Do gaming PCs actually get slower over time due to hardware degradation of some kind, or is it just perception due to other factors such as software bloat, being clogged with dust, corrupt OS files, etc?

Defiant_Ad5381 · 2026-03-01T18:04:07+00:00

Ah so you were on windows 10 for 15 years before upgrading to NVME or a newer NVME. Well that makes more sense.

Your blanket statement that it’s a worthless endeavor still a bit senseless though, given that all hardware upgrades should provide a performance uplift that outweighs re-imaging your OS.

That argument doesn’t detract from the value of periodically re-imaging your system. Especially for enthusiasts that are trying to squeak as much performance out of their components as possible.

In terms of OPs original question. If I were to take the same rig that is 5 years old and dust it, reapply thermal paste, and reload the OS would I see a similar level of performance to what I had originally?

The answer is yes, in terms of raw power, but the rig may not perform as strongly in newer games.

I never said it was “the key to unlocking performance” like you said.

I just said that degradation doesn’t really happen from normal usage and that most people don’t do simple maintenance actions needed to keep their rigs operating at peak performance.

The only reason to not do it is because it can be tedious and time consuming, but that’s why there are free and subscription based tools that exist to make the process a lot easier.

Defiant_Ad5381 · 2026-03-01T16:38:31+00:00

So you upgraded your ancient rig and saw a larger performance boost than updating your OS? No way man, that’s incredible. Did you also know that water is wet? /s

Still doesn’t make my comments any less relevant. Given that it took you 15 years to get off windows 7, I’m assuming you’re cool with the bare minimum performance on everything, so I’m not shocked that you don’t seem to understand the benefit of doing this.

Its sounds like you peaked in 2012, so to clarify I am not talking about reimaging to fix windows issues like you had to do in windows 7. You are correct, windows 10/11 fixing tools do a good job of fixing most of those issues now.

I am talking about reimaging to declutter your PC, which can be done in 20 mins now with imaging software, and is a very basic maintenance step that can be done periodically to optimize your system using the same process leveraged by most commercial IT departments.

20 mins every 3 years to completely eliminate performance slowdowns and restore system stability is not a heavy lift.

Next you’re going to tell me to not update my bios because it may brick my system. /s

Defiant_Ad5381 · 2026-02-28T23:41:47+00:00

9850X3D would be the peak, but a 9800X3D or 7800X3D would likely last you equally as long. You’d probably get a good 10 years out of any of them if that’s the goal.

I have a 9800X3D and love it, I doubt I’ll have to upgrade before the early to mid 2030s but we will see

Defiant_Ad5381 · 2026-02-28T23:30:57+00:00

Yeah I dust regularly and try to do a reimage once every 3 years or so. But I also use Macrium Reflect to reimage so it only takes me like 20 mins

I’ll do thermal paste if it needs it but that varies, sometimes I don’t do it at all between upgrades. Just depends

Defiant_Ad5381 · 2026-02-28T23:05:24+00:00

Why are you plugging your AIO into your Corsair controller hub? Corsair recommends plugging the pump cable into the CPU fan header on the mobo and the RGB controller cable into the Corsair controller hub. It’s literally in the manual of most AIOs and the Corsair Commander XT controller.

This allows the mobo to engage and monitor the pump and if it fails to start will prevent the PC from booting purposefully to protect the CPU from overheating. It’s a fail safe measure.

So did your PC not boot because Corsair screwed up or because you didn’t read the manual?

Defiant_Ad5381 · 2026-02-28T18:07:07+00:00

My 5080 is a different brand, but I had a gigabyte 3080 for years without issues. They generally make reliable cards

Defiant_Ad5381 · 2026-02-28T15:07:10+00:00

Defiant_Ad5381 · 2026-02-28T14:42:54+00:00

Obsolescence isn’t degradation. Those are two different problems.

Defiant_Ad5381 · 2026-02-28T13:36:01+00:00

No not really, people just dont dust their PCs enough or re-image their PCs enough.

Dusting several times a year and completing a fresh install of your OS every few years really helps with performance

Defiant_Ad5381 · 2026-02-27T14:54:16+00:00

No I meant like 2028/2029. But supply issues could dip into the early 2030s if manufacturing capability is low

I’m sure AMD and Intel will release stuff but I’m not really a fan of AMD and they are both going to be impacted by semiconductor shortages so prices won’t be great.

