Delete post

[w1ngzer0]

Delete post

 

[still_life]

the prices always drop and there is always new stuff
might as well upgrade now and get it over with

Agreed.

 

[MEGAWATTZ2000]

I would wait till after christmas ... everything now is surely overpriced as for the supply and demand tactic ..

Well I'm waiting till after christmas ..

 

[duthoy]

wait 6 months,
vista will be available,
more dx10 card (more futureproof)
maybe there will be a new cpu war,
currently it's obvious what to get: intel & 8800 GTX
but if you wait 6 monts, you will have much more choice, and more bang for the buck, and more futureproof

 

[Upgrader]

the prices always drop and there is always new stuff
might as well upgrade now and get it over with

Well, that argument is correct, of course, but I think there's more to the decission of when to buy, unless you have money to burn...

Right now, the C2D + GF8800 are surely a top notch upgrade for about every system. On the other hand, they are both very fresh, and thus very expensive. There may also be bugs in there that will be ironed out in the next months. Plus, in a few months, there will be alternative offers, so prices will go down. And Vista will be up in a few months, maybe it's even worth to wait until the first few big patches are available.

I usually do the following: 1) decide on a certain hardware choice, and 2) wait until that hardware choice is not top-of-the-line anymore. I usually buy when that hardware choice is roughly the "2nd" best stuff (which is still a whole lot better than what the average non-high-end guy buys), or when prices dropped appreciatively, whatever happens first. Thereby I avoid the phenomenon that there's "always new stuff", as *my* stuff is fixed.

Or at least I try, sometimes I get crazy and just buy the best thing I can get my hands on.

 

[pinkcaddy]

My feeling is you'll never get caught up with the technology curve and if you do, you quickly fall behind as new stuff comes out (unless you continuously shell out $$ to stay current).

That having been said - wait. As other posters have said, there are technologies on the horizon that we know are coming that will drive prices down - Vista, DX10, etc. Today's "standard" of C2D and the 8800 Nvidia cards will surely change in the next 3-6 months. Nvidia and ATI will both be releasing products that are DX10 compatible and cheaper than US$500(even though nothing will really be there yet to take advantage of DX10). Who knows what will happen with AMD and Intel. AMD claims it doesn't want to get into another processor war (ala the race to 1 GHz), but if sales lag, they will join in and the result will be prices dropping. We are currently on the verge of an OS and graphics engine being released that will change hardware requirements for the next few years. Best not to jump on it too quick - if you can wait.

 

[bobfan]

amd am2 chips have dropped in price this week. the x2 4600 went from 265 to 204. super cheap!

 

[purdueguy]

yeah, but a $217 E6400 >>>>>>>>>>>>>> $204 X2 4600.

If the 4600 was available for $150, then I'd be happy.

Anyway, to w1ngzer0, what are you wanting to upgrade? What is your current system? What is your budget?

If you are just looking to upgrade a video card or CPU, then it might be worth it. If you are looking to upgrade to a brand new system then maybe waiting 6 months is for you.

There will always be better stuff in 6 months. But with DX10 mainstream cards coming out in about 4-6 months, this is a bit more of a larger transition in the computer industry than in most other times.

Please supply CPU, video card, memory, motherboard, hard drive, and Power Supply specifications and name brands. This will help a lot.

 

[Surferosa]

Well, I don't entirely agree with all the comments above. In years gone by, the advice would be sound; but this year there is (imo) more reason to be buying with confidence.

1) C2D
Currently, this is the mainstream processor of choice. The price / performance of the E6300 - E6600 (comparative to processor costs in the past) are very reasonable. In my opinion, you will not see these bettered in the same price category for at least the next six months. I have obviously discounted quad cores from this equation- the performance of these (imo) has been dissapointing; but to be fair the software isnt there to take advantage of them (and maybe wont be there for another year or so).

2) 8800 GTX / GTS
This one is definitely more contentious. But the 8800 is not just a natural step in the gpu evolution- its a spanking dx10 card that laughs in the face of dual dx9 SLI / Crossfire solutions.

However, they're not cheap- and will certainly come down in price at some point. The question is; when? R600 should be benchmarking in around Feb/Mar- until then expect lots of debate on how it will perform. Personally, I see the R600 relase as the natural point to choose whether to go the Nvidia or ATI dx10 route- so if you can wait this may be the best time.

