So I’m getting that stupid itch in my head - the one that says it’s getting time to get a new computer. I do not really need a new computer - everything I have runs more or less fine, but I just got Total War Warhammer 2, and I know the new CPU series is out, and of course my dumb brain will not turn off about a new system.
So I will try to resist for a while, but I am wondering - is this the best time of year to get something from a price perspective? Are there mega-awesome deals out there for Christmas/Black Friday that are hundreds of dollars cheaper than anything I’d be able to get during the rest of the year?
I’ve never really tried to time a PC purchase before, so I do not know if this is a special time of year for pricing (as it is for other consumer goods), or if I’ll probably just be able to get comparable deals in, say, February.
Building a PC from any of the reputable vendors, using their configurators, always ends up being stupid expensive when I put in the stuff I actually want. Newegg is more reasonable, especially if I use my current case and stuff. But most prebuilts have default configs that are meh–tiny SSDs (I have zero interest in EVER owning another standard hard drive, for anything), not enough RAM often, anemic PSUs, and sometimes even less than optimal CPUs. By the time you put in all you want, and add a GPU if you don’t have one you want to throw in there, I rarely see a pre-built under $2500 that would be everything I wanted. Using my existing case though I could probably put together a solid rig for $1500 in parts.
It’s a top tier CPU with an 800 dollar video card. It comes with 256gb ssd when so many of the prebuilt still stick with 128 (even though SSD prices are dropping like rocks). The only thing really holding that machine back is going to the the SSD.
Well there is a substantial price difference between these two, but it’s super easy to upgrade a GPU, so the CPU and mobo are way more important. The problem is, that 1500 one has a car that goes for 800 in it and a CPU that floats around 300-330 so most of the value is easily seen in those two pieces.
This almost 1700 one has the better cpu for sure and 1TB is better for the SSD but then I start to wonder, you have this premium CPU, K even so you can overclock it but that doesn’t include the top GPU and at that point I question why the SSD and not an NVMe. heck the RAM is even slower.
I am not an expert but I see no point in going 9900k if the rest of the parts are not going to be in the same category. I go for performance and value myself, like the combo, the benchmark chasers and the ones that study specs and graphs, more than i do, will probably love that CPU, I just don’t think it worth it, especially with 2070 and an SSD.,
Huh. Part of the problem with AMD and/or Radeon is that I literally have even less idea of what is new/good than I do with Intel. But now you have me thinking.
Maybe I just need to step back from this a bit. I see this from IBuyPower, and it looks amazing for the price (basically $1,500 for a 9700k CPU and GTX 2800 GPU after you apply discounts and get rid of junk like the keyboard and mouse):
But then I worry that IBuyPower has a kind of terrible reputation, and hesitate.
Necroing this thread because my current PC failed to turn on this morning. It is 2 years old and under warranty, so hopefully it can be fixed.
However, it did fail the Windows 11 upgrade check, so now I am thinking of something different.
edit: I have a project due in in one week, so it is doubtful it’ll be fixed beforehand, so I am going to have to sue my laptop, which makes things challenging, although it is a nice laptop, and it did pass the windows 11 upgrade tester.
I was a bit strapped for cash when I got this (the PC), specs below:
1 x Intel Core i5-9400F 2.90GHz
(4.1GHz Turbo) Hex-Core Processor
1 x NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 6GB
Graphics Card the GPU is very so so.
1 x 16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX
3000MHz DDR4 Memory (2 x 8GB)
1 x 1TB Seagate FireCuda Solid
State Hybrid Drive
So, if you had a budget of upto £1500, no need for a monitor or any other accessories, what would you buy?
edit:
cannot be Alienware (bad experience) or by extension, Dell.
That’s a well specced system, assuming you get a warranty repair I’d just upgrade gpu and memory rather than replacing the whole thing.
That system should support win11, probably a bios settings issue. MS are going to have to do a lot of working helping people overcome those - I wouldn’t worry yet
