I was wondering when people consider themselves to have a new PC. Technically I’ve had the same PC for close to 20 years now, but every part’s been upgraded several times over.

I figure everyone’s got a different mind about it. For me, I’d have to say when all of the big three—CPU, GPU, mobo—have completed a phase, my brain thinks of the previous setup as “the old PC”.

  • rumschlumpel@feddit.org
    32·
    12 days ago

    Definitely when I upgrade the mainboard + CPU, which usually also means new RAM. It’s pretty expensive, you have to change several parts in one go and it’s much more noticable in general usage than the GPU.

    • TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world
      17·
      12 days ago

      mainboard + CPU

      To me thats the line. Unless you are like, a very active enthusiast, most people, once they get their CPU installed cooler installed, etc… you probably aren’t’ swapping that out. Its pretty much a computer at that point.

      • rumschlumpel@feddit.org
        1·
        11 days ago

        Yeah, you pretty much need to be some kind of early adopter for your CPU socket to seriously consider upgrading just your CPU. Otherwise, there’s just no point. I actually looked it up for my last mainboard, thinking the socket is so old that maybe you can get a somewhat better CPU (i.e. Intel i7 or i9 instead of i5) for really cheap. But the parts market doesn’t seem to work like that, looks like they’d much rather trash their leftover CPUs than make an attractive price.

  • dregan@lemmy.world
    19·
    12 days ago

    The timeless “PC of Theseus” question. For me, it’s when I replace the motherboard. Especially if it involves a new case.

    • saltesc@lemmy.worldOP
      8·
      12 days ago

      I would’ve thought that too. But recently I had to swap a new mobo in after a failure and no other parts got done. Felt like the same PC just working again.

      • Dave@lemmy.nz
        7·
        12 days ago

        Yeah I think upgrading the mobo would be more accurate, when it’s a big enough change that you need to replace RAM and the CPU as well.

      • Dremor@lemmy.world
        1·
        12 days ago

        But you probably had to disconnect about everything, so in a way, they all became simple parts, in a way. Then, once your new mobo is connect, it becomes a new whole, a new PC.

    • Shellofbiomatter@lemmus.orgEnglish
      1·
      12 days ago

      What if it’s sitll using last generations parts aka with am4 going from B350 to B550. New motherboard, but completely capable of using the exact same old parts.

      • DJKJuicy@sh.itjust.works
        6·
        12 days ago

        Hmmm… I’ve never upgraded a motherboard just to use the same CPU and RAM. I’ve upgraded CPU and upgraded RAM and considered it the same PC, but when I upgrade the motherboard it’s for more modern CPU sockets and DDR generation and PCIE version.

        Are people really upgrading motherboards and using the same CPU and RAM?

        Maybe I’ll change my opinion to new motherboard/CPU at the same time?

        • Shellofbiomatter@lemmus.orgEnglish
          1·
          12 days ago

          Yeah, i just did due to RAM prices going insane and remaining so in the foreseeable future. Went from B450 to B550 due to old MB being slightly unstable and to squeeze out as much life from the CPU and ram to last out the RAM shortages.

          Less viable option with intel, but with AMD I’ve done it before as well, basically to squeeze out as much as possible from a limited budget. Getting a lower end MB and later upgrading it when a decent sale comes up.

          I would consider new PC as, upgrading to a new MB with a new socket forcing the upgrade of a CPU and RAM as well.

    • toddestan@lemmy.world
      1·
      11 days ago

      That’s my qualification. It’s a new computer when I’m just nicking a few bits out of the old computer, either leaving the old computer still functional or could be made functional again without too much trouble.

  • Captain Aggravated@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    6·
    12 days ago

    In my head, for basically no reason, the motherboard is “the” PC. It’s the one large part that really sets the overall generation. I could swap my previous PC’s motherboard into my new case, the thing is DDR4 RAM and an AM4 CPU would have to come with it.

    Because I do shit like build a SFF PC with an ITX board in a small case, and then turn around and build a fairly standard mATX board in a mini-tower, a lot of the case, case accessories, and GPU are fitted to the system. It would actually be pretty stupid to put the parts of my last PC in my current case because they’d swim.

  • Postmortal_Pop@lemmy.world
    6·
    11 days ago

    If I had to limit it to physically, I’d say the motherboard. It’s the only thing in the box that everything has to be compatible with. Everything else is the extension.

    Personally, I believe in a machine spirit. It’s a nebulous concept and it muddies the water here, but really the object is new when it no longer feels like the old. If I install a new is some day and my fans don’t breathe the same, my lights don’t blink like they did, or the chirp of my drives sounds alien, then I know I’ve lost the ghost and will have to learn a whole personality. Same is true for all my objects.

  • Natanael@slrpnk.net
    5·
    12 days ago

    The ship of theseus says hello

    You have to decide what it is that defines the entity

    The title of “my gaming PC”? Whatever which holds the title is that PC at any given moment.

    Defined by some property? Desktop setup, game/file collection, hardware type (whichever has the hardware most suitable for the task, eg. the most capable PC being your gaming PC, etc)

    Defined by substance/components? OS image, motherboard / CPU, or even just the case, etc…

    You can even use all definitions at once with completely different choices in each, because your current gaming PC might become your next home server as you buy a new PC, then you move around some components like RAM, reinstall a device, make one a media center for your TV, etc…