A good time to buy?

-ADREN-

Just wondering is it a good time to buy A good pc now for around €1000's as in If i buy it now.. in a few weeks will i be looking at my pc €300s cheaper or so.. Will the Current beasts 9800pros and fx5900s becoming down anytime soon, im not looking to buy one of those atm.. But if i baught a 5600 and then found out that the 5900 had gone down a load id be very pissed..

Also I am wondering about the Life expectancy of my new machine if i was to get it.. If i got it now.. say with a Radeon 9600 Pro (is this good enough) would it be able to run d3 and hl2 no problem? or must u get a nVidia FX card for the best results?

Also i was wondering where would be the best place to start for getting a new pc. with very good price performance ratio? Does building ure own machine work out well?

If i was to leave it to ye to build what could ye stur up for sat €1000 that would last a good few years and play all games for those few years respectivly well..


Regards,
-M.Coz

Woden

i seem to be in a similar position to yourself so i await peoples opinions also

-ADREN-

lads.. ?? sob sob.. where are ye ??? sob..

Praetorian

If I were you two, I would hold on for a while. The Athlon 64 will be out some time in September. The prices of Athlons will then drop.The Radeon 9900 is also due out in September, once it's out the prices on the 9700 & 9800 cards will drop significantly.

Woden

It will be mid september before i start purchasing anything so thats good, what amd motherboard/processor combination would you get

bizmark

im getting a 2500xp barton and a a7nx8 deluxe data seems good

soooooon have 530 euro saved 250 more = new pc

Scruff

thinking along the same lines as myself but my current pc is giving me so much woe i dont know if i can last till mid september!

i've also noticed prices for mobo's, cpus and in particularly ram going up in price on komplette. afaik ram will remain high for the for the next few months.:

bizmark

ya scruff 136 euro for the 512meg of memory i want :eek:

Praetorian

Originally posted by Dataisgod
It will be mid september before i start purchasing anything so thats good, what amd motherboard/processor combination would you get

I've nothing but good things to say about the NF7 by Abit. It's available for a reasonable price from Komplett. As for a processor I would recommend an AXP2500 or faster.

I currently have a P42500, but I will be ordering the flagship Athlon 64 with an Nforce 3 motherboard when they are available. I have to treat myself every so often

Col_Loki

Yea , the NF7 is a great board!! Good combination with the Xp2500+.

Will prob be waiting until sept aswell before i make anymore purchases, 2.4C is lookin very nice - even though im an AMD head. Ahhh 1000mhz FSB, that would be nice.

-ADREN-

Ok so the advise is to wait until septembre.. but when I do.. what do you think I should go for.. say budget of €1,200??? Whats this 64 processor yer on about? Will that be far to expensive to buy? or will it just drop the pricess of outher powerfull enough CPUs for me to purchase wen septembre comes?

Regards,
-Coz.

MrPinK

Originally posted by -ADREN-
Whats this 64 processor yer on about? Will that be far to expensive to buy?

Over the next couple of years, 32-bit processors are going to be phased out. AMD will make only a couple more models of the XP range then that'll be it. Intel have designed their 64-bit processor but it's only for servers at the moment. Eventually they'll switch all their desktop models over to the new architecture and everyone will stop writing software for the 32-bit processors. All your current software will become absolete and unrunnable on the new machines. The Ahtlon 64 is the first 64-bit desktop processor but it is also a hybrid processor. It can run the current 32-bit software and also the next generation 64-bit software. It's the chip that will either make or break AMD. The server version has already been released and prices start from €307 on komplett. I would imagine that the desktop version would be cheaper than the server version.

-ADREN-

so ure saying definaly go for one of these 64bit thingys or else my pc will be out of date and not able to run anything with in a few years?

maxheadroom

Originally posted by -ADREN-
so ure saying definaly go for one of these 64bit thingys or else my pc will be out of date and not able to run anything with in a few years?

I think - and I could easily be wrong - that Intel 64 bit processors can run 32 bit code in emulation mode, but it is relatively slow. No 32 bit chip will be able to run 64 bit code.

Balfa

All from Komplett, This would be a good set up. Save yourself the other half grand and spend it on something more useful than a computer ;P
All this needs is peripherals and you're away.

