Bad timing....

[gsellis]

It will always be cheaper and faster. You just build it when you need it. No regrets, because you got to 'have to' instead of 'want to.' No regrets. I guess computers are like dating. If you wait for the one that is perfect for you, I know where you will be on Friday and Saturday night.

 

[Cardio]

I have a friend who always follows that plan. Waiting for the price drop or the next level of technology.
I talked to him this morning by smoke signal.

 

[imported_NoGodForMe]

The thing about waiting for the newest MB, is that the first version usually needs a bios update.
Take the A8V for example, came out with no AGP locks, and was re-released as Rev 2.
People trying the A8N say the bios needs an update, so I see the same thing happening with that board, it will probably come out as a Rev 2.
So if you buy the newest MB, you are beta testing. Some people don't mind this, as they swap out MBs and reformat their system in a snap. For others, you might kick yourself if a new version of your MB comes out a month later.

 

[Regs]

Originally posted by: BentValve
I disagree...there is always going to be that "Just wait a bit more" factor. Something better is ALWAYS just around the corner.

Buy when YOU are ready ..there is no bad time.

Yeah, but, what the hell is the point of buying a 280 SLI MOBO with one 6600gt? lol

 

[GTaudiophile]

I won't be building a new machine until I can buy an ATI R5XX graphics card.

 

[MadDog31]

Originally posted by: NoGodForMe
The thing about waiting for the newest MB, is that the first version usually needs a bios update.
Take the A8V for example, came out with no AGP locks, and was re-released as Rev 2.
People trying the A8N say the bios needs an update, so I see the same thing happening with that board, it will probably come out as a Rev 2.
So if you buy the newest MB, you are beta testing. Some people don't mind this, as they swap out MBs and reformat their system in a snap. For others, you might kick yourself if a new version of your MB comes out a month later.

I completely agree with this statement. I would MUCH rather buy a board that's pretty new, but not the newest of the new. I want something that's been thru the gauntlet of users, been tweaked and fixed both hardware-wise and software-wise. It's like buying a first generation car. I drive a (used) 2001 Lincoln LS. I could have saved a few thousand dollars by going w/ a 2000 (used) but figured for the extra few thousand, that's that many less problems I'll have with it. The 2000 was riddled with bugs, whereas the 2001 for me at least has been flawless. It's just the chance you take, but I'd rather take the better chance by going w/ the tried and tested board than deal with the bs first generation stuff.

Ian

 

[Dijital]

Originally posted by: BentValve
I disagree...there is always going to be that "Just wait a bit more" factor. Something better is ALWAYS just around the corner.

Buy when YOU are ready ..there is no bad time.

i agree. product cycles are 6 mos and there is no way to ever catch up and be top of the line. moore's law.

 

[ambihl]

Actually, I would agree with the OP. If you're not careful, the imminent advent of dual SLI, ddr2, pci-e, etc. you could easily accidently build a machine that would be hard to upgrade a year or two from now.

AMB

 

[SagaLore]

I'm just waiting for 128bit RAMBUS to come out. With PCI-Express x64

 

[Edward Lee]

Originally posted by: HardcoreRobot
its never a terrible time to buy
or, its always a terrible time to buy, depends on how you look at it

personally, i disagree with your advice

:thumbsup:

It's only bad when you buy and SLI with 6600GT's when you could have bought a 754 with a 6800GT instead.

 

[The Sauce]

Whenever a thread like this comes up there are always the nay-sayers who argue that there is never a good time to buy and that you will always be disappointed by something new coming out. Those people obviously have no insight into the trends that affect the computer industry. There are definitely good and bad times to buy and this is undoubtedly a BAD time - at least for AMD systems. With 939 and PCI-e in its infancy and a new generation of video cards just hitting the streets, DDR-2 a few months away from taking over and the new revision winchesters also right around the corner - you could not name a worse time to buy in recent history than right now....unless you are willing to settle for an already outdated budget system that has no upgrade path.

In a few short months, 939 systems will have matured, the new Rev. E winchesters will be more mature and better overclockers with refined fabrication processes, and the latest generation video cards will still be top-of-the-line and will have dropped a good 15%-20%. Plus the DDR-2 that you buy will be portable for future upgrades, as opposed to today's DDR which you will throw away in a year. There is a sweet spot coming... you just have to be patient and wait for it.

