I have a 10? Year old machine built by Jim. It shows 8 bouncy columns in the cpu section of the cakewalk control bar. Is that 4 hyper threaded cores or 8 single, idk.
I use my computer fairly hard. It works well enough for me to do all i want.
While a new pc is a nice-to-have, i don't feel i need one.
I got a rack mountable case, but i never racked it. I only occasionally take it out for field recordings. I find i can do field recordings just fine with a light laptop from the 2005 vintage. My 6u rack full of interface, pres, and compressor weighs enough!
I do have to wait for video bounces. I have been glad i got an upgraded video card. The gpu definitely takes load.
The point of this post is to say that i like to play music and Jim's machine helps me keep my focus there. Maybe someday I'll get another machine, but i think a guitar with humbuckers will come first.