Should I build a new PC now or wait a month or so?

[Polarthief]

My first build ever, which was around 5 years ago, just crapped out on me about a week or two ago. Due to not even receiving a single upgrade, I decided that I should probably build a new comp instead of trying to keep this one on life support. Only problem is the money at the moment.

My question is this: If I'm able to get the money for a new build, should I do it now or would it be smarter to wait about a month since I keep hearing news about cards and everything coming out? I'm currently managing with just my laptop and while it sucks to play games, I can manage for the time being since I'm not really playing anything anyways.

[Mythbredor]

Yes I would highly recommend waiting for the RX480 to come out. Currently it's under NDA so we don't know too much about it but it's a 200$ GPU and rumors say two of them in crossfire are beating a 1080. If you can wait if not it's not a huge deal. You can build now get a decent GPU and upgrade it later as you need. Honestly it's up to you and what you need.

[Deleted]

if you wait a month you will have a lot of choices for affordable new graphics cards. if you are ok spending $500-700 for the graphics card alone you can buy now.

[Mythbredor]

if you wait a month you will have a lot of choices for affordable new graphics cards. if you are ok spending $500-700 for the graphics card alone you can buy now.

He doesn't need a 500$-700$ GPU if he was considering buying a PC now I was going to suggest a 960... bout 200$ and it'll last for quite awhile.

[Lathais]

Depending on the laptop you are using, you could build now without a graphics card and use the onboard intel graphics. May be better than the laptop still, and then once then buy a real graphics card for it in a month or two. Also, what part of your old PC died? Is the graphics card still usable? You may be able to use that as well, until the better stuff comes out.

[kushlol]

if you want the real bang for your buck hold out until black friday/cyber monday it's the only time i buy new parts unless I need an immediate replacement. You will save hundreds of dollars

[hellhamster]

Definitely wait for the RX480 reviews to come out.

[Polarthief]

Thank you everyone for the responses; I will probably end up waiting a little bit, but I still want to see what you all think.

if you wait a month you will have a lot of choices for affordable new graphics cards. if you are ok spending $500-700 for the graphics card alone you can buy now.

Yeah I'm definitely NOT okay with spending $500 on a GPU. I'm hoping to budget around $1k max, though this is just for parts. I've already got (decent) Speakers, Keyboard (Corsair K70 RGB), Mouse (Logitech G600), and 2 (old) 1440x900 monitors, plus I still have my Windows 7 Product Key from my first build!

On the GPU I'm hoping I can get away with $250 tops, but this is only if it's a really kick ass one.

Depending on the laptop you are using, you could build now without a graphics card and use the onboard intel graphics. May be better than the laptop still, and then once then buy a real graphics card for it in a month or two. Also, what part of your old PC died? Is the graphics card still usable? You may be able to use that as well, until the better stuff comes out.

The laptop is mostly for personal non-gaming use, though it runs WoW at a decent FPS for what I want (which is just daily/weekly chores since I haven't really played much else on it), and runs everything else I want for the time being pretty good (couch co-op games, Darkest Dungeon, Netflix/Hulu, etc). There really is no need to upgrade the laptop. (Sorry I'm an idiot and misread what you said. Sorta groggy from just waking up from a nap, lol)

Regarding my old build, I think my GPU is the part that crashed though I'm still not 100% sure. Regardless, most of the parts would be kinda unusable in the upgrade, but I'll go ahead and post them out below. I also plan to put this computer, if it still works without the GPU, into the guest room for family/friends that come down to have access to a computer.

CPU: Intel i5-2500k (Way too slow)
GPU: GTX 560 Ti (Kinda weak, and I'm almost positive this is the main part that broke)
RAM: 2x 4GB (8GB total; too low because I multitask like crazy)
HDD: ??? 1TB, though I plan to put this in an enclosure as a pseudo external (or keep it in the computer if I can manage to fix it and turn it into a guest comp). I also had a 90GB SSD, but it broke awhile back. I really don't mind buying new HDDs/SSDs since they're not the super expensive part of the budget.
PSU: I don't 100% remember the wattage (I want to say around 500 or 550), but this was a part I took from an even older computer I had, and I know it won't be strong enough for my next build when Narwhal/Unicorn builds on the frontpage are saying to get 650.