 

[Edward Lee]

Originally posted by: Snatchface
Whenever a thread like this comes up there are always the nay-sayers who argue that there is never a good time to buy and that you will always be disappointed by something new coming out. Those people obviously have no insight into the trends that affect the computer industry. There are definitely good and bad times to buy and this is undoubtedly a BAD time. With 939 and PCI-e in its infancy and a new generation of video cards just hitting the streets, DDR-2 a few months away from taking over and the new revision winchesters also right around the corner - you could not name a worse time to buy in recent history than right now....unless you are willing to settle for an already outdated budget system that has no upgrade path.

In a few short months, 939 systems will have matured, the new Rev. E winchesters will be more mature and better overclockers with refined fabrication processes, and the latest generation video cards will still be top-of-the-line and will have dropped a good 15%-20%. Plus the DDR-2 that you buy will be portable for future upgrades, as opposed to today's DDR. There is a sweet spot coming... you just have to patient and wait for it.

Most of us don't upgrade every 3 months. Current tech is good enough to keep for the next few years.
What is more perplexing is why anyone would settle for less right now instead of getting the best performance they can buy today only for the oportunity to be able to upgrade 1 or 2 components a few months down the road.

Why would anyone buy a 6600GT and SLI board today when they can buy a Sock 754 System and a 6800 GT. Even if you upgrade the SLI + 6600GT with an extra 6600GT a year down the road it still won't be as fast as the 6800GT system.

 

[The Sauce]

Originally posted by: Edward Lee

Originally posted by: Snatchface
Whenever a thread like this comes up there are always the nay-sayers who argue that there is never a good time to buy and that you will always be disappointed by something new coming out. Those people obviously have no insight into the trends that affect the computer industry. There are definitely good and bad times to buy and this is undoubtedly a BAD time. With 939 and PCI-e in its infancy and a new generation of video cards just hitting the streets, DDR-2 a few months away from taking over and the new revision winchesters also right around the corner - you could not name a worse time to buy in recent history than right now....unless you are willing to settle for an already outdated budget system that has no upgrade path.

In a few short months, 939 systems will have matured, the new Rev. E winchesters will be more mature and better overclockers with refined fabrication processes, and the latest generation video cards will still be top-of-the-line and will have dropped a good 15%-20%. Plus the DDR-2 that you buy will be portable for future upgrades, as opposed to today's DDR. There is a sweet spot coming... you just have to patient and wait for it.

Current tech is good enough to keep for the next few years.

Like I said - "...unless you are willing to settle for an already outdated budget system that has no upgrade path." That is what you are referring to.

You could buy a new system now that will be good for 1-2 years and then throw it away, or wait a few more months and have a system that you will be able to keep and upgrade for another year or two longer...for much less money. That is the difference

 

[Edward Lee]

Originally posted by: Snatchface

Current tech is good enough to keep for the next few years.

Like I said..."unless you are willing to settle for an already outdated budget system that has no upgrade path."
You could buy a new system now that will be good for 1-2 years, or wait a few more months and have a system that you will be able to keep and upgrade for another year or two longer...for much less money. That is the difference[/quote]

For an out of date system with no upgrade path the AMD 3200 socket 754 wth a 6800 GT AGP will still do a good job beating an SLI AMD 3200 socket 939 with 6600GT PCI-e. And continue to do so for 3 years even after you add another 6600GT card to the SLI board.

And what else do you have to upgrade? The CPU? Memory? Motherboard? Tech changes every day. By the time you're done waiting for the next technology you'll find out something else new is about to come out and have to wait for that too.

 

[imverygifted]

Originally posted by: BentValve
I disagree...there is always going to be that "Just wait a bit more" factor. Something better is ALWAYS just around the corner.

Buy when YOU are ready ..there is no bad time.

i disagree too, technology will never stop for you

 

[The Sauce]

Aah but in a few months my Rev. E Winchester will o/c an extra 300 mhz for less money and run cooler, my NF4 mobo will be more mature and stable, and cheaper, (and hence will have a longer usefuleness), my PCI-E video card will be $50 - $100 cheaper and usable on my next system as well (whereas you can throw awey your new AGP card then). You will be throwing away your $400 video card, upgrading your mobo, and buying new memory in a few years whereas I may be just tweaking a few components. Your 754 has no upgrade path...even if you just wanted to buy a new video card. That, my friend, is why you are throwing away money if you buy now.

 

[NiKeFiDO]

you know, if you guys say the same thing one more time, I think the thread creator just might understand. Lets keep it rolling!!!


