New PC build. Now or hold on for DDR5

[AllanDC]

Hello All,

I was looking to build a good PC but I think I’m looking at the wrong time.
With the possibility of DDR5 coming out and all the sockets changing soon. Should I hold on?

I know it’s an age old question but the last PC I build was 2014 and it lasted well. I just don’t want to buy/build a new setup to find out it’s all out of date in a few months with no viable upgrade path.

Your thoughts/comments would be appreciated.

 

[Journey]

What have you got now, what do you use it for, and is it preventing you from doing something without changing it?

 

[Meatysy]

I think it depends on how keen you are right now and how long you are willing to wait. DDR5 might be a nightmare of bugs and crashes at launch but another 6 months after it might be great. But then you will only be a few months until the next batch comes out. It's a never ending cycle.

 

[Ragnarok88]

With how hard it is to get hold of components at the moment, it may be worth holding on a little longer.

 

[Meatysy]

With how hard it is to get hold of components at the moment, it may be worth holding on a little longer.

That too. You either have to be happy paying over the odds or waiting it out. Everything I keep hearing means it could be a long slog though. Hopefully price will start to normalise in the comming months as stock settles a bit. 3070's are rare but there seem to be plenty 6700 XT's around.

 

[AllanDC]

What have you got now, what do you use it for, and is it preventing you from doing something without changing it?

I have a 4790k and just managed to get a loan of an RX480 GPU, 16gb memory.

Gaming mostly not multiplayer l’m getting on a bit and can’t keep up how fast these guys are. You can definitely tell the GPU is getting on a bit. I would just replace the GPU if I could get one at a good price but you know what’s going on.

I think it’s just a bit of frustration with timing. Finally have some cash and the market is all over the place

I was just looking for possibly the thoughts of others to make sure I don’t pull the trigger at the wrong time.

 

[AllanDC]

With how hard it is to get hold of components at the moment, it may be worth holding on a little longer.

That’s what the sensible me is thinking but the child in me says now now now

 

[Meatysy]

That’s what the sensible me is thinking but the child in me says now now now

It is this voice in my head that is currently telling me to go for a 6700 xt but they are so expensive compared to what they 'should' be.

 

[Tetras]

Hello All,

I was looking to build a good PC but I think I’m looking at the wrong time.
With the possibility of DDR5 coming out and all the sockets changing soon. Should I hold on?

I know it’s an age old question but the last PC I build was 2014 and it lasted well. I just don’t want to buy/build a new setup to find out it’s all out of date in a few months with no viable upgrade path.

Your thoughts/comments would be appreciated.

The end of 2022 is looking like the best time, but there will be some new stuff out by Black Friday, so if you can't wait that long, I'd consider waiting until then.

 

[Journey]

I have a 4790k and just managed to get a loan of an RX480 GPU, 16gb memory.

Gaming mostly not multiplayer l’m getting on a bit and can’t keep up how fast these guys are. You can definitely tell the GPU is getting on a bit. I would just replace the GPU if I could get one at a good price but you know what’s going on.

I think it’s just a bit of frustration with timing. Finally have some cash and the market is all over the place

I was just looking for possibly the thoughts of others to make sure I don’t pull the trigger at the wrong time.

Save your cash, wait for the market to settle down, there is very little improvement to be seen whilst using an RX480 for gaming coming from a 4790K with 16GB RAM, regardless of the resolution. There may be one or two outliers that would benefit from 6c/12t CPU, but it's hard to recommend spending your hard earned cash on a maybe.

If you happen to secure a new GPU at MSRP prices, then you should do just that first, and should concentrate your efforts looking, but don't over pay!

As said above H2 '22 is going to be all change please, so if you can't get a GPU before then you'll have at least had the chance to save some more cash up.

A few suggestions for sure you are getting the most from your current hardware though, assuming you are running an SSD, if not get one. Nice clean install of Windows 10 if you are running a OS that is the same age as your machine it could be impacting it significantly. Make sure everything is running cool, take it apart if necessary, clean it all thoroughly, re-paste the CPU, and unblock all those fans and heatsinks if they are dusty! You can also look at an undervolt/overclock on the RX480 for a bit more FPS plenty of guides online how to do that as well.

 

[AllanDC]

I think it depends on how keen you are right now and how long you are willing to wait. DDR5 might be a nightmare of bugs and crashes at launch but another 6 months after it might be great. But then you will only be a few months until the next batch comes out. It's a never ending cycle.

