Question Should I build now to beat the tariffs?

[javagrind888]

I was about to start building a new computer for gaming this past summer, but the overwhelming consensus from the community was to hold off because the next generation of hardware is coming in 2025. The news everywhere now though is that tariffs are going to make computer parts skyrocket.

Should I build now to defeat the coming price hike or will it be worth it to wait with a $2000 budget? Opinions, not political discourse.

 

[Lutfij]

2025 will usher in the RTX 5000 series and the budget oriented AM5 chipset motherboards(B850 and lower numbers). A return question is, how long can you wait to build a system?

 

[Eximo]

Theoretically, anything that is already shipped/delivered to your location shouldn't be effected. So if you are buying new old stock, you shouldn't see any difference.

If you are talking new components yet to be launched in 2025, these may indeed incur tariffs in the near future.

In terms of GPU, the question is a little different. Using the 4080 Super as an example. That is $1000 now.

Will the RTX 5070 Ti at a theoretical $800 be superior or roughly the same? At that point even a 20% tariff would still make it possibly the better purchase for the newer architecture. At only 10% increase, it might be $900 or $1000. (More likely $1000 so the profit margin doesn't go down)

CPU performance doesn't quite scale as well, so I would still recommend the Ryzen 7000 or Intel 14th gen at least for the immediate future. Older Intel is not really made in China, and potentially Intel could do 300 series on their own 18A node so maybe that would not be impacted either. And of course there is the potential to use TSMC in the US for both Intel and AMD.

I don't think cutting edge Apple users will care about an extra $100 here and there, so that shouldn't be that impactful for them if they stick to TSMCs latest and greatest, which they have stated they will be keeping the best node available only in Taiwan (by law apparently).

 

[punkncat]

Keep in mind that you will be dealing with poor selection and surge holiday pricing, so if you can wait a bit, I personally would.

 

[javagrind888]

Thank you for the advice everyone. I will wait till summer.

 

[punkncat]

There should be some enticing deals to be had around EOY (tax time) for the manufacturers alongside some new product line releases before then. Just keep in touch with your favorite retailers flyers.