Bad time to buy?

Durzel

Durzel

Durzel

Soldato
Joined
10 Oct 2003
Posts
5,518
Location
Wiltshire
I realise this is a bit of an open-ended question really, so apologies for that.

Since my Raptor RAID array died over the weekend meaning I would have to reinstall Windows I've been debating about upgrading my 4 year old PC (specs in sig).

It runs everything I throw at it very competently but I've been wanting to get rid of the Vapochill for some time mainly because it seems possible nowadays to get 4Ghz+ out of i7 and other chips without such extreme cooling, and my Vapo is noticeably loud. Back when I bought it Core2Duos had just come out (I've actually got an ES CPU in mine which I got 2 months before they were released) and no one was really able to get significant speeds out of them without extreme cooling.

Anyway, I've been looking at the bundles on the OCUK website, particularly the 4Ghz one and have been thinking it's perhaps not a bad idea to upgrade the whole PC at the same time as buying new HDDs/SSD to replace my knackered one.

Problem is - I'm well out of the loop in terms of whats current. I've tried doing some reading up but being at work it's not that easy to do.

I guess what I'm asking is whether or not now is a good time to buy, or whether there are significant price cuts or whether X58, i7 920 D0s etc are likely to be superceded very soon?

Would appreciate any guidance anyone can give. :)

EDIT: Incidentally I should probably point out that I don't think my CPU will do 4.3Ghz anymore, certainly not during the summer anyway at voltages I'm comfortable with. I've been running it at 4Ghz for the past year or so.

Also, this is list of components I've been hovering over (if it matters):
ocuk_newpc.png

(nice round price :D)
 
Last edited:
Intel are just about to release chipset P55 w/ socket 1156 and the new i5/i7 chips - which supercede the mainstream core 2 chips.
ATI are just about to release the 5xxx series of graphics cards.
Windows 7 is out in a couple of months.

I'd hold off if I were you, maybe just get a cheapish hard drive as a stopgap measure if you need it.
 
Thanks.

The ATI card aspect is incidental I guess, I already have an 4870X2 which I would be transferring to the new PC, if I got one. Likewise regardless of what I do I would be installing Windows 7 now anyway.

Also isn't it a valid argument that buying into new tech very early on is not a good idea either? (i.e. you end up dealing with all the early errata, early boards, etc)
 
Last edited:
sldsmkd said:
Intel are just about to release chipset P55 w/ socket 1156 and the new i5/i7 chips - which supercede the mainstream core 2 chips.
ATI are just about to release the 5xxx series of graphics cards.
Windows 7 is out in a couple of months.

I'd hold off if I were you, maybe just get a cheapish hard drive as a stopgap measure if you need it.
Click to expand...

Second that, at the moment I would definitely wait till Windows7 launches and see what P55 system is like.
 
From some very quick reading it sounds as if P55 is a step backwards performance wise? Only 1 16x PCI-E slot, dual instead of triple channel memory.....

It does sound like it'll be cheaper (as will i5 CPUs) but cost isn't the motivating factor for me. I game regularly at high resolutions, and would most likely be considering going to 5870X2 shortly after it becomes available, etc.
 
I don't think we're really at the point of saturating 2*8.0 PCIE connections let alone 2*16.0 :) I7 1356 is probably the faster overall platform, but I7 1156 is going to give you more upgrade options at reasonable prices (for instance early next year you get the lower TDP chips - which I bet will overclock like monsters), there won't ever be a slot in upgrade for the 920 as the platform migrates to highend workstation server usage w/ £500+ CPU's.

It's your call, you'll be happy with either I think - just the release is so close now you may as well play the wait and see game :)
 
Hmm, true. I guess I might as well just get a couple of 150GB Velociraptors, know they'll work in my current system without issue, and then look towards the big upgrade+SSD later in the year.

Thanks a lot.
 
Too late, just bought 2 150GB VRaptors... I'm too used to RAID0 pleasures to go back to anything slower. :)

SSD was an option on the table but I really wanted to order something today and I'm already sick of all the decent ones being pre-order only. Also, I'm not sure my ICH7R controller would handle them particularly well.
 
Personally id wait another few months if you can and see what happens with the release of the new hardware.

I cant see prices going up much so i doubt you will loose out by waiting.

The gfx especially, with the new ati cards out soon it would be wise to hold on and see how they compare.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom