Should Your Reconsider Future proofing Your Gaming PC?
It makes sense that if you want to do more than play online blackjack on any device or Minecraft that you always want the latest and greatest in terms of your computer. However, future-proofing your gaming setup may not be possible for everyone. In fact, it might be a better idea not to focus on it too much if you want to save money and headaches. We will tell you a bit more about why you should not have to worry about it.
Not all of us need to future proof our computer
The basic concept is simple: any computer that you buy now will be able to run programs both efficiently and smoothly while being compatible with the latest technologies. You want to be able to ensure that your computer can do that without needing replacements or upgrades. Now that concept itself is open for plenty of interpretation.
First of all, you have to ask yourself what you want to do with the setup. If you want to browse the internet and use Microsoft Word occasionally, future-proofing your computer is fairly simple. However, if you want to run the latest games, it is going to be a bit more difficult. If you do not care about having the latest and greatest, if you only want to use your computer for the basic games, it should be fine to have your computer as it is.
Your warranty may not be able to match your needs
We expect future-proof builds to last four years or more. However, if you are buying a top-of-the-line system, your warranty is going to be over before your computer is going to be considered ‘outdated’. Graphics cards, processors and motherboards are some of the most expensive computer parts that you are going to buy – yet the largest manufacturers only offer you a warranty of three years tops.
Interestingly enough, the things that you can often easily afford to upgrade, or upgrade most easily are those that also have the longest warranties. RAM and hard drives often have three to five-year warranties. However, if you want to future-proof your computer, you will find that these are often obsolete.
In some ways, technology has peaked
Processor technology has peaked in a number of ways. You do not really need a great deal of extra horsepower than what we have available today unless you are running or setting up virtual servers. In testing, there is virtually nothing that separates the older processors to the latest and greatest. The same can be said for RAM. You are not going to see a great deal of real-world performance increases when switching between 8 and 16 GB of RAM. However, you will see a massive difference in going from 4 to 8 GB of RAM.
You will not always be successful with futureproofing
You can invest a great deal of money in futureproofing, but unfortunately, it is not always going to be a success. In fact, surveys on Reddit and other boards find that even though many futureproofers feel that their games still work ‘good enough’, they do not run as well as they would have initially. Another part of futureproofing is having to overclock the system, which means that there is a risk of you losing your warranty if you do. Especially the graphics card is changing quite frequently, and a top of the line graphics card should only last you (at its very top) for two years.
The process is quite cost-inefficient
Even though it sounds counterproductive, periodic upgrades are going to be more cost-effective than binging on a massive supercomputer the first time around. The wisest option financially is to buy a setup that matches your current needs and upgrade where possible. This means that you are able to hold off on better deals for upgrades when the prices are going down a bit instead of spending a tremendous amount of money on a system right now.