Question Is there an ideal time to do a new build? ($1,500)

[Muckster]

So I'm due for a new PC build sometime in 2024. I usually wait until there are a few games I really want to play before upgrading, but there aren't any major titles on the horizon for me. Maybe the next Skyrim (elder scrolls), but I don't think it's coming out for a few years.

Anyway, is there conventional wisdom on the best time of year to build a new PC to get the most bang for your buck? (I'm probably looking at $1,500 as a ballpark)

Is it better to buy right after the holidays in January? Is there a traditional time when new GPUS come out? How does bitcoin affect the market lately? Times of the year when shortages tend to happen? Stuff like that.

Or perhaps none of this matters or it's unpredictable. Let me know any trends you've noticed.

Thanks!

 

[USAFRet]

the best time of year to build a new PC

When you have all the money, and the parts you want are at a price you wish to pay.

There is no universal 'best'.

 

[Muckster]

When you have all the money, and the parts you want are at a price you wish to pay.

There is no universal 'best'.

I heard someone say, for example, that right now is a bad time because demand is high with people doing their Christmas shopping... Is that incorrect?

Other times when I've done a build it was a heavy bitcoin mining period so I waited a few months for things to come down. I just don't follow the market or technology very well to know the trends.

 

[USAFRet]

I heard someone say, for example, that right now is a bad time because demand is high with people doing their Christmas shopping... Is that incorrect?

Other times when I've done a build it was a heavy bitcoin mining period so I waited a few months for things to come down. I just don't follow the market or technology very well to know the trends.

The flip side of that is the holiday "sales" from 1 Nov to the end of Jan.
Some parts are indeed less expensive. But it is impossible to predict exactly what, and how much.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

I’d almost argue that last few weeks were the better time to buy. Unfortunately you missed prime day and Black Friday and cyber Monday. But I’d say there are still deals around. And like someone above said it depends when you have cash etc.

For example around Black Friday I grabbed an i5 12600kf for $140 bucks. Those have gone back up for example.

Do you have a microcenter near you? They’ve been running a special combo, get a ryzen 7 7700x, motherboard and 32gb of ram for 399.99, or the 7800x3d, board and ram for 499.99. Deals on Intel side as well. But say something like the 77”00x deal, a nice case, maybe a 7900xt for the gpu and power supply would make a nice gaming build if that’s what you were going for as an example.

 

[Lucky_SLS]

2024 seems to be an exciting year to build a PC.

I am waiting for 4070ti Super to launch in Jan end.

mid 2024 or second half, you have the intel 15th gen CPUs in LGA 1851 socket with pcie 5.0 gpu and ssd support. wifi 7.

You might also have Next gen Intel battlemage GPUs lauching end of 2024.

AMD might also release the 7X50 series refresh. So yeah, you will be spoilt for choices.

4070 super or 7850XT - 600 usd

7800X3D or intel 15700k(?) - 400 usd

cooler 50 usd

mobo 200 usd

32gb ddr5 rams - 100usd

2tb ssd - 100usd

850w psu - 100 usd

case 75usd

total - 1625 USD.

Start saving

 

[punkncat]

IMO, I also feel like shopping around Christmas is a bit of a bad idea in certain respects. Black Friday and Cyber Monday this year had a couple of deals but you have to react very quickly to them. Anything with value to performance typically gets gone fast.
Prices up to a couple of months ago were pretty good on storage and RAM. Power supply prices have been high, but there seems to be a bit of correction happening in that space. CPU are typically a watch and see thing. I have seen a lot of nice pricing on 12th gen Intel since 14th gen released. Pricing for quality motherboards is just this side of insane. Graphics cards are seeing some nice prices, particularly on the low to mid end.

The thing to watch out for waiting is that when tax season starts coming around the prices will go back up because they know consumers are flush with tax return money.

 

[geofelt]

The time to do a new build is when the current build no longer serves and simple upgrades are impractical.
If you delay for the next best thing, you will wait forever.

The other time to build is when you have the funds and the "itch"

 

[USAFRet]

Bottom line - If you try to chase the absolute best price, or wait for the Next New Thing...you'll be waiting forever.

 

[Muckster]

Well, thanks for the info.

 

[Why_Me]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: *AMD Ryzen 7 7700X 4.5 GHz 8-Core Processor ($319.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: *Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($33.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: *MSI PRO B650-P WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard ($189.00 @ Amazon)
Memory: *G.Skill Flare X5 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory ($104.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: *Crucial P5 Plus 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($116.99 @ B&H)
Video Card: *Sapphire 21330-01-20G Radeon RX 7800 XT 16 GB Video Card ($499.99 @ Newegg)
Case: *Fractal Design Focus 2 ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: *Corsair RM750e (2023) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ Best Buy)
Case Fan: *ARCTIC P12 56.3 CFM 120 mm Fan ($8.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1452.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-12-05 23:38 EST-0500