Tom's Hardware > Forum > Homebuilt Systems > General Homebuilt > good time to build?
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stepplax   05-15-2008 at 05:22:27 PM

While searching through past posts, I haven't found an answer for this question since early 2007 so here it goes. I'm looking to build a new and somewhat high end gaming pc and don't want to get stuck with an outdated socket type or anything of that nature that would limit upgrading in the future.

For the first time in my life I'm actually being patient and I'm wondering when would be a good time to build considering I'll most likely go AMD (for cost) and nVidia (but I'm not buying 2 x $500 cards). I used to be pretty in-touch with the cutting edge stuff for being a total amateur but am now reduced to not being able to figure it out on my own.

My biggest fears right now are that AM2 will become obsolete quickly, DDR3 will be discontinued, or that Phenom or high end AMD X2's will soon become a total joke when compared with other cost effective CPUs from either company in the near future.

Thank you in advance for any input you have and keep in mind I don't think I could hold out any longer than the end of the year.

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royalcrown   05-15-2008 at 05:41:13 PM
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DDR3 is not going to be discontinued and socket AM3 is coming up, but the new AMD chips that come out this summer, are supposed to work in AM2+ sockets. If you want something that is not going to be obsolete or outdated, you'll never find that !

------------------------------ E8500,GA-EP45-UD3R, 8 GIG MUSHKIN, XFX 4890 , ASUS 22", WD 640 X 2, CM 532, CM 650TX
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royalcrown   05-15-2008 at 05:41:41 PM
- 0 +

DDR3 is not going to be discontinued and socket AM3 is coming up, but the new AMD chips that come out this summer, are supposed to work in AM2+ sockets. If you want something that is not going to be obsolete or outdated, you'll never find that !

------------------------------ E8500,GA-EP45-UD3R, 8 GIG MUSHKIN, XFX 4890 , ASUS 22", WD 640 X 2, CM 532, CM 650TX
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stepplax   05-15-2008 at 06:02:27 PM
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I know nothing will ever be "obsolete proof" but I'm sure you can appreciate that certain situations would be better than others... for example... building a AM2 pc the month before AM3 is released would potentially be super annoying in the long run by limiting future processor upgrades.

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sciggy   05-15-2008 at 06:05:52 PM
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Unfortunately, compared at the same price most AMD chips are a "joke" when but side by side with Intel. I have always had AMD in the past, but their current price/performance is complete garbage compared to Intel. AMD is supposed to have better compatibility, but is that worth less performance? Buy an Intel E8400, overclock it a bit, and sit on it. The chip is relatively inexpensive($199), overclocks quite well(up to 4ghz stable on air), and runs very cool. So if you are set on a gaming rig right now, that is probably your best bet. You could also go the quad core route, but they aren't quite as good for games right now. Once more multithreaded apps come out then you would see a difference. And as said earlier, DDR3 is the newest thing right now and wont be obsolete for a while. Could always get a mid ranged cpu/mobo and then once nehalem comes out(end of the year) keep all your other components and upgrade to that.

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Sailer   05-15-2008 at 06:06:08 PM
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stepplax wrote :


My biggest fears right now are that AM2 will become obsolete quickly, DDR3 will be discontinued, or that Phenom or high end AMD X2's will soon become a total joke when compared with other cost effective CPUs from either company in the near future.



I think you mean DDR2, not DDR3. DDR2 is going to be around for at least a couple more years, and probably far longer than that. After all, you can still find DDR ram. Yes, the X2 line of chips will probably be phased out during the next year, perhaps a little more, but that won't make them totally obsolete for a while yet. Most games still run even with single core chips, much less dual core chips. During the next couple years, things will slowly switch over to using four core chips, but I expect games to still run ok with dual core chips, as the game makers are not going to turn their backs on millions of computer users.

If you are contemplating a build, I'd suggest buying the best, most up to date machine that you can afford. An AMD 5000+ BE in either a high end AM2 board or a medium AM2+ board should keep yopu going for 2-3 years, with an AM2+ board allowing a migration to a Phenom if desired. The only Phenom chip that I think is worthwhile is the 9850 BE, but that's a personal opinion and I don't know your budget.

As for the best time to build, unless something new and great is coming out within a month, I think the best time to build is in the present, not sometime in the future. Otherwise, a person can end up waiting forever for that future.

------------------------------ Evil lurks in the databanks as it lurked in the streets of yesteryear. But it was never the streets that were evil.

Over 50. Seen it, done it, can't remember it, but I miss it.
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evongugg   05-15-2008 at 06:19:17 PM
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AMD is reasonable now. DDR2 is cheap now. Graphics cards are pretty cheap now. Not a bad time to build.
If you are an American, your IRS Stimulus tax rebate is in the mail also.

------------------------------ Google is your friend and Bob's your uncle
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stepplax   05-15-2008 at 07:14:53 PM
- 0 +

so don't wait for AM3?

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