I agree if you were to always wait for the next thing you would never have anything but I am trying to be sensible and no look back and think “why did I not just wait a bit longer”

 

[AllanDC]

Save your cash, wait for the market to settle down, there is very little improvement to be seen whilst using an RX480 for gaming coming from a 4790K with 16GB RAM, regardless of the resolution. There may be one or two outliers that would benefit from 6c/12t CPU, but it's hard to recommend spending your hard earned cash on a maybe.

If you happen to secure a new GPU at MSRP prices, then you should do just that first, and should concentrate your efforts looking, but don't over pay!

As said above H2 '22 is going to be all change please, so if you can't get a GPU before then you'll have at least had the chance to save some more cash up.

A few suggestions for sure you are getting the most from your current hardware though, assuming you are running an SSD, if not get one. Nice clean install of Windows 10 if you are running a OS that is the same age as your machine it could be impacting it significantly. Make sure everything is running cool, take it apart if necessary, clean it all thoroughly, re-paste the CPU, and unblock all those fans and heatsinks if they are dusty! You can also look at an undervolt/overclock on the RX480 for a bit more FPS plenty of guides online how to do that as well.

lots of good advice thank you.

1. I do make sure the PC is dust free and clean.
2. New thermal paste and clean install of windows. I will do this as windows has been on it for years without a clean install.
3. I do have an SSD.

I really appreciate the time you all have taken to help.

 

[AllanDC]

The end of 2022 is looking like the best time, but there will be some new stuff out by Black Friday, so if you can't wait that long, I'd consider waiting until then.

The end of 2022 OMG

I think the sensible thing to do is give it till December and see how things are while still trying to get a GPU for a sensible price.

 

[AllanDC]

It is this voice in my head that is currently telling me to go for a 6700 xt but they are so expensive compared to what they 'should' be.

I agree 6700xt’s are so expensive and not worth the price people are charging.

I’m going to do the grown up thing and just wait. (How boring)….

 

[flea.rider]

waiting myself .. can't see me upgrading till next yr still on my 1700 and vega 64 .. then it will be my last upgrade at 55yrs i'm starting to see how slow i'm getting in shooters .. reflexes just aren't what they were

 

[Meatysy]

I agree 6700xt’s are so expensive and not worth the price people are charging.

I’m going to do the grown up thing and just wait. (How boring)….

I really should too. My old laptop is running Apex at low settings and 35fps so it is still technically managing. When it really dies I will have to bite the bullet and pay the ludicrous prices.

 

[liamstears]

You could easily build a top notch pc now that would last year's the only problem with the current market is GPU's but if you can grab one at retail your golden

Who knows how long we may be waiting for DDR5 and newer sockets etc and to be fair the first iterations are never perfect and normally have bugs so it's worth waiting a bit anyway

If it were me I would build now (as I started my build only a month or 2 ago )

 

[SypherSage]

if you need a PC right now, I don't think you would regret getting a computer now: since people are still using end of life ddr3 systems it will still be somewhat relevant later. But if you are able to wait, the performance difference in the next generation chips as well as the reported speeds of ddr5 is a supposed insane gap and would definitely be worth the wait, then again this also depends on what resolution you're running at: if 1080p or 1440p high fps then a newer platform would be a big upgrade while Ultrawide and above, it shouldn't matter as you're basically GPU bound at these resolutions.

 

[arcanoth]

While ddr5 is rumoured to be a big upgrade over ddr4, the current performance of ddr4 is perfectly up to the task for any modern game. I don't think the upgrade of ddr5 would benefit you for gaming alone, so I would say that shouldn't be the reason for you to delay your purchase.

The fairly obvious thing that might make you hold off would primarily be the current state of GPU pricing and availability, but that's another matter entirely which probably needs no further discussion at this stage.

 

[AllanDC]

if you need a PC right now, I don't think you would regret getting a computer now: since people are still using end of life ddr3 systems it will still be somewhat relevant later. But if you are able to wait, the performance difference in the next generation chips as well as the reported speeds of ddr5 is a supposed insane gap and would definitely be worth the wait, then again this also depends on what resolution you're running at: if 1080p or 1440p high fps then a newer platform would be a big upgrade while Ultrawide and above, it shouldn't matter as you're basically GPU bound at these resolutions.

I got a bit excited a while ago and got an ultrawide 1440x3440 and what your saying is supported by the stats on the system now. GPU running at 100% and none of the cores really reach 50%.
thanks