When would be a good time to start buying?

[oswold]

I'm about to build my first computer.

I'm looking to buy a C2Duo E6300, maybe an 8800 gts 320mb, and 2 gigs of DDR2 RAM.

But would it be a good idea to wait for new products to come out (like DDR3, new set of cpus and ATI's new cards) so prices of existing components will drop.

 

[skyguy]

HAHA, the ever-elusive Q&A topic..........

Here's your quick answer:
New products always come out, and prices always drop. So there really isn't an ideal time.

However:
CPU prices are scheduled to drop within a couple of months, and mid-range DX10 cards will be out soon after that. There are no DX10 games now, so if you can wait a few months then you'll get better products and prices overall, generally speaking. Also, that will give Vista a chance to work some more bugs out, driver issues, support, etc.

So the real answer is: to upgrade when your current system no longer can do what you need. Then you HAVE to upgrade. So if you need one now, and if you have the money, you can still get some great products at great prices. RAM prices have finally been falling, and I doubt anyone would say buying now is a really bad move. Waiting for ATI's DX10 solution might be suggested, but unless you're willing to hold off on a complete system purchase for a few framerates, that would be foolish.

Go now or else wait a few months for the next cycle to hit.

 

[jeff_2087]

Good advice. It bothers me when people say "DONT UPGRADE NOW! (insert product here) IS MAYBE COMING OUT IN THREE MONTHS!". Honestly, stuff is always coming out. So if you really want to build now, go for it, it'll serve you well and you won't regret it. But if you don't have an unquenchable desire to be running on a new machine, there will be several price drops and new products coming fairly soon.

 

[oswold]

Its mainly saving some money that interests me.

If I buy now just to see a significant price drop a couple of months later, I'll regret it.

Another question, do parts like cases and PSUs evolve quickly like cpus and gpus do, or do they stay at roughly the same sort of price and with similar features?
If so I might buy the case and PSU now and wait a month to see what happens with the other parts price wise.

 

[jeff_2087]

Another question, do parts like cases and PSUs evolve quickly like cpus and gpus do

Not really. PSUs will gradually get cheaper for what you get, but not at nearly the drastic rate of CPUs and graphics cards. Cases barely change, if at all.

With that said, I really don't see the point in getting a case and PSU now, without anything to use them with. It'll just make you more anxious to get the rest, lol. Maybe spring for them if you see an absolutely fantastic deal, but other than that, you may as well just wait until you get everything at once.

 

[Valrath]

Good advice. It bothers me when people say "DONT UPGRADE NOW! (insert product here) IS MAYBE COMING OUT IN THREE MONTHS!". Honestly, stuff is always coming out. So if you really want to build now, go for it, it'll serve you well and you won't regret it. But if you don't have an unquenchable desire to be running on a new machine, there will be several price drops and new products coming fairly soon.

True, new stuff is always coming out, and prices keep falling. The gfx card I bought costed me $130 a few weeks ago, but now costs only $100. I could have saved some cash by waiting. Then again, in those 3 weeks, I wouldn't be able to play Oblivion and Fear. You never know when prices will fall and by how much, so you have to suck it up.

However, we do know a few things. We do know Intel is adding more CPU's and slashing prices on April 22nd. It would suck not knowing this and dropping a small fortune on a Quad-Core on April 21st, only to see it fall in price by 30% in 24 hours. If you can wait to then, then wait. If you need a new comp now, go cheap, then upgrade in a few months. Might cost you a tad more, but no sense by high-end parts now. Buy what'll hold you over til late spring and go from there.

nVidia is releasing more budget dx10 cards soon, then later will come ATI's dx10 cards. This'll shake up the pricing structure of the dx10 cards and the high-end dx9 cards (no one will want a pricey dx9 card when they can get a cheaper dx10 card that'll play future games, so these prices should, in theory, plummet). Intel and AMD also have new CPU's coming out later this year and early next year. While I don't recommend wating 6+ months to buy a CPU, you might want to go cheap on a CPU now and see what the new chip are like.

No sense buying the case/PSU now, unless you want to transfer your current comp parts over to the new case to practice all the hook-ups. If you see a good deal, grab it. There's a chance a better deal will come, but I doubt it. If your current case is like mine, an oven, you may want to get that new case now. (screw air cooling, might as well take off my HSF and place a juicy steak on it. Maybe the heat energy transferto cook the steak will keep my cpu cool...)

 

[skyguy]

Agreed.

GPUs and then CPUs go obsolete the fastest. But KEEP IN MIND, companies are not stupid. They're not about to lose TONS of cash in price cuts if they don't need to. So they will NOT drop prices unless there's a reason....like competition, or new products, etc. They continually fuel the technology fire, but only in chunks, to maximize their profits. Why dump big advances on the market at reduced prices? Won't happen.

What this means is that you should NOT expect magical price drops in a couple months. Yes, there will be drops, but as we said, that is a continual and on-going thing. So if you buy now, yes those parts will be cheaper in a few months. And if you buy in a few months, then those parts will be cheaper in the fall. That is simply the way it goes. So don't kick yourself "if" prices fall.....they WILL fall. So accept it, there's no way around it. And when prices do drop, it won't be hundreds of dollars....it might be $30 on a CPU and $40 on a GPU. Overall you might save a $100 or so if you're lucky. But again, by the time you wait more products will be released so then you're running 2nd generation components.

Such is the byproduct of "progress" and "advances". Accept it and move on.

Right now there have been some good price drops, so jump in if you can now. Or else wait a few months for the next cycle and get some things cheaper, but then you're also getting "older" hardware too, that's the tradeoff.

So when do you upgrade? When your computer is broke, when it can't do what you need, or when you simply will PI$$ yourself if you don't get something new.

Your best bet is to try to get the BEST VALUE for your buck and the parts that can be overclocked, etc. Maximize your investment. Then upgrade in 2 years. Or get a cheap mobo, cheap RAM, reuse hard drives and opticals, get a decent case.......and get a low end dual core CPU and a decent vid card. That'll be a budget system and just keep it for 2 years. This way you aren't buying bleeding-edge technology that won't help you really and you're not wasting your money. Put that money instead into your next system....you now have 2 years to save up

 

[oswold]

This will be he first time I've ever had a PC that is resonably up to date.

My current PC is over 5 years old and was a rip off when it was new, but I didnt know that then and neither did parents.

Hopefully I will start building in a month or two, and will probably be back on here asking for help....

 

[skyguy]

Then depending on your budget, it'll be like you're driving a Ferrari compared to what you're used to

You can build a very good budget system that'll handle modern games at 19" resolution. Good luck!