My own gut feel though is that the R600 will not beat the 8800GTX; and if that is the case is weakens the case for expecting a big price drop. Especially when the next step for both companies are likely to be mid-range solutions (ie less performance, less cost).

3) Vista
I really dont buy into the whole 'things will get cheaper when Vista is released'. When previous versions of windows have been released it has usually proceeded by an upturn in hardware sales. Greater demand is another factor that is contrary to seeing downward price pressure. Why reduce prices when sales are up?

As sure as apples are apples, technology will move on and you will be able to purchase better performing components at cheaper prices. But, in terms of buying obsolete technologies- or buying something today that is half the price 3/6 months later- a top end rig now has more chance of survival than for a long time.

 

[secunda]

My wife works at Dell here in North Carolina...so she gets allot of the going-ons info thats out there....she told me one of her co-works that works in the marketing area said that the best time to buy your computer parts would be around March 2007 this should be when the Prices will start to fall on what is out now....Most likely this is when some more New hardware will be out...but who really knows....
I am building my own system....just waiting for the High Dollar main hardware components prices to fall some...right now, prices are somewhat high....

I say, wait atleast a Month after Vista is out an see how prices are in market

 

[RyanMicah]

Wait 3 months. By then, Vista will have some bugs worked out, and so will AMD/ATI in their yet to be released products. You'll get more bang for the buck and have a better comparison of techs. Oops just noticed what the person above me said. I agree. Post-Xmas is the time to buy just about everything...

 

[Crapola]

I think there are too many new things coming in the months ahead to build right now. New revamped AMDs in the near future, Vista, new ATI DX10 cards, and the midrange DX10 cards. I would wait at least 3-4 months before building.

8O

 

[qwertycopter]

the best time to buy your computer parts would be around March 2007 this should be when the Prices will start to fall on what is out now....

Yeah, I've heard similar things.

Also, buying in December is generally not recommended as prices are inflated for Christmas.

 

[RyanMicah]

the best time to buy your computer parts would be around March 2007 this should be when the Prices will start to fall on what is out now....

Yeah, I've heard similar things.

Also, buying in December is generally not recommended as prices are inflated for Christmas.

True, usually. Although you can find great deals too.

 

[jaguarskx]

If you can wait 6 months then wait. If you can't wait that long then just upgrade in now or in Janaury. New technology is always coming out so it is expensive and nearly impossible to keep up with it. I was going to upgrade my PC earlier this year, but once I saw the preliminary Conroe benchmarks, I decided to wait 6 months. I think it was a good decision to wait because Core 2 Duo far exceeds the performance I would have gotten with an AMD Athlon 4600+.

Of course when I upgraded back in August 2006, there has been lots of talk about the nVidia 8800 series. But I decided not to postpone my build again because I would have had to wait another 3 months and the cards are exceedingly expensive. I decided to buy the Radeon X1900XT 512MB which costs $290 at that time; after a rebate. Glad I did 'cause when the X1900XT 512 started to dry up the price shot up to $400+.

As for the OS, I'm gonna keep using Windows XP Pro until MS comes out with Service Pack 1 for Vista. Pratically speaking, it will be some time before any uniquely useful 64-bit program will de-thrown the current mature 32-bit software. Sure Vista will look nice and pretty, but I really don't care about that. In fact, in Windows XP Pro I'm using the good 'ol Win98 look.

If games are your primary concern, then you may want to wait until April/May when mainstream DX10 GPUs are available if the 8800GTS/GTX is out of your price range. That's not to say DX9 are dogs and obsolete. DX9 video cards will still be able to play new games for the next few years. Look at DX8.1, it has been out for a long time, but it wasn't until Oblivion came that support for DX8.1 started to drop and that was eariler this year.

 

[w1ngzer0]

Delete post

 

[Crapola]

My concern isn't really crappy Vista. Or that i won't have the newest tech out there. My concern is longevity. I want a system that will last the next 5 gaming years and not have to worry about conciderable system lag.

With all these new things comming out i didn't know, if there was something comming out in the next 6 months that i should wait for.

Sorry buddy, with the technology changing so fast, I don't think anyone can build a gaming rig that will last 5 years, no matter how much you spend. The best that you can do right now is be current on the OS and video card (Vista w/ DX10).