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if you want the real bang for your buck hold out until black friday/cyber monday it's the only time i buy new parts unless I need an immediate replacement. You will save hundreds of dollars

Do newer parts go on sale on BF/CM? It'd be a bitch to use the laptop for that long, but I might be able to wait a couple of months since it's already June if I can really get a huge discount on really good parts.

[Rad1um]

if you want the real bang for your buck hold out until black friday/cyber monday it's the only time i buy new parts unless I need an immediate replacement. You will save hundreds of dollars

OP this right here is the worst advice you could ever get. Everyone knows by now that Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the biggest wastes of time ever. They jack up prices and give them to you at a 'deal' (normal price) with the exception of a couple HD tv's you probably dont need.

Wait a month or two and let the new cards bring down 960's or so down in price more, then buy.

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if you want the real bang for your buck hold out until black friday/cyber monday it's the only time i buy new parts unless I need an immediate replacement. You will save hundreds of dollars

OP this right here is the worst advice you could ever get. Everyone knows by now that Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the biggest wastes of time ever. They jack up prices and give them to you at a 'deal' (normal price) with the exception of a couple HD tv's you probably dont need.

Wait a month or two and let the new cards bring down 960's or so down in price more, then buy.

[Mythbredor]

Again since you missed my posts apparently. You don't need to spend 500$+ now. You could buy a 960-970 and be perfectly fine for the next while. Or wait until the end of the month and buy a RX 480. a 2500k isn't that bad if you OC it, you could upgrade your ram to 16 GB. What are you doing that you need a stronger CPU?

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OP this right here is the worst advice you could ever get. Everyone knows by now that Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the biggest wastes of time ever. They jack up prices and give them to you at a 'deal' (normal price) with the exception of a couple HD tv's you probably dont need.

Wait a month or two and let the new cards bring down 960's or so down in price more, then buy.

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OP this right here is the worst advice you could ever get. Everyone knows by now that Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the biggest wastes of time ever. They jack up prices and give them to you at a 'deal' (normal price) with the exception of a couple HD tv's you probably dont need.

Wait a month or two and let the new cards bring down 960's or so down in price more, then buy.

Old GPU prices will not drop by any significant amount there is no trend that shows they ever have. Plus if he's waiting he should get an RX 480 anyway.

[sharpy]

Thank you everyone for the responses; I will probably end up waiting a little bit, but I still want to see what you all think.



Yeah I'm definitely NOT okay with spending $500 on a GPU. I'm hoping to budget around $1k max, though this is just for parts. I've already got (decent) Speakers, Keyboard (Corsair K70 RGB), Mouse (Logitech G600), and 2 (old) 1440x900 monitors, plus I still have my Windows 7 Product Key from my first build!

On the GPU I'm hoping I can get away with $250 tops, but this is only if it's a really kick ass one.



The laptop is mostly for personal non-gaming use, though it runs WoW at a decent FPS for what I want (which is just daily/weekly chores since I haven't really played much else on it), and runs everything else I want for the time being pretty good (couch co-op games, Darkest Dungeon, Netflix/Hulu, etc). There really is no need to upgrade the laptop. (Sorry I'm an idiot and misread what you said. Sorta groggy from just waking up from a nap, lol)

Regarding my old build, I think my GPU is the part that crashed though I'm still not 100% sure. Regardless, most of the parts would be kinda unusable in the upgrade, but I'll go ahead and post them out below. I also plan to put this computer, if it still works without the GPU, into the guest room for family/friends that come down to have access to a computer.