(jk)
Cheers! :beer:

 

[The Sauce]

Originally posted by: NiKeFiDO
you know, if you guys say the same thing one more time, I think the thread creator just might understand. Lets keep it rolling!!!


(jk)
Cheers! :beer:

It's all about getting more and different opinions on things and then deciding for yourself. Your post, however, contributes nothing...as usual. Cheers! :beer:

 

[The Sauce]

Oh, btw, I am not arguing for buying an SLI system now...I think that's a really bad idea too. Compared to the latest SLI board(s) I would get the 754 too. I'm saying that it's just a better idea to wait.

 

[Edward Lee]

To be honest with you, you're right. But by following that logic now one will ever buy anything ever.. It's always going to be "in with the new and out with the old." It's a never ending cycle and when it's time to buy, no amount of waiting will change the fact that what you buy today or tommorrow will eventually get to be old and outdated.

 

[The Sauce]

I agree...eventually everything will be outdated. It's just a matter of how long before that happens. Buying at the right time could bag you an extra year or two and the opportunity to keep some of your expensive parts with your next upgrade cycle instead of having to replace everything. That is all.

For example, two years I bought a mature NF2 mobo, a mobile athlon 2400 ($72) that overclocked like mad, a 9800 Pro refurb for $250 and some good PC3200 ram (total ~ $500). It is still a VERY adequate system. Sure it's starting to show it's age but it plays everything out there. There would have been no point in waiting another few months at that point since nothing was changing in the next few months and all o f the technology was mature. However, if I had bought a few months sooner before the Mobile Athlons hit the streets I would have needed to upgrade my whole system already.

 

[m4ch0dude]

Originally posted by: Cardio
I have a friend who always follows that plan. Waiting for the price drop or the next level of technology.
I talked to him this morning by smoke signal.

lol, I see where this is going, but is that because he's still waiting for the next level of smoke signaling, or because you've spent all your money on the latest and greatest and cant afford to pay ur phone bill

I personally would rather wait like 6 months before buying the (what was then) best technology, because I also have a friend who spent $500 on a gf2 gts when that came out, $500 on a 9700 pro when that came out, and he wasn't too excited about it later.

 

[AntiNowhere Man]

I would have to agree with the people above. Things are always going to outdate. It is never a bad idea, however, to research the products and see when new things are coming out. I am planning on finally getting a 256 mb 256 bit video card to replace my oldschool gainward geforce 4...but I know the 512 cards are coming out soon and the 256 cards will drop in price. The best advice I can give is to buy the parts you need and to not go overboard. I don't need to best and fastest.

 

[beany323]

Originally posted by: Edward Lee

Originally posted by: Snatchface

Current tech is good enough to keep for the next few years.

Like I said..."unless you are willing to settle for an already outdated budget system that has no upgrade path."
You could buy a new system now that will be good for 1-2 years, or wait a few more months and have a system that you will be able to keep and upgrade for another year or two longer...for much less money. That is the difference

For an out of date system with no upgrade path the AMD 3200 socket 754 wth a 6800 GT AGP will still do a good job beating an SLI AMD 3200 socket 939 with 6600GT PCI-e. And continue to do so for 3 years even after you add another 6600GT card to the SLI board.


And what else do you have to upgrade? The CPU? Memory? Motherboard? Tech changes every day. By the time you're done waiting for the next technology you'll find out something else new is about to come out and have to wait for that too.
[/quote]


i have a question: now change that config to a 6800Ultra x 2 ie does a AMD 3200/754 with a 6800gt AG beat a AMD 3200/939 with a 6800/gt/U, or 2x?

thanks

 

[Edward Lee]

Originally posted by: beany323

i have a question: now change that config to a 6800Ultra x 2 ie does a AMD 3200/754 with a 6800gt AG beat a AMD 3200/939 with a 6800/gt/U, or 2x?

thanks

The comparison I made was for the same amount of money spent. Now if you're talking about spending $600.00 more on 2 6800 GT/U then you're right. You'll get better performance if you spend more money. So what's your point?

Thanks


Here's a comparison: (prices from Zipzoomfly.com)
AMD 3200 S754 $188.90
Socket 754 MB $90.00
6800GT AGP $370.00
Total: $648.90

AMD 3200 S939 $216.00
SLI MB $190.00
6600 GT PCI-e $220.00
Total: $626.00


AMD 3200 S939 $216.00
SLI MB $190.00
2 x 6800 GT PCI-e $800.00
Total: $1206.00

Edited