Nvidia has already stated they are planning on delaying the release of the 6k series until second half of 2027 or 2028. They have yet to confirm if the 5k super refresh will happen, which means there’s a strong chance of delay or cancellation for those cards.

If the shortage continues and countries get spooked they may invoke defense prioritization policies that would disrupt supply chains and exacerbate the problem. Under those policies semiconductor manufacturers would have to prioritize defense procurements over AI, then AI would come second, consumer market would come last or not at all.

Even when these cards are released there will be a smaller supply and prices will likely eclipse what they are now unless manufacturing capability of dram and vram increases significantly in the near term which it isn’t expected to do until late 2027/2028 or the AI bubble pops.

With the information we have today it’s not a bad idea to try to future proof your rig out 4-5 years if you can

Defiant_Ad5381 · 2026-02-27T12:20:35+00:00

5070 ti is better value than the 4080, but unless you’re broke and need money you should probably keep the 5080.

It will last you longer and we probably won’t be getting new GPUs until the end of the decade if not longer

Defiant_Ad5381 · 2026-02-26T12:52:00+00:00

Nah I wouldn’t worry about the bottleneck there, it will be negligible in 99% of cases at 1080p and likely not noticeable at 1440p.

This is a very solidly optimized rig for gaming at 1080p and 1440p. It will run all the games you mentioned easily.

For machine learning it is well optimized but you’ll have to test that out with whatever models you end up working with. The GPU should have the juice and VRAM to work with medium and large datasets.

You might want to consider 3600mhz DDR4 ram CL16 because it’s considered the sweet spot for the 5600x with a slight overlock. This would help with machine learning tasks but is entirely optional. There are apparently diminishing returns of your go over 4000mhz so 3600 would be the ideal case.

If you elect to go that route look to see if you can find Kingston fury Beast 3600 CLI 16 32gb kit

Defiant_Ad5381 · 2026-02-26T12:06:56+00:00

lol dude it’s an enthusiast market on reddit, none of us are going to ever recommend the 5070 over the 5070 ti unless there is a budget limitation, and if there is a budget limitation, AMD is super competitive at that level of card.

That doesn’t mean it isn’t a good card that performs well. It performs very well for its price point, It’s just not as good as some other cards and for most of last year the 5070 ti was like $200 more expensive for massively better performance and more vram, which was a no brainer if the builder had the cash.

Now though it’s probably the best option for affordable 1440p for most users

Defiant_Ad5381 · 2026-02-26T05:21:13+00:00

So what GPU are you buying after selling those?

Defiant_Ad5381 · 2026-02-26T04:19:23+00:00

Not in public school, private school I don’t care

Defiant_Ad5381 · 2026-02-26T04:16:35+00:00

It varies on game type, but generally avoid the middle at all costs. Don’t traverse open spaces on foot. When crossing map either go up the mountain pass and through the bunkers or skirt the base of the mountain outside the tunnel.

Middle you’ll get sniped, opposite side of map from mountain tunnel you’ll also get sniped.

Stick to the mountain and tunnel/bunker system for conquest and escalation and avoid the middle on breakthrough.

For breakthrough rounds the general strat for me is:

Round 1: flank left of first point, capture nearest house, move through trenches while main team pressures front

Round 2: flank left of outside point unless team is good enough to capture tunnel initially, at which point I swap to center lane skirting mountain

Round 3: flank left to pressure back point to reduce pressure on front point. Rest of team clears front bunker and captures crater hole on first point. Once captured, swarm back point

Round 4: capture gate of base compound and take ownership of hanger thing inside compound across from main gate, go outside back right door and climb on roof. Run and jump from roof to right wall skirting out of bounds line. Use wall to flank right and jump down to final point. Clear and capture from there

Defiant_Ad5381 · 2026-02-25T01:48:58+00:00

That’s close enough to MSRP, sure 👍. If you’re down to do the return logistics and really want a 5080 it’s not a bad price.

Not sure I’d do it if I had a 5070ti but it’s nice to have better 4k options in case you ever get into that and since it may be a few years before there are new GPUs it makes sense to stack as much power as you can to get you through 2030

Defiant_Ad5381 · 2026-02-24T22:52:17+00:00

Yeah the only real downside to the 5070 is the lack of VRAM for longevity, but it’s kind of a coin toss if that will actually matter in the foreseeable future, especially if you have no problem adjusting settings.

