Well personally, I have been waiting too long for a new computer and I have planned out my budget, done tons of research, and come up with an awesome and affordable system. For me its too late to go back, but for those of you who are able to wait at least a year and a half could get more bang for your buck later.
First off, I have read about as much as I can about DDR2, and how much of a threat it will be if I were to build a new system now. Unfortunately for me, moronic RAM manufacturers are trying to get all the money they can out of the current DDR1 technology and that is hitting my wallet hard thusfar. DDR2 is actually *NOT* worth the wait. You might have heard that it will be faster with lower latencies and lower power consumption. What you might have lost in all the jargon is that these chips have to be clocked a lot faster to compensate for these voltage reductions just to compete with current DDR1 chips. Eventually DDR2 *WILL* overtake DDR1 but not anytime in the near future. All the graphs they have thrown at you seem to not even consider the fact that consumers will not to see how well the chips perform, not just the fact that it's new technology. Perhpas 8% of computer buyers fall in this group but not the majority, so well since that has been neglected everything is just a guess at this point. Sometimes you have to take risks in life and well, all these guesses are merely that, guesses.
In the recent past we have seen fluctuations in the computer market that no one foresaw, so what makes DDR2 and PCIe any different? I mean I have heard numerous times "I should have bough RAM last year because it's just so expensive!" Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet not to mention that everyone is looking at the DAY that these innovations come out. I agree with Bar81, by the time you are looking to get a socket 939 board you will need a new processor anyway. What is the point of an outdated chip on a new board? Doesn't sound like that techie optimization, "a computer is only as fast as it's slowest part" mentality that affects almost all of us computer enthusiasts. We are all about performance AND affordability. Even those who have money to burn are still looking to get bang for their buck, it's not just the end product, it's the thrill of the chase. So for those of you who kinda doze off reading that last section, what I am trying to say is when these new technologies first appear they will not be affordable until about another 6 months later; at which time new product will already be out. If you always wait for the new stuff to become affordable, it won't be new anymore...THAT'S WHAT MAKES IT AFFORDABLE.
Finally, about the whole PCIe issue. Well like all of you it's one of those things that are pretty sound. Just analyzing the theory one can understand the advantages of PCIe and how it should revolutionize the computer component interconnectivity architectural design (boy that was a mouthful). Also PCIe will be coming out at various speed and well you always need components that will fit in these special slots. Not to mention that there are still numerous bottlnecks in teh system to slow it down, one new innovation isn't going to make the whole process run as fast as is anticipated in these entusiast articles. At the end of the day you always have to understand that there are several parts that will slow down your computer, not to mention that certain chipsets are better at some things rather than others. So what do we learn from all this, well now our benchmarks are skewed, and how do we get around this? The answer is simple, WE DON'T. Sometimes we have to accept our limitations, and as stated before "live dangerously" (perhaps not the appropriate clause but it makes it sound a lot more adventurous doesn't it?)
At one point you have to bite the bullet and make a purchase and if you keep waiting you won't get a new system perhaps, ever. I understand that we all want to get the most for our money, but currently now is a little more awkward. We are used to little performance increases here and there, but we are at a point where the whole industry is being revolutionized. From new processors to next generation video cards and interconnectivity schemes, almost everything is changing. Sure you can wait if you want (and if you can afford it, I personally NEED a computer) but at the end of the day that decision is up to you, and waiting is not necessarily going to give you a better bang for your buck because you will want the new stuff. We have to face it if you are buying like me, now, you cannot look to the future to be upgrading. Too many things are changing, processors, sockets, chipsets, graphics cards, RAM architecture, PCI architecture, etc.
In conclusion, at one point or another you will want to make a purchase and you can only assume so much. Sure, you can expect prices to fall, but if they don't then it will cost you more, or you won't be able to make the purchase until later. Conversely, you could luck out and prices could drop in your favour, it's a gamble and it depends on when you NEED it or WANT it most because let's face it, not all of us are buying because we NEED perhaps moreso the latter. The point of this post (perhaps better termed, "rant," "article," "lecture," or "essay" at this point) is just to give current prospective buyers another view that, as far as I see, has not been introduced until now from both Bar81 and myself. Also it is geared toward those who have just made a purchase and are regretting it because of everything they have read in tech articles, and enthusiast forums like this one.
I enjoyed writing this, it helped me get a lot of my own anxiety out, so it is not competely in vain, and I hope that it can do the same for some of you.
Cheers. Good luck with your future purchases.