Best time to build?

[erebus14]

So after deciding I'd build a new i7 rig, I'm starting to have second thoughts. For one thing, I'd really like to have the GTX 295, but it's sold out virtually everywhere right now. But most importantly, I went over my budget of $1,500.

But anyway, my question is when do you guys think the best time to build will be? Are prices for the i7, x56 mobos, and GTX 295 expected to come down significantly in the summer or maybe the fall?

Any input is appreciated.

 

[rewindlabs]

Why don't you reconsider if you actually need an i7? and sli or crossfire two cards and use those...

 

[croc]

So after deciding I'd build a new i7 rig, I'm starting to have second thoughts. For one thing, I'd really like to have the GTX 295, but it's sold out virtually everywhere right now. But most importantly, I went over my budget of $1,500.

But anyway, my question is when do you guys think the best time to build will be? Are prices for the i7, x56 mobos, and GTX 295 expected to come down significantly in the summer or maybe the fall?

Any input is appreciated.

Being an engineer, I tend to believe in the 'form follows function' rule. First, define the function. What do you want to do? Can you do it now with what you have? If not, why?

Once you have determined the function, the rest is simple. If all you want to do is play games, then at what resolution?

Just saying 'I want to build an i7 system' won't help much.

 

[dragonfang18]

Last month (April) was when they had LOTS of GTX 295's, so I think I should have started at least then (295's sold out first week of may~ last week of April).

 

[aevm]

I have a feeling that the GTX 295 will not come back in stock. I've read somewhere that they had major difficulty producing it.

Prices for the x58 will not fall, if history is any indication. Motherboard prices are pretty stable as far as I can see.

The i7 920 will probably drop from $280 to around $200, sometime in July. This is just a wild guess, based on what Intel has been doing in the past.

The good news is, most X58 boards support both SLI and Crossfire. You can get a GTX 285 or HD 4890 now and add a second one later, and you'd get even better speed than with a GTX 295.

 

[Outlander_04]

the best time to build = the day b4 you need the computer

Its also time for a reality check . Nvidia built the gtx 295 just so they can say they have the fastest gfx card ... but no one actually needed that much power unless they were using a 30 inch hi-res monitor .

Even for a 24 inch 1920 x 1200 its over kill

 

[Helloworld_98]

best time to build is late when amd comes out with their 28nm's.

I think thats when moore's law will go down to 12 months.

 

[dragonfang18]

@Aevm Actaully, I'm getting mine on May 26... I did hear they are changing the way they made it, because right now their method is too costly for them. They are gonna put both GPU's on one card and make the memory slightly bigger. As well as the card, instead of the current model which is 10.5 inches, its going to be a full 11 inches!

 

[dingumf]

Why don't you reconsider if you actually need an i7? and sli or crossfire two cards and use those...

Then why build a new rig if you don't want an i7? That doesn't make sense.

Anyways for my input I would wait right till the new line of ATI/Nvidia cards come out then build.

That's what I'm planning on doing. XD

 

[aevm]

@Aevm Actaully, I'm getting mine on May 26... I did hear they are changing the way they made it, because right now their method is too costly for them. They are gonna put both GPU's on one card and make the memory slightly bigger. As well as the card, instead of the current model which is 10.5 inches, its going to be a full 11 inches!

Neat

I hope they did find a way to make it cheaper.

11 inches is fine IMO. We've had cards of that size since 2006 (including my own 8800GTX). They make bigger cases now

 

[jay2tall]

I think a GTX285 or ATI 4890 will suit your needs just as well. Like mentioned before, unless you are gaming above 1920x1200 there really is no need for it.

You could always cut costs by going to the AM3 and AMD Phenom II platform.

 

[dragonfang18]

@aevm: Uhhh... I hope they make it cheaper for us... When I heard it, it sounded like they will keep the price, but just make the process of making it cheaper, so they actually make a profit on it. (Hopes I read it wrong.)

 

[aevm]

Well, even if they don't pass the savings on to us, it's still good news, I think. We don't want nVidia dying and then ATI charging whatever they please, right?

 

[Kill@dor]

The 4890 stands out right now...^_^

 

[erebus14]

So bottom line, a 285 is a good choice for me right now because two of them in SLI is pretty much overkill for anything above 1920X1200? This would also allow me to upgrade more easily to Nvidia's new 300 series when it's released, right? I guess it does seem a little silly to spend $700+ on video cards when we all know Nvidia will be coming out with something much better soon. I was actually very close to purchasing two 285s.

