Why not to buy a top of the line gaming pc.

[Ichigopwnsyou]

Its actually quite simple...you are paying almost completely for the research and development of the components, rather than the components them self.

Lets make an example, You have $2000 budget every 3 years for PC.

With that amount you can purchase,
1 top of the line machine every three years
OR
1 med/high end machines every 1.5 years.

The difference in playability from a high end to mid/high end machine is next to zero. However, as you use computer components they tend to wear out, and over time slow down and even go bad. So, even though you lose out on some speed on the first 1.5 years, at the start of the second year the new computer will blow the old top of the line model away.


The only reason to ever buy a top of the line machine is if you have no budget issues.
And if that is the case. Stop being greedy, and give some money to charity instead.

So the moral of the story is, there is never a reason to buy top of the line gaming computers.

[Soisoisoi]

Or you could just not buy a new PC and just upgrade it gradually? :3

[Drunkenvalley]

And? Unless maintained steadily with bumps, this thread becomes obsolete in about an hour, when its' position on the page makes it widely ignored by any newcomers who didn't already know this.

Sorry man.

[Ichigopwnsyou]

touché treelife

And? Unless maintained steadily with bumps, this thread becomes obsolete in about an hour, when its' position on the page makes it widely ignored by any newcomers who didn't already know this.

Sorry man.

Threads live and threads die, just like everyone and everything else.

Not sure what that has to do wit bad puter purchasing though.

[Xuvial]

My instincts tell me that OP is attempting to troll us all, so I'm going to stay wary.

The difference in playability from a high end to mid/high end machine is next to zero.

Is this just your opinion or a proven fact that you can back up with evidence?

Now GTFO to an automotive-based forum and tell everyone there why they should never buy anything more than an engine on 4 wheels because the difference in performance between an average and a top-end car is "next to zero".

[redruMPanda]

Umm no. You should not buy one already built that I will agree with. Buy all the components you want for your gaming rig and build it yourself like I did. Best investment ever.

[Ichigopwnsyou]

Is this just your opinion or a proven fact that you can back up with evidence?

Now GTFO to an automotive-based forum and tell everyone there why they should never buy anything more than an engine on 4 wheels because the difference in performance between an average and a top-end car is "next to zero".

Bad analogy is bad....

Heck look at an i5 v/s i7, literally 0 difference for gaming.
All the other components are the same...small upgrades costs a fortune.
And yes, its a proven fact. Also common sense.

---------- Post added 2011-09-13 at 11:48 PM ----------

Umm no. You should not buy one already built that I will agree with. Buy all the components you want for your gaming rig and build it yourself like I did. Best investment ever.

I was actually talking about the components, not an already built machine.
But, it would be the same over expenditure.

And of course, as you said, never buy a built machine.
It is or almost always is better to build it.

[Xuvial]

Bad analogy is bad....

Why is it bad? Atleast try to throw around some discussion instead of sounding clueless...

Heck look at an i5 v/s i7, literally 0 difference for gaming.
All the other components are the same...small upgrades costs a fortune.
And yes, its a proven fact. Also common sense.

And what if I'm running heavy multi-threaded applications instead of purely gaming? What will you reply then?

Thanks for providing the proof I asked for.

Troll-o-meter is giving off alarms.

Mod Warning: Don't call other people trolls.

[Ichigopwnsyou]

And what if I'm running hyperthreading-based applications instead of purely gaming? What will you reply then?

Thanks for providing the proof I asked for.

Troll-o-meter is giving off alarms.

Still the difference is negligible....and as I said, of course you are going to lose out slightly at the start.
But, 1.5 years later, you will be able to buy an i9 or something.

[vesseblah]

So, even though you lose out on some speed on the first 1.5 years, at the start of the second year the new computer will blow the old top of the line model away.

Nvidia GTX480 was top of the line GPU when it was released almost exactly 18 months ago, and it's still the second-fastest GPU available in the stores. I don't see it being blown away anywhere.

So the moral of the story is, there is never a reason to buy top of the line gaming computers.

Top of the line hardware loses their value fastest, but it also retains some form of usability the longest. Like in the case of the GTX480.

Moral of the story is that things are not always so black and white as you might think from first look.

[Xuvial]

Still the difference is negligible...

How do you define your opinion of "negligible"? Why was hyperthreading even invented?
You are getting boring quickly, please put more work in your posts.

[Uggorthaholy]

Still the difference is negligible....and as I said, of course you are going to lose out slightly at the start.
But, 1.5 years later, you will be able to buy an i9 or something.

lose out slightly? You do know just how badly the i7 CRUSHES the i5 in heavy multi-threading, especially video rendering, right?

Oh wait, obviously you don't. This thread does not serve a correct purpose. The true gamer knows you invest about $1,500.00 every 2 years, and on in between years you invest about 400-500 if you want to have a smooth sailing time.

[Ichigopwnsyou]

How do you define your opinion of "negligible"? Why was hyperthreading even invented?
You are getting boring quickly, please put more work in your posts.

Because it is good at running applications, not games.
Might want to check the title.

Ohh I see the problem.....I just noticed your sig.
One of those kiddies with more money than brains, and you dont like facts.

lose out slightly? You do know just how badly the i7 CRUSHES the i5 in heavy multi-threading, especially video rendering, right?

Oh wait, obviously you don't. This thread does not serve a correct purpose. The true gamer knows you invest about $1,500.00 every 2 years, and on in between years you invest about 400-500 if you want to have a smooth sailing time.

crush my ass....
And again, title.
Ohh...and thats ignoring the upgrade issues I was talking about.

[Ihsatakar]

I upgraded to my current computer towards the end of 2009. I spent $900 dollars on this and it runs everything i've tried up to today on max or very near-max graphics. Before this, I was using a Gateway purchased at walmart in 2002 for the same price. Upgrading every 3 years is overkill on the upgrades.

"up to date" and "fully functional" are have entirely different meanings.

[vesseblah]

You do know just how badly the i7 CRUSHES the i5 in heavy multi-threading, especially video rendering, right?

Not really crush. The difference is about 10-25% varying from program to program. HT does not scale well in most real world multithreaded applications.

[Le DoubleKick]

I'm sorry but a pc is highly outdated in 3 years, two would be max.

[Frolk]

I buy a new high-end pc each 3-4 year(And sell old one to buddies that arnt as picky as I am), but i also upgrade GPU, CPU, power supply if/when needed

[Uggorthaholy]

Not really crush. The difference is about 10-25% varying from program to program. HT does not scale well in most real world multithreaded applications.

a 25% increase in efficiency isn't crushing it? then what is? doubling it?

Sorry, I'm just getting out of this thread at this point.

[Drunkenvalley]

OH! I thought he was talking about laptops. I didn't even think more about it.

Reading the post more proper-like... It's... meh, just a reverse-snob. "I have left-over money? CHARITY DAMMIT." Charity is nice, but extremely inefficient, and most of the time the money are spent in ways that are best described as harmful to those it's intended to reach.

Charity in general tends to fund 3rd world nations' corrupt leaders, and the last thing those fuckers need is more money. What money gets through is extremely limited in efficiency, as it's based on voluntary work, which has again shown itself to be bordering on counter-productive and an absolute waste of money.

Sending volunteers to help build homes, etc? You don't get engineers and smart people. You get average-Joe. He doesn't know how to put together a house dammit. Somehow accomplished putting together a decent school? Teachers are being rotated so frequently that it ends just being constant repetition, which severely limits the ability to learn.

[allakaboom]

I never EVER buy a whole new rig. I only buy separate parts, new graphics card once every 1.5 years, CPU every 2 years and all the other parts when they are pretty outdated.