Okay, so we got the tier lists for CPUs and GPUs, let's do it. What years were the optimal years to upgrade?
2006
Eh, I mean, you could get a really good CPU/GPU combo here, but I think you'd be better off waiting for stuff to get cheaper in 2007. The tech is there, but it was more expensive in 2006. 2007 was a far better value. So, B tier I'd say. I mean, youd probably get a lower clocked core 2 with like an 8600 GT if you budgeted, which is...okay, but given what was available in 2007...nah.
Example PC: E6600, 2 GB RAM, 8600 GT
2007
If you bought a Q6600 (or even E8400) and paired it with a 8800 GT, you'd be solid through 2013. A 6 year PC was legendary given how fast things moved back then. S tier.
Example PC: Q6600, 4 GB RAM, 8800 GT/HD 3850
2008
I mean, basically whatever you could buy in 2008 you could buy in 2007. You had higher end core 2 quads that were expensive. you had the GTX 200 series, but honestly, the value isn't really here as much. Still, A tier, because for budget buyers it was pretty solid.
Example PC: Q6600, 4 GB RAM, 9800 GTX+/ HD 4850
2009
2009 was a weird time. If you bought around now, you'd be buying aging parts or CPUs/GPUs that wouldnt last super long. You would kinda get the short end of the stuck. Phenom IIs, Nehalem CPUs, aging DX10 GPUs...wasn't great unless you bought at the end of the year. C tier.
Example PC: i5 750/Phenom II X4 965, 4 GB RAM, HD 5850
2010
CPUs are even more dated, GPUs were better though with HD 5000 series and GTX 400 series on the market. Given GPUs were better and the CPUs would last you until 2014-2015, I'd say B tier, but yeah, wasn't great. Not terrible either.
Example PC: i5 750/Phenom II X4 965, 4 GB RAM, HD 5850/GTX 460
2011
On the CPU side of things, you'd do well with a 2500k or 2600k, GPUs were mid though. Still, you'd be able to stuck a much more powerful GPU in an aging build and use it a few more years. So not terrible. B tier.
Example PC: i5 2500k, 8 GB RAM, GTX 560 Ti/HD 6950
2012
Between sandy/ivy bridge for CPUs and the GTX 600/HD 7000 series for GPUs. This is probably the golden year. S tier. You got something good here it would last until 2018ish. If you got something top tier, maybe longer.
Example PC: i5 3570k, 8 GB RAM, HD 7850/GTX 660
2013
Not a bad year. Definitely post peak, but you wouldnt get burned here. A tier.
Example PC: i5 4670k, 8 GB RAM, GTX 760/R9 280
2014
If you bought a high end computer like a 4790k with a 970 or 980....great year. if youre a midrange buyer buying a 4670k with a 960 or R9 280 or something. Not a great year. B tier.
Example PC: i5 4690k, 8 GB RAM, GTX 960/R9 280
2015
The value proposition is no better than 2014. Except you lost another year. If you bought midrange, you'd ESPECIALLY get burned here. Quad core i5 6600k with like a 960 2 GB? OOF. That's like....F tier. But because high end buyers didn't make it out too bad, I'll give it a D.
Example PC: i5 6600k, 16 GB RAM, GTX 960/R9 380x
2016
CPU wise, unless you went 6700k, you're getting burned. We're at the end of the intel stagnation era and CPU wise you'd get something that ages badly. The GPUs were legendary though. Too bad you didn't wait another 1.5 years though. I'd say C tier overall though.
Example PC: i5 6600k, 16 GB RAM, GTX 1060/RX 480
2017
Beginning of the year is just more 2016. Kaby lake changed nothing and Zen was middling. You didnt make it out badly if you bought an i7, but otherwise, you got burned. End of the year, good time. Grab a 8600k or 8700k, pair it with a 1060/580 or higher end card. And you're golden well into around 2022-2023. S tier year if you timed it properly.
Example PC: i5 8600k, 16 GB RAM, GTX 1060/RX 580
2018
CPU wise, things are no better than late 2017. The market is what the market is. The GPU market starts going to crap as you face eyewatering prices for the Nvidia 2000 series. If you bought a 2060 or higher, you were golden. I'd say like a 8700k/2060 or 2070 build is a solid higher end build. 8600k+1660 Ti or something is kinda meh though. And then you had crypto driving prices for GPUs nuts for a while. B tier.
Example PC: i5 9600k, 16 GB RAM, GTX 1660 Ti
2019
If you bought zen 2, it was a bit better than 2018, but otherwise, same options more or less. Still, given the crapshow about to commence, it was arguably a good year just because the next couple were so bad. Still, you missed the 2017 boat. C tier.
Example PC: R5 3600x, 16 GB RAM, RX 5600 XT
2020
God help you if your computer broke down. CPUs werent that bad, Rocket lake and Zen 2 were both competitive. Zen 3 was expensive but solid. But GPUs became unaffordable. I graded the 3000 series on MSRP, but yeah, this is the era where GTX 1050 tis started costing $400. F tier.
