in a PC what are typically the components that “Last the longest” in regards to...

[Joe Blank]

in a PC what are typically the components that “Last the longest” in regards to needing to be upgraded or those parts are very rapidly changing advancing in technology development? I ask this more as a I am planning on building a PC and want to start buying parts but I do not want to buy parts for them to end up being obsolete very shortly after

Case
Motherboard
SSD (including nvme m.2)
CPU (if you get a “high rated/newest one)
Cooling components
RAM

And I feel like that’s really it, GPU’s advance so much and ram barely made my list because I don’t know much about it but it’s current pricing I was undecided if I wanted to include it for a similar reason I didn’t include GPU’s. CPU’s only made the list assuming you will buy the best you can afford and don’t skimp here. For example I plan on an 8700k and z370 board to last me a minimizing 5 years from now (not including if something physically breaks). It seems most of my limits have been from GPU, ram (too little ram) and hard drive physical space but not the actual speed etc of them.

 

[Robert Mendola]

The thing you need to worry about most is gpu. Lots of people still on 4th Gen (i7-4xxx) CPU doing just fine. People on same Gen graphics cards are overdue for upgrade.

 

[Leeam Sigler]

Your storage devices and mobo are the two things that will last the longest. Since the 370 boards just came out i doubt intel will make a new socket type for a least a few more years so if you want to upgrade your cpu you shouldn't have an issue. Ssd's are so fast and reliable now you won't have a reason to change it unless you want more space. Gpu and cpu are the two things you'll eventually want to upgrade and then maybe ram but that's only if you get a lower speed now. Power supplies tend to last forever with builds and don't really need upgrading unless you need more power. But a mobo, psu, and storage will last you at least 5 years

 

[Sameed S. Khan]

Neil Welch can you help my friend out?

 

[Neil Welch]

Case won't go obsolete, just get something with the right size for everything you want now and everything you may want going forward.

PSUs if you get ones of high quality (EVGA Supernovas come to mind with their 10 year warranty) will live on through multiple builds in most cases unless you get unlucky, just be sure to get one with enough wattage to run everything you want going forward

CPU if you get a good enough one will likely last you a few builds, the CPUs in my main system are going on 7 years old and still beat some current offerings. It can be worthwhile to go overkill in the CPU department just to know you won't have to change it for a long time

Cooling- if you go for just fans and regular air cooling you can get a LOT of life out of the fans, and fans are cheap and easy to replace if they go bad. Getting nice fans can definitely help reduce the amount of fan maintenance you will do. As for watercooling, AIOs last about 5 years or so before the liquid evaporates to a degree that harms the pump- and most AIO designs aren't refillable. Custom loop takes a long time to set up but can be easy to maintain when properly set up.

RAM can be hit or miss, it will often last a VERY long time- and if it is going to break it usually happens quickly but RAM problems happen- I give RAM about 4-5 years as well before it can become a problem.

Hard Drives are probably the most likely thing to break in a PC, on average they last about 3-5 years, a lot of them offer 3-5 year warranties. Always go for the option with the better warranty as that's the amount of time the manufacturer expects it to last.

GPUs can last a long time honestly, as graphics settings can always be lowered for bleeding edge games to run- but if you're an ULTRA EVERYTHING AT 60FPS kind of guy yeah you will spend a lot here.

SSDs SHOULD last like 100 years, but the ware on the drive depends on how much you write to them / re-write over blocks. If you exclusively read from this drive it will last a hell of a long time.

Mobos will last as long as your CPU is viable, or as long as there's a better option in that socket. Once you cap out the socket you're done with the board. Boards don't tend to die unless they were poorly manufactured or user error. Typically they will arrive DoA if there is going to be any problem.

 

[Neil Welch]

TL;DR- things with longer warranties tend to last longer

Paying up for better stuff usually means it will last longer- but there is an area of diminishing returns.

Basically everything will last on average 5 years, but you can definitely get more out of it depending on how you use it / how well the components hold up.

 

[Chris Rook]

To start with, my main rig has a 10, going on 11 year old MoBo, CPU is a couple years newer, only because I developed a bad RAM stick which damaged the CPU, otherwise the CPU would have been as old as the MoBo.

The case is nearly as old I believe, and the PSU is a few years newer.

So basically buy a high end MoBo/CPU combo and you will likely get a long life out of them, baring any damaged caused by other things.

Cooling, both air and liquid cooling solutions can last a long time.

Hard drives can be hit or miss, I've experienced a few failures now, but not entirely sure that the HDD caused the problem or it was something else, in at least one case. I tend to use large drives, and usually get them shortly after they are released, so failures are kinda to be expected when it's "new" technology.

That being said I have a few systems that are even older for lighter duties, such as NAS, or shop computer where mostly light weight programs and internet searches are the use. So you can "plan" that even if your new build gets "obsolete" before you thought it would, re-purposing it as a NAS or secondary system is a good use.

I do plan to upgrade my MoBo/CPU/Ram this year to current generation, because I feel it's time. Then my main rig will likely become a second NAS.