[SOLVED] Should RAM be my first purchase?

[Taros55]

Seeing as i wont be getting my cpu and gpu just yet as I want to wait for zen 3 and the 3070 to release, would it be wise to buy other parts like my RAM first or should I hold off on buying anything until I can get my cpu and gpu? I am a noob at pc building but the RAM I have been eyeing for a while is at a good price atm and I want to make the smartest decisions possible. Is there a particular order to how I should buy my parts or does it not matter at all?

 

[SamirD]

When building a new system, the biggest thing you have to watch is if what you're buying will drop in price by the time you can use it. If you get the ram and it takes months to get the rest of the stuff and in the meantime prices drop, you actually lost by buying the the ram first. And this applies to all your components.

 

[thepersonwithaface45]

I like to buy the most expensive piece first, whether that be a cpu, gpu, monitor, desk, or chair.
Those are typically the most expensive parts for me.

 

[Taros55]

When building a new system, the biggest thing you have to watch is if what you're buying will drop in price by the time you can use it. If you get the ram and it takes months to get the rest of the stuff and in the meantime prices drop, you actually lost by buying the the ram first. And this applies to all your components.

Ok thank you, this makes sense. How drastic can prices drop in 1-2months? Is the market really that sporadic?

 

[Taros55]

I like to buy the most expensive piece first, whether that be a cpu, gpu, monitor, desk, or chair.
Those are typically the most expensive parts for me.

I was told that it would be better that way but I have to wait for the 3070 and zen 3 anyways. In that time, prices could lower on RAM or they could increase so maybe it would be a decent idea to capitalize on the sale?? Idk lol. This is all guess work for me and I don't want to constantly be bugging my friend about this stuff LOL.

 

[thepersonwithaface45]

I was told that it would be better that way but I have to wait for the 3070 and zen 3 anyways. In that time, prices could lower on RAM or they could increase so maybe it would be a decent idea to capitalize on the sale?? Idk lol. This is all guess work for me and I don't want to constantly be bugging my friend about this stuff LOL.

If it's on sale, go for it. But bear in mind we have black friday, cyber monday, amazon prime day, and even the holidays coming up so I'm sure there's not gonna be any shortage of sales.
I'd say you just wait for everything to be in stock and order it all at once. Or maybe half now and half later. Anything above a 20% discount is probably a safe bet to buy now without min/maxing discounts.
And I think RAM is getting cheaper, not more expensive. Atleast for DDR3-
WAIT! The Zen 3- What kind of socket is it going to be? Is it going to require different slot RAM?
I say wait until we know what the cpu requires haha

 

[egda23]

And incidentally wait for a QVL from the motherboard manufacturer for the RAM tested with the said zen 3 ...

 

[SamirD]

Ok thank you, this makes sense. How drastic can prices drop in 1-2months? Is the market really that sporadic?

The market can change on a dime. I saw ddr3 ecc reg prices double during the pandemic and they're still not down to pre-pandemic prices. Power supplies and other components also skyrocketed earlier this year.

The rule of thumb I use is if I'm not going to use it immediately, it better be at a price that won't drop, otherwise it can wait.

 

[Taros55]

If it's on sale, go for it. But bear in mind we have black friday, cyber monday, amazon prime day, and even the holidays coming up so I'm sure there's not gonna be any shortage of sales.
I'd say you just wait for everything to be in stock and order it all at once. Or maybe half now and half later. Anything above a 20% discount is probably a safe bet to buy now without min/maxing discounts.
And I think RAM is getting cheaper, not more expensive. Atleast for DDR3-
WAIT! The Zen 3- What kind of socket is it going to be? Is it going to require different slot RAM?
I say wait until we know what the cpu requires haha

Yeah I guess i'm just getting trigger happy cause i'm excited but want to save money too. I read that zen 3 is going to still use DDR4 since DDR5 isn't going to be out until at least 2022. That's what I saw on reddit.