Example PC: i5 10600k/R5 3600x, 16 GB RAM, GTX 1050 ti
2021
CPU wise interesting things were happening, but once again, GPUs. F tier. Everything was a poor value around this time.
Example PC: i5 12400/R5 5600, 32 GB RAM, GTX 1650
2022
CPUs weren't quite ripe for the pickings yet, but getting there. Zen 3 was going down, alder lake was interesting, but pretty expensive. GPUs were expensive for most of the year, but prices started crashing around the holidays, especially on RX 6000 series. Eh...D tier overall though, unless you bought around christmas.
Example PC: R7 5700x/i5 12600k, 32 GB RAM, RX 6600
2023
GO GO GO GO! GPU prices drop, can finally afford GPUs again. CPU prices drop like a brick. You got a nice beginning of a stagnation era going on. This is the best it's gonna get for a while. This is the optimal time I think for a new computer. You buy here, you get cheap stuff, and you can sit on it through RAMmageddon like I currently am. I dont think that the peaks here are as good as previous eras, given the GPU market has fundamentally changed. but this is the best it's gonna get. A tier.
Example PC: R7 5700x/i7 12700k, 32 GB RAM, GTX 4060/RX 7600
2024
The deals are fundamentally unchanged. It's not bad but 2023 was peak season. B tier.
Example PC: R7 7700x/i7 12700k, 32 GB RAM, GTX 4060/RX 7600
2025
CPU wise nothing interesting has happened in the past few years. Weve been in a holding pattern since 2023. GPU wise, the 5000 series and 9000 series offered decent uplift, but youre still stuck with 8 GB under $300, although a 9060 XT 16 GB or 5060 Ti 16 GB is tempting. Hopefully you locked in before RAMmageddon. Things started getting rough in Q4. C tier.
Example PC: R7 7700x/Core Ultra 5 265k, 32 GB RAM, GTX 5060/RX 9060 XT 8 GB
2026
RIP. We're in the midst of RAMmageddon. I guess it ain't AS bad as COVID, but i guess if you need to buy new RAM it really is. Still, I'm gonna say SLIGHTLY better than COVID, but if you gotta pay $400 for RAM and and $200 for an SSD, not really. F tier.
Example PC: R7 7700x/Core Ultra 5 250k, 16 GB RAM, GTX 5050/RX 6650 XT
Conclusion
So all in all where do things stand?
S tier
2007, 2012, 2017
A tier
2008, 2013, 2023
B tier
2006, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2018, 2024
C tier
2009, 2016, 2019, 2025
D tier
2015, 2022
F tier
2020, 2021, 2026
So, some of these are subjective and can depend on price range. I emphasized midrange buyers here. Like, i5 CPU, 60 class GPU. Yeah. I did consider higher end buyers into the equation somewhat, and some years definitely varied there. Like 2015 could go either way. Either you got burned bad, or you got a GOAT computer that made it through COVID.
The best times to upgrade were 2007, 2012, 2017 (but only late 2017), and 2023ish. 2023 is A tier because the GPU market never returned to its pre 2018 normal, but still, it's an honorary S tier here simply because hey, you gotta upgrade some time.
On the flip side, the objectively worst times were 2020, 2021, and 2026. COVID and the new RAMmageddon F-ed up the market in ways that just made it beyond terrible. Even ignoring the longevity of components, you just got burned on price.
Sometimes years were good on CPUs but not GPUs, like 2011. Some were good on GPUs but not CPUs like 2016. It REALLY depends on what you bought. But yeah. There seems to be an optimal pattern where every 5-6 years, there's a golden year or two in there. If you time it properly, you get the best deals. My luck is mixed.
I got my GPU in 2022 and CPU in 2023, and hit that optimal A, borderline S tier zone.
Previously I bought a CPU early 2017, but got the GPU late 2017. Kinda like a 2016 year, but I compensated with an i7 to soften the blow knowing the CPU market was kinda F-ed at the moment.
2010 before that. It was okay. CPU didnt age great, GPU aged okay though. And I got a 580 which eventually got upgraded to a 760 courtesy of EVGA in 2012, so the GPU hit that sweet spot there, but the CPU aged like milk.
Before that, I got as PC in 2005, which i didnt account for 2005, but that would've been a pretty C tier kind of year, and given i bought at the beginning so I had 2003/2004 tech, it was a D tier decision but one driven by necessity.
And yeah. Right now, I'm in the goldilocks zone waiting for the next big jump. Probably won't happen until 2028-2030 when RAMmageddon passes, if we arent just witnessing the death of affordable computing thanks to AI. Seriously, we can tell just based on what I wrote that AI is just screwing things up as bad as COVID and crypto. I think it'll eventually pass. but we can clearly see that with GPUs we're frogs in a boiling pot here. And yeah...
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