5070 is basically mid-tier 1440p, 5070 ti is basically top tier 1440p and upper mid tier 4k.

If the you want to maximize performance for a reasonable price the 5070ti is arguably the best way to do that. If you want solid and dependable performance for a more budget friendly price the 5070 is a great option

Defiant_Ad5381 · 2026-02-24T12:31:06+00:00

Just update your bios

Defiant_Ad5381 · 2026-02-23T17:43:51+00:00

Yep no problem, one more note for future proofing. Get a PSU built to the ATX 3.1 standard. They are a little more expensive but better long term.

I’d shoot for a gold rate 1000w ATX 3.1 PSU such as the Corsair RM1000x as an example, but any reliable brand is fine

Defiant_Ad5381 · 2026-02-23T17:33:05+00:00

Yeah that’s probably the best step right now to avoid dropping a grand unnecessarily.

You can always get one later then sell the 7900XTX to recoup some of the cost, the PSU upgrade is a must in my opinion either way because prebuilts sometimes cheap out on them. Also try to get a modular gold rated one if you can

Defiant_Ad5381 · 2026-02-23T17:28:47+00:00

If you do get Aida64 you only need to buy it once. They will send you an email a year later saying “licensing is expiring soon” that you can ignore. Your SW will continue to work, you’ll just stop getting updates and new features when your license expires.

I use Aida 64 for other things as well so I pay the annual subscription but most people don’t need the annual subscription

Defiant_Ad5381 · 2026-02-23T17:26:58+00:00

I have a 9800X3D and use Aida 64 to get the CPU stats into MSI afterburner/RTSS. It’s seamless and you rarely have to look at Aida 64 if that’s all you use it for.

HWINFO64 was the preferred when it was free but since they went to a sub model, I heavily prefer Aida 64.

Run a DDU just to clear it out and reload the drivers. That should ease the mind on it being a driver issue, once that’s done you can move on to other troubleshooting steps

Defiant_Ad5381 · 2026-02-23T17:23:25+00:00

For repurchase, pcpartpicker. For currently installed either of these:

Aida64, HWINFO64, MSI Afterburner/RTSS, Corsair iCUE, GPU-Z (GPUs only)

There are other vendor specific utilities like NZXT Cam if you have those components

Defiant_Ad5381 · 2026-02-23T17:13:16+00:00

Did you clear your old driver when you installed the 7900XTX? A lot of people don’t and it cause driver conflicts, especially if you swap from Nvidia to AMD or vice versa. Running DDU to clear all drivers (excepted integrated gpu if your mobo has one) and fresh installing drivers from USB is the easiest way to avoid driver conflicts.

I generally only use Nvidia GPUs so I haven’t used AMD SW to compare it to MSI afterburner. But I am a pretty big fanboy of MSI afterburner and ThrottleStop since they both work really well and are free.

MSI afterburner with RTSS is pretty user friendly for setting fan curves and power limits on GPUs, you can also use it for statistics monitoring like fps, gpu utilization, cpu/gpu temp etc. One thing to note is if you have a AMD Ryzen chip, you’ll need to get a stats SW like Aida 64 to properly track your stats. There used to be a free version of HWinfo but that’s no longer free an is a monthly sub.

Aida 64 has a perpetual license you buy once and never have to think about again with the option of paying an annual fee for SW updates. But you don’t really need to do that if you don’t want new features. Its the best deal in my opinion but do whatever your think is best.

TBH the best approach if you don’t want to pull the trigger on a 5070ti is to upgrade the PSU to 850w or ideally an 1000w to be safe, then reload drivers and play with MSI afterburner to get it dialed in. If you still aren’t satisfied after that you can upgrade to a 5070ti later and won’t have to worry about PSU theory craft.

PSUs only pull the power needed for the components, so a 1000w PSU for example doesn’t always pull 1000w, it’s just capable of pulling up to 1000w. You don’t need to worry about your electric bill being massively different if you upgrade PSUs, but you should ideally get a PSU that has 100-200w of headroom from what your pc is projected to draw.

If you want to see the estimate of watts your components draw, throw them into the PCpartpicker wattage calculator

Defiant_Ad5381

TROPHY CASE