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When Is The Best Time To Buy Computers And Parts?


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#1 CocoaJin

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Posted 20 December 2014 - 09:13 AM

Just curious to if I just bug my wife to let me depend money on a new computer now, after Christmas, after New Year's or after my tax return this Spring?

#2 Flapdrol

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Posted 20 December 2014 - 09:20 AM

For cpu's it's a few weeks after a new cpu type launches. Intel doesn't seem to ever drop prices, and every generation has slightly improved price/performance. Not sure when broadwell or skylake will lauch though.

Edited by Flapdrol, 20 December 2014 - 09:20 AM.


#3 CocoaJin

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Posted 20 December 2014 - 09:33 AM

I'm only interested in Intel builds at this point. I'm also in the market for a pre-fab for convenience...I'm hoping they might have seasonal sales/price reductions.

#4 Gumon Choji

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Posted 20 December 2014 - 09:56 AM

In the next 2 months the price of Graphics cards will hit their low. But this is to make room for the next year. So you could get the best of next year soon. How the releases normally flow is that if there is a new big bad it will fall within a month of march unless there is undue pressure on the market. Ex: The 290x made nvidea drop their card early. This first card will be the best one chip solution. if you can wait a month or 2 you can get the same high end bracket but a little less selective two months later. This is the best value. Look at the launch of the 290 vrs 290x. The reason is that power users want the best and will pay for it the first few months, but then 10% less speed is good enough for 25 % less money. These like to fall again 2 months later. But this will slow or speed dependant on how many of the high end sell. If they sell more then it will take time. The midline drops wheneverthe companies feel like it. This is the money maker card. Most people will love it and it is priced decently think 285 280 270 range. These cards respond to the market and are released based on demand but differently from high end. High end inovation slows down as items sell. This is to make money and follow a near year to year change. The mid line is about one uping the competion and releases in this market follow compeditors. So if a compeditor is offering a better deal expect a faster card at the same price if they can make it or a symilar card for less price. Think of this market like gas prices. who ever you buy from they are comparable and price has it. The low end is the low end. This stuff is cheap because as a product the move to single die solutions gets more robust every year. Ex the R5 230 in not noticably better then the intell 4000 solution. it is better but not too much. the r7 solution is light years better but is only slightly better compared to the best intigrated solution from AMD. If these cards are on your radar get a good AMD chip and save the money. If you want more you will focus on this mid line and notice the prices here fluctuate on a daily basis thus good deal abound but when to buy is a crap shoot. The High end to repeat is stable and predictable. Big bad released. little bad released. over priced 2 chip solution released. long wait of 6 months to clear chanel with lowest prices. New big bad.

A note to nvidia fans. This company always charges a little more. They set the high end price and AMD undercuts them. In the midline money makers they are about 10 dollars more but will compete very agressively. Low end who cares, new CPUs are faster and many times cheaper so buy a new CPU and enjoy better everything. Also it helps to note Nvidia responds to price changes slower. They will hold a price and will change price on not selling a product. AMD is fast to respond to the market and will change prices in hours of seeing the competition change prices. So if you are in for nvidia look for an AMD price drop and wait so see the responce. Holding the trigger will cause the drop.

http://www.nowinstoc...eocards/nvidia/

This can help but decide on a card first.

#5 CocoaJin

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Posted 20 December 2014 - 10:52 AM

I've been looking at i5 or i7 that are as close yo 4.0ghz as possible. I've seen where some say the i7 provides minimal benefits for single application systems(I don't run video capture during gameplay), if so, I'm totally open to an approx 4.0ghz i5.

I assume a z97 mobo would more than suffice, with 8GB DDR3 RAM.

The last thing I'm most in dark about is which gfx card to get. My concern is keeping my pre-fab price tag at around $1200, no more than $1500. Maintaining a MWO FPS of 60. Power supply matches for current gfx card and future upgrades.

My main priority is building the rig for MWO and it's nuances.

#6 Corralis

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Posted 20 December 2014 - 11:15 AM

View PostCocoaJin, on 20 December 2014 - 10:52 AM, said:

I've been looking at i5 or i7 that are as close yo 4.0ghz as possible. I've seen where some say the i7 provides minimal benefits for single application systems(I don't run video capture during gameplay), if so, I'm totally open to an approx 4.0ghz i5.

I assume a z97 mobo would more than suffice, with 8GB DDR3 RAM.

