Correct time for upgrade

[jbs_224]

I've been draggin my feet on upgrading my PC, because it feels like if I wait a few more months, then I'll get better components for lower price. I have a friend who says that prices are likely to go up in the future, so its better to build as soon as possible.

So, how do you determine what is the correct time to upgrade? Can you determine somehow if prices are likely to go up or down in the future?

 

[emosun]

23 minutes ago, jbs_224 said:

how do you determine what is the correct time to upgrade?

when the machine is no longer capable of doing the task you need it to do at the quality/speed you want it to do it in , along with having the funds to do an upgrade. That's when you upgrade.

as far as global turmoil resulting in pc parts suddenly being thrown into chaos , yeah i'd upgrade now before that happens.

[MiszS]

I'd at least wait until the 9070xt launhes if it's in your price range

[leclod]

The correct time is also the time when your upgrade will make a significant difference in performance

Edited February 7 by leclod

[okkee]

1 hour ago, jbs_224 said:

how do you determine what is the correct time to upgrade?

When it no longer meets your targets. Like, if you're targeting 60fps/high@1440p in gaming and it constantly fails at that, then it might be time to look at improving some of the parts. 

Another factor is budgeting. "Can I afford to upgrade rn (right now) and for how much?" is another question to be certain about.

1 hour ago, jbs_224 said:

Can you determine somehow if prices are likely to go up or down in the future

Speculation is a dangerous game and should not factor into your decision to upgrade but general price trends are an ok indicator. And usually, the release of newer products leads to price reductions in older models.

Again, none of this is really guaranteed and you should make all your decisions with current pricing in mind.

[jbs_224]

40 minutes ago, okkee said:

When it no longer meets your targets. Like, if you're targeting 60fps/high@1440p in gaming and it constantly fails at that, then it might be time to look at improving some of the parts. 

Another factor is budgeting. "Can I afford to upgrade rn (right now) and for how much?" is another question to be certain about.

Speculation is a dangerous game and should not factor into your decision to upgrade but general price trends are an ok indicator. And usually, the release of newer products leads to price reductions in older models.

Again, none of this is really guaranteed and you should make all your decisions with current pricing in mind.

 

1 hour ago, emosun said:

when the machine is no longer capable of doing the task you need it to do at the quality/speed you want it to do it in , along with having the funds to do an upgrade. That's when you upgrade.

as far as global turmoil resulting in pc parts suddenly being thrown into chaos , yeah i'd upgrade now before that happens.

 

1 hour ago, MiszS said:

I'd at least wait until the 9070xt launhes if it's in your price range

Will the Nvidia 40 series GPU and the AMD 7000/9000 series go down in the near future? I'm not good at interpreting trends, but it seems like they might. These are the two components I'm waiting on.

[MiszS]

1 minute ago, jbs_224 said:

Will the Nvidia 40 series GPU and the AMD 7000/9000 series go down in the near future? I'm not good at interpreting trends, but it seems like they might. These are the two components I'm waiting on.

What do you mean by "go down"? If you mean stopping production, then the 40 series already stopped production, only the 4060 still is. From AMD the 7900GRE has stopped production, but the rest is still available. I personally would buy a used 40 series card if I were to build a PC right now, but not before the 9070XT announces

[ChrisLoudon]

2 hours ago, jbs_224 said:

So, how do you determine what is the correct time to upgrade? Can you determine somehow if prices are likely to go up or down in the future?

As others have said, its really down to you and your own use cases. When it no longer does what you want / need it to do then its time.

 

What are the specs of the system you are currently running? CPU, Mobo, Ram, GPU, PSU and HDD?

 

While I tend to upgrade my PC for too frequently, I do have other PCs that I eek out for years and years and do me just fine for what I need out of them.

 

As far as prices go, I think 'upwards' is norm for most items especially GPUs and that's even reflected in the used markets.