Q-Tec Midi tower ATX 6024MD, Black	 55.73
EPoX EP-8K9AI mainboard for Socket A	 67.34
AMD Athlon XP1800+ 1.53 GHz 266 MHz bus	 56.45
Cooler Master CPU fan Socket A/7/FCPGA	 13.47
Gainward GeForce FX 5200 64MB DDR	 70.42
Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 80GB IDE	 86.60
DDR-DIMM PC2700 512MB DDR CL2.5		 92.17
					------
				TOTAL:	442.18

And as for 32bit processors, they're not just gonna suddenly disappear. They'll be viable for at least the next 5 years. Get a 32bit now and get a 64bit chip+mobo for like, e150, in a few years time.

Don't be a hadrware-munchie!

-ADREN-

yea but in a very few years that pc could be no use to me the Fx 5200 is supposed to be ****e .. and 1.5 ghz cpu ? Would i not be better off getting a single level below a top spec machine, and that would do me for much longer??

Balfa

I wouldn't call a 5200 shoite. it's not very fast (it's slower than my Ti4200), but it's cheap. If you feel like 442 is too cheap to spend on a computer, then by all means get a faster video card, but the price curve raises much quicker than the performance curve above that. and no, you wouldn't be better getting one step from the fastest (let's say, for example, an XP2800), because if you buy the 1800 now, AND the 2800 in a year's time, it'll be cheaper than getting the 2800 now by itself. You end up with the same speed machine, in addition to the faster one, for less money! (same thing applies to video cards)

RicardoSmith

At best a PC has about 4 months when its at the top of the heap. If I was buying a PC now I'd get a P4 2.4c with a 800fsb motherboard. Trying to buy a PC that is future proof is impossible. So buy what you need at that time, never buy the latest and the greatest, always buy slightly behind the cuttling edge. If you want a machine for HL2, I'd wait for it to come out and wait still end of september as lots of new stuff will be appearing then. Personally I overclock my systems so I'm running a P4 1.8@2.4 and thats fast enough for now. I have GF4ti4200 and that only just quick enough for my games/sims at 1280x1024. I'm waiting for the next round of Nvidia cards before I upgrade again.

Woden

When's the nforce 3 chipsets due out? they'll be quality motherboards will they not? I'm not looking for the latest and greatest and i agree with Balfa about buying something cheaper now and getting the more expensive one when you need it for less cost then getting it originally when you didn't need it.

I was thinking along the lines of an nforce2 motherboard and an amd processsor in the mid 2000+ region, do you's recommend a barton core over a thoroughbred? I can hold off until early october if you's think it would be worth it?

I think it would be a good idea to pay for a good motherboard that will last a couple of years so that i could upgrade the processor if necessary so if the next generation nforce is around the corner i think i should hold off.

What ram do you's recommend i was thinking of half a gig but what make and what latency, CL etc. should i get i'm not sure about that stuff or whether it should be 2700, 3200 etc. should the ram frequency match my processor FSB or not?

Also can anyone recommend a cool case with side view panel?

-ADREN-

Ok so if im picking up all the advise right, its to wait mid September and buy a mid range spec pc for decent price? Hence Later being able to upgrade etc etc.. for less cost than buying the top model in september? Also when mid september comes.. id really like to be able to jump on it and get the pc.. my question is.. where would i get everything i need for a nicely built custom pc.. (good ram config, nice motherboards) inc. monitor, mouse etc etc.. as I want to keep my current pc fully operational. Where could I build it all that and get it sent to me.. as i think building my own machine is to hard (me asks is it really very hard?) And if I did decide to build my own machine where would i be able to get everything from.. excluding Komplett.. or would komplett be able to get my EVERY thing i need?

Regards,
-Coz.

Gerry

By the way, there is no "good time" to buy. Every few months, theres a few new pieces of hardware released. You can be an early adopter, pay through the roof for this stuff, and be the envy of all your nerd mates, and put it in your signature. Great. Other options are to pick up the stuff which has now being devalued, and get a good deal. Or you can wait for the new generation of hardware to get a bit cheaper. By which time, there will be a new generation on the horizon.
Your pc won't be "fast" for 3 years. The only question is will it be fast enough for you, for 3 years. If you get a decent deal, and don't pay for bleeding edge stuff, you will be much better off. Is your current pc really terribly slow? What games apart from doom 3 will it not run?
The stuff you've bought will always come down in price, but if you aren't concerned with having the best pc on your road, or on the boards, you won't be pissed off.
I bought my pc 3 years ago, its still fast enough for me. Yeah, I can notice a difference compared with the latest 3ghz p4, but it plays battlefield ok, all the emulators that I want, and obviously plays quake perfectly. Every so often, I buy cheap upgrades. That has saved me a lot of money.

Dr Bolouswki

I only recently switched from a PIII 800 with a crappy Radeon 64mb that was 4 years old - and that was because games weren't working anymore... if you built a mid range machine now I'd imagine you'd get at least 3 years from it...