The last thing I'm most in dark about is which gfx card to get. My concern is keeping my pre-fab price tag at around $1200, no more than $1500. Maintaining a MWO FPS of 60. Power supply matches for current gfx card and future upgrades.

My main priority is building the rig for MWO and it's nuances.


Personally I would try to spend a little more and go with either an x79 or x99 (although you will need new DDR4 RAM if you go with the x99) chipset Motherboard combined with the i7 5920K CPU as they will give you at least 3-4 years of solid performance. I always think it's better to spend a little more now that then lasts an extra year or more before needing to upgrade again but that's just my opinion.

#7 CocoaJin

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Posted 20 December 2014 - 01:16 PM

View PostCorralis, on 20 December 2014 - 11:15 AM, said:


Personally I would try to spend a little more and go with either an x79 or x99 (although you will need new DDR4 RAM if you go with the x99) chipset Motherboard combined with the i7 5920K CPU as they will give you at least 3-4 years of solid performance. I always think it's better to spend a little more now that then lasts an extra year or more before needing to upgrade again but that's just my opinion.


Hmm, I'll look into the x79. The i7 5920k might eat into my gfx card budget though. I'm willing to slum it a bit in gfx as long as it gives me a reasonably reliable 60 FPS in MWO...the assumption being I can upgrade the gfx card within the year.

#8 Oderint dum Metuant

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Posted 20 December 2014 - 02:56 PM

View PostCocoaJin, on 20 December 2014 - 01:16 PM, said:

Hmm, I'll look into the x79. The i7 5920k might eat into my gfx card budget though. I'm willing to slum it a bit in gfx as long as it gives me a reasonably reliable 60 FPS in MWO...the assumption being I can upgrade the gfx card within the year.



A current gen Z97 will be fine, there is no need for X79 and DDR4 to play MWO.

Get an overclockable I5 and decent GPU 280 upwards or 970+ on the Nvidia side.

#9 Corralis

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Posted 20 December 2014 - 09:42 PM

View PostCocoaJin, on 20 December 2014 - 01:16 PM, said:

Hmm, I'll look into the x79. The i7 5920k might eat into my gfx card budget though. I'm willing to slum it a bit in gfx as long as it gives me a reasonably reliable 60 FPS in MWO...the assumption being I can upgrade the gfx card within the year.


I just realised I gave you some bad advice there, the 5920K only goes into the x99 motherboards as it's a 2011 socket CPU. I'm currently running a I7 2600K Sandybridge CPU on (I think) the x38 chipset motherboard. I do have a Radeon R9 290x 8GB GPU though and I get a pretty solid 60-90 FPS in MWO so you don't need anything amazingly fast to run this game and I have had this same CPU for about 3 years now so I'm looking into an upgrade at the moment but the point is, if you do get a decent CPU/Mobo combo it will last a very long time.

#10 CocoaJin

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Posted 22 December 2014 - 09:34 AM

View PostCorralis, on 20 December 2014 - 09:42 PM, said:


I just realised I gave you some bad advice there, the 5920K only goes into the x99 motherboards as it's a 2011 socket CPU. I'm currently running a I7 2600K Sandybridge CPU on (I think) the x38 chipset motherboard. I do have a Radeon R9 290x 8GB GPU though and I get a pretty solid 60-90 FPS in MWO so you don't need anything amazingly fast to run this game and I have had this same CPU for about 3 years now so I'm looking into an upgrade at the moment but the point is, if you do get a decent CPU/Mobo combo it will last a very long time.


Thx for the correction

#11 xWiredx

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Posted 22 December 2014 - 01:54 PM

Sandy Bridge would have been the 67-series (I had a P67 motherboard for my 2600K).

For OP - An i5 4690K with a decent motherboard (pre-fab, you might want to go with an ASUS ROG desktop machine as it will definitely have an ASUS mobo). 8GB of DDR3 should be fine, I'd opt for DDR3-1866 if you can, though the performance difference between that and DDR3-1600 will only be 1-2fps at most. GPU-wise, I would go with Nvidia because of the much lower power draw than the current top AMD offerings, as a GTX 970 might still land in your price range. I haven't looked at pre-fab desktops since... well, since I started building mine in the 90s... so I'm not sure what kind of mark-up they have these days. Check newegg for a reference, and then once you have a specific model number shop around on other sites. Sometimes newegg will be the best deal, sometimes it won't.





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