding titles in dolphin.

 

[VincentBeasley]

What type of price tag are you thinking of? You can really scrap together what your looking for on the cheap but for longevity you probably need to spend at least $400~.

Oh well if I were to go ahead and get one then I would probably spend around 800-1000$. My plan is to just do away with consoles all-together and switch over. I would be getting that over a PS4 and I'd like it to last as long as possible without needing to upgrade.

 

[Supster131]

Oh well if I were to go ahead and get one then I would probably spend around 800-1000$. My plan is to just do away with consoles all-together and switch over.

That'll for sure last a couple of years. I'd say go for highest i7 and a decent GPU, as upgrading the GPU is easier than upgrading the CPU.
Like @TotalInsanity4 stated, update your GPU every 2-4, and then a complete system upgrade at around 6-8 years.

Just remember, you will be losing out on exclusives if you decide to be PC only, but that's a matter of preference.

 

[VincentBeasley]

Just remember, you will be losing out on exclusives if you decide to be PC only, but that's a matter of preference.

I would eventually get a Ps4 way down the line so that's no biggie. Plus Playstation now will be on PC soon and there's a possibility that would allow me to play some exclusives lol

 

[Lucar]

That'll for sure last a couple of years. I'd say go for highest i7 and a decent GPU, as upgrading the GPU is easier than upgrading the CPU.
Like @TotalInsanity4 stated, update your GPU every 2-4, and then a complete system upgrade at around 6-8 years.

Just remember, you will be losing out on exclusives if you decide to be PC only, but that's a matter of preference.

Why an i7? An i5 from this generation of processors would be just as good, for less.

 

[Luckkill4u]

@wolven9 https://pcpartpicker.com/guide/ look at the guides here to see what you can get for what price when you build it yourself.

 

[vayanui8]

What type of price tag are you thinking of? You can really scrap together what your looking for on the cheap but for longevity you probably need to spend at least $400~.

A $400 PC will have no longevity lol

 

[Supster131]

Why an i7? An i5 from this generation of processors would be just as good, for less.

Because upgrading a CPU can be a hassle (it's not difficult, switching out a GPU is much easier).
That and some games are starting to ask for i7s. Won't hurt to "future-proof" yourself a bit.

 

[VincentBeasley]

@wolven9 https://pcpartpicker.com/guide/ look at the guides here to see what you can get for what price when you build it yourself.

Cool I'll give it a read =)

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Btw, completly off topic but... can you hook up a SD tv to a gamng pc for emulators?

 

[Joe88]

yes but only problem you will need to convert digital to analog

 

[Originality]

Does the SD TV have a VGA ports? If so, that simplifies matters greatly.

One note on how long a PC will last, it depends what type of games you're looking to play. Your mileage may vary. If you're looking to play the latest battlefield/CoD titles every year, you may need to swap the graphics every 3-4 years. If you're mostly emulating and playing smaller, lighter games, a good graphics card can last you as much as 10 years. As time goes by, newer games slowly ask for higher and higher specs, however most titles aim/optimise for those with low or medium specs because there's a bigger market share in that range.

 

[smf]

A $400 PC will have no longevity lol

Longevity is over-rated. You don't want to spend so much money today, that you're stuck with a computer for 10 years.

A $400 pc isn't a high end gaming pc, if that was your budget and you bought the best value for money then you'd probably be able to buy everything except your graphics card.

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/best-cpus,review-33354.html

The decision for me would be between an i5-6500/i5-6600K, if you must have i7 then previous generation i7-5820K seems like good value for money.

 

[FAST6191]

Depends what you do with longevity really.
If you can retire it to a secondary PC and get some LAN going on, or have something capable of doing things in the shed/front room TV, or be able to give it to someone and have them do well for it.

On emulation then yeah if you are happy with a specific version then go right ahead, I do have to say though I have seen a trend, not necessarily an unwelcome one either, towards needing newer and newer hardware (be it CPU, GPU or even OS) as times goes on. This does tend to mean more games and more accuracy that actually matters but I have to note it.