Should I wait?! Or Should I build a gaming PC now?

[TSF007]

Hello there,

So, I just found out that Microsoft is releasing Windows 10 which means new compatible hardware, Intel is releasing new gen processors, DirectX12, GDDR6, some imperfections in current technologies I hear about, And some new stuff becoming more and more affordable like SSDs.

Now, I know new stuff keep coming out fast so even if I wait a bit, there will be future stuff that will make me wait more lol.

So, just out of curiosity, what do you guys think about this? Will there be stuff that blows our minds away soon?

 

[Icaraeus]

If you always want to hold out for the new tech then you'll never end up buying everything. Better stuff comes out every few months. New CPUs aren't too special for gaming, DX12 isn't too amazing, same goes for GDDR memory, DDR4, stacked VRAM etc. If you want a computer then build it now.

 

[DonkeyOatie]

No, go with mature proven technologies. Every six months or so something new or better comes out, but it is perfectly possible to build a top-end system using components at least a year old. The newer stuff may be a bit faster, a bit less heat or power, and the prices will be different.

 

[bsod1]

The tech I am looking forward to is NVIDIA's PASCAL/VOLTA.
Intel's Cannonlake.

But all that is in 2016.

 

[TSF007]

@Icaraeus and DonkeyOatie : Totally agree, specially with the mature technology part, well put. Still I wouldn't buy something a year old unless there is a real problem with whatever is newer.

CPU is important to me, I multitask while playing with stuff that requires some processing power.

@bsod1 : NICE, just took a fast look at PASCAL and volta sounds really awesome but some really bad drawbacks.

 

[Pr3di]

I hope I`ll be able to answer your question:

I built my PC about half a year ago, and now I see that for about the same money I could have got the i5 4690k instead of the i5 4670k, and maybe the GTX 970 instead of the R9 280x Matrix.

However, I am sure that not having a good PC to play all the games that I did in the last period would have been a huge loss for me, and I`m now glad that I pulled the trigger.

In the end, it also depends if you already have something to decently game on, and how patient you are.

In the end, years in a row can pass if you decide to play the waiting game.

 

[DonkeyOatie]

The age is not so important as the future life-time of effectiveness. Year old is often a LOT cheaper and it is proven with all the drivers and support well-tested.

 

[TSF007]

@Pr3di: Well, I am gaming in an M14x Alienware laptop with a 2gb gtx 650m because of the nature of my life a gaming laptop is important and a PC was not a possibility, now it is though. My laptop still plays some new games but very low quality and heat is crazy. In the winter it heats up the damn room lol.

I already have a huge backlog of games I wanna play so I ll probably build a new PC pretty soon.

@DonkeyOatie: Well, I don't think I could find out the future life effectiveness really. New technologies means new games that will use em, and new games keep asking for more powerful PCs. A year old is truly a lot cheaper and more consistant.

One of the reasons for this discussion really is that I bought a full hd TV sometime ago, and a bit later comes the ultra hd TVs lol. I hate that.

 

[DonkeyOatie]

For many things, you can determine future life effectiveness. Power supplies, HDD, SSD, Cases, fans, RAM --- because they don't change much, or the change is far apart.

CPUs also run to a reasonably predictable cycle and the rate of game improvements and matching GPU improvement is predictable over 2 to 3 year periods too, so when you buy year-old tech, you have a pretty good idea of how much useful life it has.