CPU: Intel i5-2500k (Way too slow)
GPU: GTX 560 Ti (Kinda weak, and I'm almost positive this is the main part that broke)
RAM: 2x 4GB (8GB total; too low because I multitask like crazy)
HDD: ??? 1TB, though I plan to put this in an enclosure as a pseudo external (or keep it in the computer if I can manage to fix it and turn it into a guest comp). I also had a 90GB SSD, but it broke awhile back. I really don't mind buying new HDDs/SSDs since they're not the super expensive part of the budget.
PSU: I don't 100% remember the wattage (I want to say around 500 or 550), but this was a part I took from an even older computer I had, and I know it won't be strong enough for my next build when Narwhal/Unicorn builds on the frontpage are saying to get 650.

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Do newer parts go on sale on BF/CM? It'd be a bitch to use the laptop for that long, but I might be able to wait a couple of months since it's already June if I can really get a huge discount on really good parts.

Yes the new parts do go on sale as far as i have seen so might be the best bang for your buck if you can wait.

[Kagthul]

Please do not tell people to buy outdated tech that is no cheaper or barely cheaper than much better tech.

Please.

the GTX 960 is a TERRIBLE buy right now. The RX 480, even if the more sane estimates placing it between 390/390X in performance are true, is going to absolutely dominate the 960 by miles.... for the same price.

Barring some weird sales (mostly to clear inventory and which have already passed) the GTX 970 is still selling for 319-339$.... For ~60$ more if you're willing to wait for non-FE cards, you can grab a GTX 1070, which performs like a Titan X from last generation!

Unless you MUST BUILD RIGHT NAO, put it off until stock shortages on the 1070/1080 have eased up and the RX 480 releases.

All are game changers at their budget points.

Also, while you can get more performance by building up to a Skylake CPU - it's not going to be night and day. There's a ~15-20% performance delta between a 2500K and 6600K at identical clocks, at best. So, dont get your hopes up that the new CPU is going to blow the old one away by miles.

Better, yes. But not by like double or anything.

[Polarthief]

Could someone tell me more about this RX480? I only really know Nvidia stuff, and only decently at that (just heard about the 1070/1080) so I have no idea what it is.

[Kagthul]

Could someone tell me more about this RX480? I only really know Nvidia stuff, and only decently at that (just heard about the 1070/1080) so I have no idea what it is.

It's AMD's first announced Polaris card.

Comes out in.. like a week or two?

Performance rumored to be around the same performance as the R9 390/390X (somewhere in between; think... just shy or equal to a GTX 980). Already announced at a 200$ MSRP.

[Polarthief]

Unless you MUST BUILD RIGHT NAO, put it off until stock shortages on the 1070/1080 have eased up and the RX 480 releases.

I can definitely wait. I'd love to play Overwatch with friends, but I'm totally okay with holding off on that if it means I'm not going to spend an arm and a leg going for parts that are in shortages.

Are the RX480 and 1070/1080 going to be a decent price in the upcoming month or two? Really hoping to budget cap around 1k or so.

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It's AMD's first announced Polaris card.

Comes out in.. like a week or two?

Ahh okay. I've only heard of AMD but never used an AMD card nor really did much research on it (since my first build went with Intel/Nvidia).

Already announced at a 200$ MSRP.

... I'm listening...

[Ringthane]

I can definitely wait. I'd love to play Overwatch with friends, but I'm totally okay with holding off on that if it means I'm not going to spend an arm and a leg going for parts that are in shortages.

Are the RX480 and 1070/1080 going to be a decent price in the upcoming month or two? Really hoping to budget cap around 1k or so.

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Ahh okay. I've only heard of AMD but never used an AMD card nor really did much research on it (since my first build went with Intel/Nvidia).



... I'm listening...

AMD cards are pretty solid, but the driver support isn't as good. But if you're looking to build, I would wait to see how the AMD card stacks up against the nVidia cards available. If the RX480 is worth it, it'd be a heck of a card for a great price.

[Kagthul]

the RX 480 is MSRP 200$. It may, or may not have stock shortages. Rumor is one of the reasons AMD didn't launch it directly into the face of 1070/1080 was to build up stock.

The 1070 MSRP's for 379$. Due to shortages, you either just cant get one or youll pay through the nose. When stock comes back in... well, none of the board partners have announced a card directly at MSRP, but there are several on the way under 400$. And it's a real performer - like i said, on par with the Titan X from last generation.

