I have a kind of old pc that I use for internet and gaming. For work I have a company laptop, so none of that bs on the pc. But it's 6.5 years old - got it in Aug 2009 - and no complaints about performance but I don't know how long it has left. However when I look at the inventory at Fry's some of it doesn't seem too much of an improvement. Moore's Law seems to have expired. Some I don't know what it is because they use names for processors like i5 and i7 and I'm not sure how that equates to mine in terms of ghz (my knowledge on hardware is not very current). Is it worth getting one now and what should I look for? Or better to wait? What do you suggest? My budget is not over $1,000 and I have attached screenshots of my current rig's specs.

Thank you for any input.

I would at the very least advise getting a new graphics card. I can't really help you with cpu's as my knowledge is quite limited with those.

i5 or i7 indicates (sort of) how good it is.
Though you don't really need an i7. Get an i5 as the price difference is much higher than the performance difference.

1. The difference in terms of performance between your pc and the current parts on the market is IMMENSE. Don't be fooled by only looking at GHz. The Intel i3 is a dual core and any of the i3s will beat the pants off your cpu.

2. Don't worry about upgrading your existing setup. Not worth it. Just look at new.

3. I have no idea your price range, but I'm going to assume you are only looking for prebuilt systems. What kind of gaming do you do? I'm going to assume you don't play Witcher 3 or the newer Batman games. Here are some ideas in a few different price ranges:

$400 ABS Vulcan desktop w/AMD FX (assuming you have a monitor): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883102102
$520 Lenovo all-in-one w/i3: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883798501
$720 ASUS all-in-one w/i5: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883221105
$1000 Cyberpower gaming rig (you supply monitor): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883230074

The last three will be a very noticeable upgrade for you. I'm not all that certain the cheapest one will be worth it. The most expensive one will be able to play a lot of games that are totally out of your reach right now. And if you've lived with your pc since 2009, you will be happy with this one for at least 5 years.

Cheers.

I agree with you that Moore's Law seems to have died WRT CPUs, GPUs and various other hardware. When I built my system 3 years ago I got a pretty good deal on all of the components. If Moore's Law held true today then I would be able to go out and buy something 4 times as powerful for the same price I paid then essentially. Instead however, even though new hardware has come out on the market since then, it just came out much much more expensive than what I bought 3 years ago, and the hardware I bought back then has not only not went down in price, but it has went UP in price. The same CPU I got for $180 is now $260 brand new 3 years later. Other components in the system vary in detail but they're all either equal or higher in price now. 3 years ago you could buy a gamer class mid-end highly recommended GPU that could hold its own for $200. With the current generation of hardware you have to spend about $400-500 to get a gamer class mid level GPU.

SSD drives and HDD drives went up in price since I bought mine, and have stayed up for quite some time. They're only now starting to slowly come down a bit for a given quality level. I should be able to find a drive 4x the size of what I bought 3 years ago for a similar price to what I paid then. I'd have to pay 2-2.5 times what I paid then to get a comparable 4x larger drive now however.

Moore's Law is deader than a doornail. Greed Law is the new law in town. Greed and lack of innovation. Also, I have a feeling that the next generation of CPUs will bump their speed up to a miniscule improvement of 5.2-5.5GHz at 500 watts, requiring a 240V electrical power cable plugged directly into the CPU on one end, and directly into the jack you plug a stove or clothes dryer into on the other end. They'll cost $1000 likely too. Basically you pay 10 times the price for a 5-10% performance boost now, and watch the lights dim from the increased power consumption while turning the air conditioning up as well.

But you'll need that CPU+GPU if you want a VR headset, because they need it more or less.

In summary: IMHO, it's a shitty time to buy computer hardware.

My pc is 12 years old it still works.
What i wonder wasn't there news about new chips for pcs that would be 1000 times faster?
When will it be out?

What games do you play? What do you want to play?

My desktop was similar to yours in many ways (GTX 650Ti, Core 2 Duo 3.0GHz, 4GB RAM).

For $300, I got a new MOBO (LGA1151), DDR4 memory, new processor (a G4400 -- the slowest skylake processor on the market -- $65 -- still beats the pants off my Core2 and yours too -- http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Pentium-G4400-vs-Intel-Core2-Quad-Q6600 )

So for about $400, you could upgrade your MOBO, processor, RAM, and GPU.

But if your PC is that old, I'd recommend a new PSU too.

At that point, you're hitting "buy a new PC" territory.

All of the old Core2 style processors and RAM is very expensive now, so ignore upgrading your system. Start looking at something newer and flashier.

If you can put it together yourself, NewEgg.com has lots of good deals with good reviews. That's where I get most of my stuff. Sometimes it's a bit cheaper elsewhere, though, so it pays too look around.

Also, things go on sale all the time. So don't hesitate to wait. Or... do hesitate. Or something... :) Pick your price point and then look for a great deal that fits in it.

I strongly recommend buying a Skylake processor (LGA1151). All of the new technology is building on that, but it ranges from cheap to expensive. LGA1151 processors range from $65 to about $400. So you can start cheap and then upgrade later. And the MOBOs go from $50 to several hundred dollars, too. So you can get into OCing, or go cheap and stable (my route -- I got the MSI Mortar B150).

Anyway, I hope that helps.

If you have some money sitting around, you may just want to wait until yours dies. Then buy a new PC. If you have a game you want to play now, you might want to do it now.

I had a big post but Gogbear ate it.

Consider the Witcher 3, minimum specs are i5. Recommended i7.

I find games mostly use the videocards ram, a fast and mean i7 with a badass videocard and good motherboard and power supply, pretty minimal everything else is what I would be going for.

As far as I can tell it goes Core2 > i3 > i5 > i7. And considering Moores law is a bunch of bullsh!t, i7 should be good for awhile. I'm not sure what comes after i7's. Unsure what a Skylake is, people here probably know better than me.