The market can change on a dime. I saw ddr3 ecc reg prices double during the pandemic and they're still not down to pre-pandemic prices. Power supplies and other components also skyrocketed earlier this year.

The rule of thumb I use is if I'm not going to use it immediately, it better be at a price that won't drop, otherwise it can wait.

Covid-19 really did mess with everything eh LOL. Is there a reason for the PSU's skyrocketing? was it cause of covid or another reason?

 

[egda23]

Yeah I guess i'm just getting trigger happy cause i'm excited but want to save money too. I read that zen 3 is going to still use DDR4 since DDR5 isn't going to be out until at least 2022. That's what I saw on reddit.

Covid-19 really did mess with everything eh LOL. Is there a reason for the PSU's skyrocketing? was it cause of covid or another reason?

Well, most PSUs are made in China and the commercial routes were pretty much disrupted (not speaking about production in China). Although I have the impression that at least here in Europe, prices are back to normal

 

[SamirD]

Covid-19 really did mess with everything eh LOL. Is there a reason for the PSU's skyrocketing? was it cause of covid or another reason?

Yep, seemed to be the same here. Although I wish that instead of relying on China we would just start making stuff ourselves again as the price advantage is gone for the consumer.

 

[madartzgraphics]

Ok thank you, this makes sense. How drastic can prices drop in 1-2months? Is the market really that sporadic?

Prices changes almost instantly. Remember when every country announced they will lock themselves due to COVID? It resulted in most countries doing home schooling instead of actual physical school and forced people to do work at home jobs or go work at home instead of the normal office they have.

That leads to people buying themselves a PC or hardwares they need to start, atleast in my country it literally happened almost in 1 month. A $100 graphics card now cost around $150 - $200 due to lack of inventory / heavy demand.

But i would suggest buying the motherboard first if you don't care about prices that much or if you have a running PC currently, a graphics card upgrade will be the best move before buying the board itself. Honestly it is not a good time to buy parts right now, if you can get it at a fair reasonable price then why not..

 

[jasonf2]

Back to the original question about RAM. Every good motherboard will have a QVL sheet published with it (usually downloadable from the boards manufacture webpage). It is basically a list of parts that will work with the board and at what settings they will go to. Every board is different and not all like to play well with every part out there, especially RAM. I highly suggest that you purchase your RAM at the time of motherboard purchase, make sure that it is on the QVL and only expect the performance listed in the QVL. So even if your RAM kit you buy is listing a 4200 clock on its packaging, if the qvl is listing it at 2100 you are probably only going to get 2100. If it is not on the list the consequences are somewhere between works just fine and didn't make the list and a completely unusable machine. For me it just isn't worth it.

 

[USAFRet]

Also, you should buy all your parts within a pretty short timespan. A 30 day window.
Most retailers (US, anyway), have a pretty generous return window for 30 days.

Buying it all at once lets you return something that is DOA.

 

[Taros55]

Back to the original question about RAM. Every good motherboard will have a QVL sheet published with it (usually downloadable from the boards manufacture webpage). It is basically a list of parts that will work with the board and at what settings they will go to. Every board is different and not all like to play well with every part out there, especially RAM. I highly suggest that you purchase your RAM at the time of motherboard purchase, make sure that it is on the QVL and only expect the performance listed in the QVL. So even if your RAM kit you buy is listing a 4200 clock on its packaging, if the qvl is listing it at 2100 you are probably only going to get 2100. If it is not on the list the consequences are somewhere between works just fine and didn't make the list and a completely unusable machine. For me it just isn't worth it.

I had no idea about this. Thanks a lot!

 

[Taros55]

Also, you should buy all your parts within a pretty short timespan. A 30 day window.
Most retailers (US, anyway), have a pretty generous return window for 30 days.

Buying it all at once lets you return something that is DOA.

Yeah my friend tells me to do that as well so I didn't end up buying the ram. Chances are the prices will drop again, plus i'd rather get the most essential parts first like the cpu, gpu, and motherboard.