The 1080 is out of stock, because of demand (and supply issuse, nVidia trying to steal the thunder from AMD), but there are MSRP models out there (599$), and some good aftermarket models that are only about 20$ more (the EVGA ACX 3.0 cooler version is only 619$ direct from EVGA, when it is in stock).

The 1080 seems like overkill for you though, so its probably not on your list.

The 1070 will outperform the RX 480, but if you're primarily gaming at 1080p, it wont be by so much that the RX 480 isn't still an attractive card because of the price.

Dont get lured into the "just Crossfire later for more performance" trap, though. Crossfire (And SLI) are fickle beasts with iffy support (and often times, no support at all, even in Triple A games) - if more performance is what you're after, shell out on now on the single, faster card.

[Lathais]

Regarding my old build, I think my GPU is the part that crashed though I'm still not 100% sure. Regardless, most of the parts would be kinda unusable in the upgrade, but I'll go ahead and post them out below. I also plan to put this computer, if it still works without the GPU, into the guest room for family/friends that come down to have access to a computer.

CPU: Intel i5-2500k (Way too slow)
GPU: GTX 560 Ti (Kinda weak, and I'm almost positive this is the main part that broke)
RAM: 2x 4GB (8GB total; too low because I multitask like crazy)
HDD: ??? 1TB, though I plan to put this in an enclosure as a pseudo external (or keep it in the computer if I can manage to fix it and turn it into a guest comp). I also had a 90GB SSD, but it broke awhile back. I really don't mind buying new HDDs/SSDs since they're not the super expensive part of the budget.
PSU: I don't 100% remember the wattage (I want to say around 500 or 550), but this was a part I took from an even older computer I had, and I know it won't be strong enough for my next build when Narwhal/Unicorn builds on the frontpage are saying to get 650.

If it's the GPU that died, you still may get better performance from the onboard GPU in a skylake than you laptop, and then get a real GPU later. However, I am confused by your comment about the 2500K being way too slow. There have not been any major groundbreaking updates in CPU tech and the newest CPUs are not that much better than what you have. Most people with them are choosing to not upgrade and I know a few who have who were less than satisfied with the results. The 2500K is still a very capable CPU. If you have not OCed it, I would, get a new graphics card and call it a day. More than enough. If you want to have another PC set up for people to use, you could build a system with an i3 and use on-bard graphics for far cheaper than what you are planning.

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AMD cards are pretty solid, but the driver support isn't as good. But if you're looking to build, I would wait to see how the AMD card stacks up against the nVidia cards available. If the RX480 is worth it, it'd be a heck of a card for a great price.

Their driver support has vastly improved recently. In addition, nVidia's has been getting worse lately. Just look at all the poeple with older cards that are having to roll back and use much older drivers or their cards barely work at all.

[Fascinate]

Usually i always tell people to just buy a PC when you need it, but the rx480 looks to be a stellar bargain and it makes sense to wait.

[Polarthief]

The 1080 seems like overkill for you though, so its probably not on your list.

I'm sure it is since I don't really care for most AAA games (EA and UbiSoft are two on my blacklist anyways), but I want the option to play everything for many years to come, just like I pushed this machine to its limits.

I also don't plan on doing Crossfire/SLI since I have no clue how to even do that. Like AMD, just another thing I've heard but have 0 practical knowledge on.

However, I am confused by your comment about the 2500K being way too slow. There have not been any major groundbreaking updates in CPU tech and the newest CPUs are not that much better than what you have. Most people with them are choosing to not upgrade and I know a few who have who were less than satisfied with the results. The 2500K is still a very capable CPU. If you have not OCed it, I would, get a new graphics card and call it a day. More than enough. If you want to have another PC set up for people to use, you could build a system with an i3 and use on-bard graphics for far cheaper than what you are planning.

I've honestly been repeating what friends have told me. "Your CPU is really old, you should replace it". I've heard this time and time again.

For the record, no, my CPU was not overclocked, though I never got any cooling for it past the stock fan it came with...