When to get a new computer?

[NoReMaC]

I am in need of a new computer, and was thinking about getting one custom built. The only thing is that with all of the new CPU technology coming out in the near future, (AM2 in particuliar) I am not sure whether or not I should wait until they come out.

Anybody have any advice for me?

 

[shadowduck]

I am in need of a new computer, and was thinking about getting one custom built. The only thing is that with all of the new CPU technology coming out in the near future, (AM2 in particuliar) I am not sure whether or not I should wait until they come out.

Anybody have any advice for me?

This question has been asked a lot lately. If you need a machine RIGHT THIS minute, go for it. AM2 will be out on May 23, so if you can wait for a few weeks you might find a better deal. AM2 (until AMD goes 65mm) will not really improve performance that much however. So, if you want to be able to get the most of your machine now go ahead and buy. Waiting you get the best deal ever, but you never get any work done.

 

[smedlin]

Shadow speaks the truth...

The first AM2 (from what I've read) really will not be much of a performance boost over the current socket 939.

 

[Vile]

Yes so ? That doesnt mean he should go 'old tech' when newer technology and hardware is available, at the same price !


I'd say wait for AM2, get some nice RAM which you should be able to use if you decide to move to Intel or even upgrade to a better AMD AM2 CPU.

 

[LordBelial]

i cant stress enough that you should wait. Right now is the worst time to build a gaming computer. Graphics cards are outrageously high priced...and will give you less smooth performance as on these new games..ie oblivion.(i get MAX 45 fps in outside environments with a 7900 gt,2 gigs of ram and an fx 55 processor, while the xbox 360 version runs smooth as silk < coming from a pc fan.) Wait till the next series of graphics cards come out then make your decision. It would be foolish to get one now, unless your impatient, or really do need one right now. 500 bucks for a graphics card, thats just gonna slow down during high textures and people on screen, i dont think so. Not to mention, for nvidias sake, you cant even run hdr and AA at the same time, how pathetic is that for a so called "next gen" card? its pretty sad that they are charging this much, for just a simple peice of hardware, that consols now can beat..i will always be a pc fan, but , enough is enough with these crazy high prices....with all these prices rising for new technology for consumers...youd think bush was behind all this :twisted:

 

[azrealhk]

Apologies for hijacking this thread.

But on a similar questions, with new DDR2 ram and AM2 coming how long could we expect the AMD 64 and X2 to start dropping in prices.

 

[hashv2f16]

i cant stress enough that you should wait. Right now is the worst time to build a gaming computer. Graphics cards are outrageously high priced...and will give you less smooth performance as on these new games..ie oblivion.(i get MAX 45 fps in outside environments with a 7900 gt,2 gigs of ram and an fx 55 processor, while the xbox 360 version runs smooth as silk < coming from a pc fan.) Wait till the next series of graphics cards come out then make your decision. It would be foolish to get one now, unless your impatient, or really do need one right now. 500 bucks for a graphics card, thats just gonna slow down during high textures and people on screen, i dont think so. Not to mention, for nvidias sake, you cant even run hdr and AA at the same time, how pathetic is that for a so called "next gen" card? its pretty sad that they are charging this much, for just a simple peice of hardware, that consols now can beat..i will always be a pc fan, but , enough is enough with these crazy high prices....with all these prices rising for new technology for consumers...youd think bush was behind all this :twisted:

yeah i bet he is. But seriously i think you're quite right, although the comment you made about comparing the gaming consoles to the pc sounded dangerously close to sounding like you were comparing gaming consoles IN GENERAL vs. PC. which is a completely wrong and unfair comparison to start off with.

yes, oblivion does lag up your system. but sometimes i think that it can be just program code inefficiency, dependent on the game. e.g playing an older game with crappy graphics at low frame rates, and playing a modern game with much better quality graphics at equal to or higher frame rates with the same system. if you get what i mean. i mean - i have never yet seen any game that has death-defyingly good animations, textures, or visual effects.
for example the stuff i've seen in oblivion is pretty crummy. OK, you may say that it's not supposed to be real-life like because it's only a fantasy kids game but you'd think they could do a little more work to make the characters and their textures a little less obviously flat. im not sayin they aren't trying, i know that they're their best under the limitations.

but compared to the real-life likeness of a movie, which i believe programmers should be striving to get their games like, the games of today are really fake and obvously very CGI-like.

 

[hashv2f16]

Apologies for hijacking this thread.

But on a similar questions, with new DDR2 ram and AM2 coming how long could we expect the AMD 64 and X2 to start dropping in prices.

i guess i should also write apologies for hijacking the thread.

back on the topic tho:
may the 23rd? that's pretty close. if you want, do the whole buying low-end thing. e.g if money's an issue, save money on getting something temporary for now (like the lowest-end processor and super el cheapo ddr2 ram) that is based on an AM2 system, just to get you onto a future updatable platform, then you can upgrade to whatever when you do have the money later down the track.

for example, the necessity for pure gaming processor speed is not going to be a requirement for me, (and money is a factor being a student and all), so i bought low end s939 system, for the reason that azrealhk said: the s939 stuff will gradually but significantly drop prices to very nice levels, as did the s462 AthlonXPs when they were going out.

