Any other price drops upcoming besides AMD cpu

[Patfett]

I was wondering if there were any other price drops upcoming for PC parts besides AMD's cpu.. The reason I ask is because I'm ready to build a system for gaming/media that will be a new HT and I'd love to get a 20"-21" wide screen monitor. Currently have a 19' CRT that doesn't measure up to my needs. I'm on a strict budget of $1500 and so far my configurations come just over budget. I would like to start building next month or could wait until September.

The other thought I had was to go with using a TV if that is possible or worth it to cut costs.

 

[chewbenator]

Well, I suspect that Motherboards will go down in price too since those are the most strongly linked to CPUs. You may be able to get some deals on DDR2 ram if companies really want to push their stock. But, then again they may raise prices so that anyone that wants to buy conroe or AMD will have to overpay in order to get their machine to work. (ie. socket 754 users like me who have to buy almost a complete system)

I too am waiting for the release and prowling newegg for deals. For instance I just picked up a soundcard for 130bucks off which I am putting into my new system. (I have a midi keyboard *musical kind* and it has inputs for recording which I've wanted for awhile) If the lian li case I've been looking at drops by anything I'll be sure to scoop that up.

Oh, and depends what kind of TV you have

 

[elpresidente2075]

If you want to do gaming, multimedia, your best bet (if you can stand it) would be to go with a big CRT. You will get higher resolutions, higher refresh rates, and lower prices in the same category. And brand new ones aren't as dark as older ones.

Like Chew said, motherboards will probably be the biggest drop besides processors.

About the tv? Don't do it. Dismal resolutions for cheap, really frikin expensive for good resolutions. Think 1500 for just the tv. Not to mention the pixels are the wrong shape for computers. Text would be very difficult to read . Trust me, I have used all the monitor configurations except the highest of the high end that I have mentioned here.

Personally, I'm not a gamer, so speed and things like that matter less to me, so I went for a cheapy LCD. 17", $200, and 6 months later, I still like it, but I can see why some would stick with CRT ($$$).

Bottom line: buy an LCD if you want, but for a comparable CRT, you will spend less money, probably half. What really matters is that it suits your needs and you like it.

P.S.
LCDs weigh next to nothing...

 

[Patfett]

Yeah my TV is lacking. Would be better off with a LCD. I already have a sound card and DVD-RW that will go into the new build. An Ideal sweet spot for me is 900-1200 with the rest going towards a monitor. As is I can trim the fat with going with 1gb memory and 120gb HD as opposed to the preffered 2gb mem. 250gb HD. I also want to spend a little on coolong to protect myself if I decide to overclock. The thing is I have the extra funds now and probly won't have the money for a long time to make upgrades so I need something that will last me a while.

Edit: Thanks Elpre. Only thing about the CRT is I really want a wide screen for movies and such. Are there wide screen CRTs?

 

[racerboywonder]

Unfortunately, you're going to be hard pressed to find a new 21" LCD right now for under $500, let alone one with a super quick response times for gaming. My Samsung 215TW is awesome, but I got it for around $550.

That said, with HDCP not really an issue anymore (if you care...they've delayed mass implementation till 2012 or something), that will open up some more possibilities for you. Check Samsung, BenQ, and Viewsonic for 20-21" LCD monitors. I know BenQ has a super-fast 2 ms 20" for around $360(?) right now. Viewsonic has a really good 20" that a lot of gamers seem to love. The Samsung 214T might have dropped in price as well. Check out www.widescreengamingforum.com and see what you can find.

Also LCD tech has gotten a lot better over the years...performance for quite a few are practically on par with CRTs, prices are coming down, and they last significantly longer than CRTs.

 

[Patfett]

Thanks for the advise and link. I have my eye on a Benq or Viewsonic 20", hence the 1200 sweetspot.

Benq Model

ViewSonic Model

 

[The_Abyss]

It is some way off, but the latest DX10 graphics cards from both ATI and Nvidia should be released in the next 3 months, so expect cards like the X1900 and 7900 ranges to fall in value when they do.

This will also be close to the Vista launch, and anything that doesn't have "Vista Ready" plastered all over it will be seeing a drop in price.

 

[Patfett]

I'm almost tempted to hold off until winter with all the advances to the next PC cycle. I.E Next gen. CPUs, D10 cards, and Vista, I have a 6 year old system I've tweaked and resurrecred more times than I can count and I'm ready for a new system.