Reply 40 of 45, by Tetrium
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- l33t++
wrote:I have no issues buying a new mainboard. Even if the socket is the same and you could upgrade the CPU, this view is flawed becau […]
I have no issues buying a new mainboard. Even if the socket is the same and you could upgrade the CPU, this view is flawed because everything else in the system is old and will hold you back.
While you can stick an AM3 CPU into an AM2+ board, most of them are "stuck" on DDR2 which is heaps more expensive compared to DDR3.
Some boards are still PCIe 1.0 and stuck on HT 2.0 or don't support some features of the CPU (cool and quiet) and things like that.
Just like some boards can run Bulldozer, but not every feature will work. There is always a catch or some restriction.
Simply put, never ever consider things such as "upgradeability". It's a marketing term to lure you to buy a certain product but the IT world moves so fast, not worth it.
With so much overclocking headroom these days, who really upgrades the CPU these days? Most AMD CPUs are fully unlocked and you can even unlock cores. Even Intel is doing unlocked CPUs now...
I remember when the AMD 6 core CPU came out. Most boards received a BIOS update, but this didn't stop many of the AMD fans to buy a 6 core CPU AND a new 8 series chipset board! Why? I have no idea 😁
Anyone remember eSATA? For a while this was a reason to buy a new mainboard. But then you also wanted to buy a new case, one that has eSATA at the front or top.
But now we have USB 3.0 and we have the same issue. You case needs to also come with USB 3 plugs...
And what's around the corner? Intels highspeed interface lightpeak / thunderbolt.
Oh and then there is UEFI BIOS and support for 3TB drives. Again something that only a mainboard swap can do.
Still wondering what the go is with UEFI. I mean my Asrock board has this, but what's the big deal? It has exactly the same options as the normal BIOS, just looks nice and has mouse support. AMI Win BIOS did this 10+ years ago 🤣
So yea, don't worry about upgradeability. Buy the cheapest gear that does what you need now and upgrade more frequently...
If one keeps waiting for something that's just around the corner, one would never "upgrade" as theres always something around the corner 😜
At some point you just need to axe that knot and make a decision 😉
Upgradeability is mostly useful from a retro perspective and less for new hardware, as you can't even be sure if a roadmapped upgrade path will even materialize.