 

[mdd1963]

"The only thing is that with all of the new CPU technology coming out in the near future, (AM2 in particuliar) I am not sure whether or not I should wait until they come out. "

I'd not really consider AM2 to be any radical new technology, as it's merely socket 939 technology resocketed with a new DDR2 controller, resulting in at best a 2-3% increase, and likely only then when equipped with more expensive DDR2-800 memory....

If planning on and/or needing a complete new rig, I'd either go with a socket 939/PC3200 rig, or wait until (approx) July release of Conroe...

 

[hashv2f16]

"The only thing is that with all of the new CPU technology coming out in the near future, (AM2 in particuliar) I am not sure whether or not I should wait until they come out. "

I'd not really consider AM2 to be any radical new technology, as it's merely socket 939 technology resocketed with a new DDR2 controller, resulting in at best a 2-3% increase, and likely only then when equipped with more expensive DDR2-800 memory....

If planning on and/or needing a complete new rig, I'd either go with a socket 939/PC3200 rig, or wait until (approx) July release of Conroe...

man, seriously by the time conroe actually does get here its going to be completely old school, and with amd jumping in early on the band wagon, you never know what crap they will pull out of their cracks before july..

anyway i didn't just say that. back to the topic again: i wasn't around when they did the whole switch from PC-100/133 SDRAM to DDR RAM so this will be similar in any relevant way? since it probably isn't, i think i'll shut up now.

 

[jaguarskx]

The general concensus is to wait for AM2 to come out before buying a PC. Socket AM2 will not really offer much performance increase over Socket 939 Athlons until DDR2 800 RAM modules are released later this year (I believe). It is unknown how much of a performance boost DDR2 800 RAM will give, 5% maybe? The highlite ofAM2 is that AMD's next generation chip, "KL8", will be released next year for socket AM2. That should make a nice upgrade.

If you do not intend on upgrading within 2 or 3 years then just buy / build a S939 Athlon rig now and get it over with. In addition, AM2 CPUs and motherboards will be more expensive than the S939 version. Plus you may need to deal with 1st generation AM2 motherboards that can be unstable. If you don't want to deal with that then build a S939 PC, all of the motherboards are pretty much mature now.

 

[chenBrazil]

If you need a PC today... get 939 , opteron or X2 ... if you can wait... check Intel Core ou AMD AM2 releases... them you can make your decision on new set up (probably only after August you will be able to get your new rig). Considering VGA... probably until there you will have new release at this time , so you should not but any other pc part until you make up your decision... (as memory , PS etc) ... but if you requirements are not unrealistic ... a 939 rig will be enough for gaming... working... and saving some money...

 

[Fox_granit]

The 939 pins are mature and have most bugs worked out. The speed difference is not going to be that great, so I'd invest in a 939 Opty or Athlon. The prices are going to be a lot lower when the AM2 comes out, but you'll have a good machine for your needs. Get the most for your investment while you can, and that would be the best time to buy, IMHO.

 

[NoReMaC]

Wow, thx for all the input.

And yea, money is a bit of an issue, so 939 does seem like the logical choice in that sence. I'll still have to give it some more thought.

 

[ForzaItalia4]

alot of people think that s939 prices will drop, but i think opposite. AMD probably will want people to leap for AM2 hardware, so I think if the prices on mobos and processors don't stay the same, they'll increase. It seems logical to do that.

 

[jaguarskx]

alot of people think that s939 prices will drop, but i think opposite. AMD probably will want people to leap for AM2 hardware, so I think if the prices on mobos and processors don't stay the same, they'll increase. It seems logical to do that.

I don't think they will raise the price of S939 Athlons just yet. AMD will raise them once production of all S939 CPU have ended. I believe that is exactly what they did with the Athlon XP.

 

[steveosazninvazn]

Wait for AM2, it's only a short time until it comes out. Get a nice video card, ATI X1900XTX or nVidia 7900GTX, and ignore what people say about them ot being able to support next-gen HDPC video. Just get an HDPC player when they come out and live the good life now. Forget waiting another 6 months for another next-gen system.

 

[shadowduck]

Wait for AM2, it's only a short time until it comes out. Get a nice video card, ATI X1900XTX or nVidia 7900GTX, and ignore what people say about them ot being able to support next-gen HDPC video. Just get an HDPC player when they come out and live the good life now. Forget waiting another 6 months for another next-gen system.

Unless you enjoying wasting money, DO NOT BUY a 1900XTX. The 1900XT can easily be overclocked to XTX levels, and the difference is marginal anyway.

 

[sandmannight]

Yes so ? That doesnt mean he should go 'old tech' when newer technology and hardware is available, at the same price !


I'd say wait for AM2, get some nice RAM which you should be able to use if you decide to move to Intel or even upgrade to a better AMD AM2 CPU.

AM2 will not be the same price. You will have to buy more expensive DDR2 RAM and since Vista si supposed to use a lot of ram that means you would have to buy even more of the expensive RAM