I think the following spec would see you be able to play all new games for at least 18 months, then most games for another 18 months (opinions welcome as I don't wanna give a bum steer...)

Asus A7N8X or Abit NF7-S €125
AMD XP2500 (Barton) €110
2**x256 PC3200 DDR €140
Radeon 9600 Pro 128MB €210

Total upgrade price - €585

if you're building from scratch rather than upgrading you gotta look at about another €250 - €300 on case, hard drive, optics, fans etc - fans are great, good airflow increases longevity of a machine AND has a slight impact on performance...

This'd still only cost you €850 tops - you can get a monitor for nothing these days - look in a skip!

Opinions please folks? I'd nearly buy this meself!

** to benefit from dual-chanelling

Woden

Arden i'm pretty much gonna get everything out of komplett as i just think there the cheapest, if there is a specific part i can't get there i will find it elsewhere.

Gerry my current pc was starting to struggle 850mhz 512mb ram geforce 2mx with games like splinter cell and generals and stuff put on top of that that it is currently in pieces most likely due to me breaking the processor i decided it wasn't work paying to fix it and investigate the problem and just pump the money i would pay for it into a new pc which i wouldn't need til i head back to college in september.

killah some of the parts you mentioned are extactly what i'll probably be looking for i do need a new case and hdd so that will be added cost i won't spend more then 1000 but try to keep it around 800 i don't need new cd drives, keyboard mouse monitor speakers sound card modem etc. ( but i will want broadband another discussion i think )

i know the pc will never be future proof but if holding off for a few weeks allows me to get the next generation of motherboard which will accept processor for the next 2 years instead of 6months to a year that would probably be beneficial for me.

what ram should i get though?

-ADREN-

Yea heh well my pc is a P3 500 128Ram TnT2 ... so f u all i need a new pc heh.. anyways thanks for the info. Ill post a new thread in september so ye lads can help me get something nice then.. the purpose of this thread has been served thanks very much lads.

Regards,
-Coz.

RicardoSmith

If you pick up a cheap celly 1ghz and a GF3 and maybe another 256mb 2nd hand it might might that playable for a more months. Shouldn't cost more than 200 euros and you can sell it when you are finished.

Gerry

Well, I cheated slightly, by getting a 600mhz p3, and clocking it to 1ghz before the 1ghz chips were even released. These days it runs at 900. I also bought a geforce ddr, follwed by a cheap gts pretty soon after they came out, from a mate in creative labs, so never had to suffer an mx.
Clocking up a 2 - 2.4 ghz chip to 3ghz would be a good way to get a really fast machine while not breaking the bank.

My post was really saying that theres always going to be more new stuff coming over the horizon. But as long as you don't care about being bleeding edge, you can get a good value machine.

wiensta

I just spent over €1000 on parts on overclockers, im happy with my setup;

2.8 barton,
silent case,
1 gig ddr ram (3200)
120gb hd (sata)
nf7 ver2. mobo
5.1 speakers
coolermaster aero 7
+256mb mp3 player as a bonus

now for the disastrous GLS to deliver (already 3 days late on 48 hr max delivery) ... oh how I hate gls..

zepp

i managed to build my first system there a few weeks ago. Went in to a computer shop in nottingham (was over in england then).and for some unknowen reason my plan was to look for external storage device for my auld laptop but i ended up buying a cpu and motherboard. Anyway i started bugging all my friends who knew about theses things what is the best memory what is the best hard drive best graphics card (best coloured neons ). Kept asking them how easy it was to build a system they all said it was easy.

They lied (well not really) basically technically puting it together is a piece of p**s .The difficultly is putting it manually together i.e trying to get the heatsink clip to clip in trying too plug all thoses wires in when the thing your trying to plug in is up in the back corner.Trying to take those small jumpers out and not drop them.

Basically what im saying is if your a elbow gynanst it is easy to put together if your not you may get infuriated .But you won't get stuck doing it (unless your hand won't come out ).

It is well worth doing it your self. and like i said it is technically easy to do and if you have any problam puting it together post up here and im sure someone will be able to fix it .

About a good time to buy it is not or never shall be in september there will be something else to wait to come out in december then something to wait for in march.

what you should do is set your self a budjet and just build it.

this is what i got for around 800
athlon 2600+
asus a7n8x
geforce 5200 ultra
2 x 512mb pc3200
160gb maxtor hard drive
16x dvd drive
case
neon fans


mointor, floppy, speakers, burner all recycled from home