To be honest, the case is still the original one, but almost every other part has since been replaced. Now, I’ve taken it back to the shop where I bought it 20 years ago and asked them to upgrade the motherboard, CPU, and memory - the last of the original parts.
So, is it still the same computer?
I also like that I can just keep replacing parts on an existing product rather than buying an entirely new device each time. That’s exceedingly rare feature these days.
I used to do a lot of building, modding, overclocking, etc. I can’t tell you why, but I always associated the motherboard as “the computer.” If I replace the CPU, RAM, cards, cooling, drives, case, etc it’s the same computer. And if a take a mobo out and put it in another chassis, that’s now “the computer” or, at that point, “the old computer.”
I had one 3/4 tower case that lasted me from 486sx, all the way to Pentium 3 and I still miss it, but I wouldn’t say it was the same computer. The same case sat next to Moss’s desk on The IT Crowd, and I’d get a little nostalgic seeing it.
Because the motherboard defines it’s capability.
It’s called the motherboard, so there’s something in the name I think too.
I feel the same. The motherboard determines what else you can fit in, like the chassis of a car. It determines the maximum GPU, CPU, ram, etc you can use.