 

[aevm]

Yeah, a GTX 285 will do all right at 1920x1200.

Upgrading more easily... True. If you buy an ATI card and then upgrade to an nVidia card (or viceversa) you need to uninstall drivers, run DriverCleaner, install new drivers. If it's ATI to ATI or nVidia to nVidia you still should uninstall the old drivers and install the latest, but you can usually skip the Driver Cleaner part.

 

[erebus14]

Awesome. Buying only one 285 allows me to buy all of the other "extra" stuff I wanted like keyboard, mouse, mousepad, headphones, and a new monitor at around the same price as a single 285.

How much do you think I could get for the 285 FTW once the GT300 is released?

 

[aevm]

Let me take a wild guess... Don't take it seriously, OK?

It's $340 now, with a game, new, with warranty, when it's the hottest thing around. Without the game, $300. Used and with no warranty, right now, maybe $200 or $250 at most. Later, when it's a plain mainstream card from the previous generation without the prestige attached, maybe $150. And you'd have to pay $10 or whatever for shipping, unless you sell it to a friend. Even later, when it's two generations behind, probably $100.

I did a quick search on eBay for 8800 GTX. That one used to be the sexiest video card available in 2007. Prices were around US$ 600. I remember because that's what I paid for mine Now, on eBay, you can see one listed at $71 with a few bids, and one listed at $125 with no bids at all, and so on. I guess they sell for around $100 now.

Edit: btw, that's a fair price, even if it looks very low. I just saw a HD 4850 on Newegg for $100, new and with a Rainbow Vegas game, and that's a faster card.

 

[jay2tall]

^
My buddy has a gtx285 on water OCed and running 1920x1200. It rocks the hot totty. It basically replaced his tri-sli 8800GTX setup.

 

[erebus14]

Ack, I hate to keep flip-flopping like this, but I keep changing my mind whenever I keep reading and doing a little more research.

If all I'm gonna get is $150 when I plan to upgrade to the GT300 when it's released (presumably Q4 this year), it just doesn't seem worth it. Now what I COULD do is build my rig now and just use the 9600 GSO that I have on my current system. However, doesn't that really take away most of the point of building a new rig because I won't really see great performance in games? And by the time the GT300 is out, I'm sure most of the stuff in this build will be much cheaper.

Damn it Nvidia, why can't you just give us a definitive release date?

 

[aevm]

Right...

You could get a GTX 285 now and an 850TX PSU, and then when the GT300 is out add another GTX 285. If an old used one really costs $150 at that time, then you may find one for $150 on eBay, or a new one at Newegg for $200. Two GTX 285 cards may very well beat that new GT300 card. And if that card costs more than $540 at release time, you actually end up paying less in total.

And then there's the AMD version. You could get two HD 4890 cards and a 750TX (LOL, again for a total of $540 or so, this time including the PSU but with all the money paid now) and get the same results as with GTX 285 SLI or a GT300 or whatever. That is, 60 fps in all games (assuming an LCD with 60 Hz refresh rate).

 

[erebus14]

Or what if I nabbed another 9600 GSO for $70 and SLI'd on my new setup? Would that be a decent holdover until the new cards are out?

And do you expect the price for the other hardware (CPU, mobo, RAM, etc.) to be significantly lower by that time?

 

[aevm]

Hard to say, because the 9600GSO is very rarely in reviews. Not a very popular card.

GTX 285, Crysis, DX10, 1680x1050, 45 fps
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...eforce-gtx-285-1gb-ssc-edition-review-19.html

9600GSO, single card, 25 fps
http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Hardware/Reviews/palit9600gso/10.html

I don't have charts for GSO9600 SLI, but based on what one card can do and how SLI usually works, I'm guessing 35 fps to 40 fps in Crysis. That is, less than a single GTX 285, but still decent.

In games that don't scale well with SLI you'd still get the same experience as on your old setup, of course.

I expect the i7 920 to cost close to $200 in 6 months. X58 motherboards will cost $10 less than now - don't expect any spectacular drops there. DDR3 will cost about as much as DDR2 costs now. Just guessing here, no promises

 

[erebus14]

Is it possible that the GT300 is overhyped? I mean, I'm hearing it's 2X the performance of the 285. And the cGPU thing sounds pretty revolutionary, but it could end up being a failure. I dunno...I guess I just want some reassurance to build the best machine I can now (2X 285s) without being screwed over once the GT300 rolls around and destroys the 285s.

 

[dragonfang18]

Well With the 300 series, they are going DDR5 this time, to catch up with ATI in that perspective.