Buy now or wait?

[xedative]

With vaccinations rolling out all over the world and a possible improvement within sight, is right now the right time to buy PCs, or would it be smarter to wait for the second half of 2021? Some people and articles push headlines such as WHY YOU SHOULDN'T BUY A PC IN 2021 while others recommend builds and parts normally, seeing the prices as something to put up with.

Screenshot from this article.

 

[SpyderTracks]

With vaccinations rolling out all over the world and a possible improvement within sight, is right now the right time to buy PCs, or would it be smarter to wait for the second half of 2021? Some people and articles push headlines such as WHY YOU SHOULDN'T BUY A PC IN 2021 while others recommend builds and parts normally, seeing the prices as something to put up with.

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Screenshot from this article.

If you're coming from having to have it now, then there's no real choice, all other implications aren't as valid.

If you have the option to wait then without a doubt I would personally wait.

Cost of builds are just through the roof for the last 9 months certainly and there's no letting up on that likely until next year at the earliest.

HOPEFULLY all the worst factors are out of the way and no more hurdles will show themselves aside from Covid difficulties.

 

[NoddyPirate]

COVID lockdowns have certainly driven much of this I would have thought and it will be really interesting to see what happens over the rest of this year. Any surge in demand is likely to be followed by a lull and I wouldn't be surprised to see demand reduce to levels lower than before this all began. The likelihood of getting more bang for your buck would seem to be significantly improved in 6-9 months or more.

The cryptocurrency boom has played a huge role too. When it comes to BTC at least, the usual cycle of prices after halvings would suggest a big correction is likely over the next few months. The other coins will likely follow suit. And that would add to the potential value that might be found if the supply and demand relationship is significantly altered.

 

[xedative]

If you're coming from having to have it now, then there's no real choice, all other implications aren't as valid.

If you have the option to wait then without a doubt I would personally wait.

I'm in this silly situation where the GPU of my already ancient build* died a few months ago. While I've been able to just barely do work with integrated graphics, games are currently completely ruled out, but I don't know if buying some old GTX 760 or 960 is worth it. The build is so old that upgrading one part means upgrading everything else, which is how I ended up with PCSpecialist in the first place.

*Specs:
Intel Core i5-3550 3.30GHz quad core
MSI B75MA-E33 motherboard
8GB DDR3 RAM
Nvidia GTX 680

 

[xedative]

When it comes to BTC at least, the usual cycle of prices after halvings would suggest a big correction is likely over the next few months. The other coins will likely follow suit.

The last halving happened over a year ago and the next is due in almost three years. Are you saying the last halving will 'ripple' this far?

 

[SpyderTracks]

I'm in this silly situation where the GPU of my already ancient build* died a few months ago. While I've been able to just barely do work with integrated graphics, games are currently completely ruled out, but I don't know if buying some old GTX 760 or 960 is worth it. The build is so old that upgrading one part means upgrading everything else, which is how I ended up with PCSpecialist in the first place.

*Specs:
Intel Core i5-3550 3.30GHz quad core
MSI B75MA-E33 motherboard
8GB DDR3 RAM
Nvidia GTX 680

Yeah, it's a tough one... even second hand older generation GPU's are crazy expensive right now, it's just madness.

If I were in that place, I would probably just take the hit and order a complete new build.

The other option is to source a second hand temporary GPU, but you'll pay crazy prices. Someone just posted that their 1080ti which is now 5 years old is selling for around £750 on ebay.... That's £50 under the price it was BRAND NEW 5 YEARS AGO!

So IMHO, it's more worth it to get scalped on a new graphics card rather than an old one.

But I'd hate to be without a properly working system, man, must be driving you nuts!

 

[NoddyPirate]

The last halving happened over a year ago and the next is due in almost three years. Are you saying the last halving will 'ripple' this far?

One of the enticing features of BTC has been it's quite predictable price path - so far it has yet to break that trend since it's inception. So yes the last halving is having a very predicatble impact thus far it would seem! This was the only chart I could find quickly - but you'll get the gist at least - latest prices around 50k USD.

 

[xedative]

The other option is to source a second hand temporary GPU, but you'll pay crazy prices. Someone just posted that their 1080ti which is now 5 years old is selling for around £750 on ebay.... That's £50 under the price it was BRAND NEW 5 YEARS AGO!

So IMHO, it's more worth it to get scalped on a new graphics card rather than an old one.

The 760, which had a launch price of $249, is now going for almost $300 on Amazon. The only one I could find, that is.
It's even worse for the 960—it had a launch price of $199 and it's going on Amazon for over $400.

But I'd hate to be without a properly working system, man, must be driving you nuts!

Integrated graphics are fortunately just enough to cover work stuff (I'm a photographer and have to edit my photos). Sometimes it takes a little patience and prayer when it's slow, but as Estonians say: he who doesn't work won't eat.

One of the enticing features of BTC has been it's quite predictable price path - so far it has yet to break that trend since it's inception. So yes the last halving is having a very predicatble impact thus far it would seem! This was the only chart I could find quickly - but you'll get the gist at least:

I did not know this. Consider the gist gotten!

 

[SpyderTracks]

Integrated graphics are fortunately just enough to cover work stuff (I'm a photographer and have to edit my photos). Sometimes it takes a little patience and prayer when it's slow, but as Estonians say: he who doesn't work won't eat.

The other option is take the hit on a decent RTX 3000 card on its own, you can find places with stocks and there are tools to help you find when stocks drop, or some companies still allowing pre orders.

Then order the rest of the system when things have settled down a bit.