Wait until skylake, or don't?

[davidarad02]

I want to build a new gaming PC sometime in June, and I have a dilemma. I've been waiting to build this computer since about December of 2014, because I could get discounted prices in June (I don't live in the US, and I'm going on vacation to where I don't have to pay tax). I knew that until June new products will launch, and around February rumours of the AMD 300 series GPU's and the Intel Broadwell Line, and those said that they will launch at around Computex in June, and I thought to myself "YAY" because it was the perfect time, but then some concerns started popping up, those being Skylake.

Currently my parts like contains a 4690k and a GTX 970, which will probably be replaced with a r9 380 or 380x, if they're worth it, but in terms of the CPU, I was starting to worry (and still am) about Skylake, and the fact that I would not be able to upgrade to it, because of the new motherboard and RAM requirements.

 

So now I don't know what to do. waiting until Q4 2015/Q1 2016 is a long time, but I'm eager to just get the new PC, and upgradability is an important thing for me. 

So what should I do? Get the i5 5675C when it launches, or wait until Skylake drops?

Another option that I hear people are talking about, is getting a deal on a (then) older Haswell based CPU. should I consider doing that, or is Broadwell worth getting if I decide to skip Skylake?

[yourdietsucks]

still no info on skylake. so if you want to wait you can wait. You will most likely see the usual 10% increase across the board from haswell to skylake.

[LancerBG]

I use to wait for performance results but its been pretty stagnant so now I just wait to see what the chipsets are. eaiting does\t hurt but then again waiting for not much is pretty boring so its the flip of a coin really. 

[AsGoodAsAHacker]

The 4690k is overkill for even high end cards. Most i5's are overkill. If you can get a decent i5 for 180-250$ you will be set for the next few gens of gpus. Besides when new Intels release they are way too expensive. You would have to wait longer for a reasonable price.

[MoonDoggy-X]

It could be a year from now(at least) before a Skylake K is released. Until then, a current gen overclocked CPU will trump a stock Skylake in games, most likely. I say most likely because as yourdietsucks pointed out, we don't really know much about skylake as of yet. If you're really worried about something coming out better than a 4690k, then just get a 4790k. Its hyperthreading makes it a little more futureproof, has a higher stock clock speed and more cache. Its only $80 more than a 4690k, you'll be paying at least that much more for a comparable Skylake. Or for $20 more than the 4790k, you could get a 5820k with x99 and ddr4. There's always something new right around the corner, especially at intel, but history tells us that it won't be THAT much better than whats out now. At least, not at first.

[davidarad02]

The 4690k is overkill for even high end cards. Most i5's are overkill. If you can get a decent i5 for 180-250$ you will be set for the next few gens of gpus. Besides when new Intels release they are way too expensive. You would have to wait longer for a reasonable price.

 

 

It could be a year from now(at least) before a Skylake K is released. Until then, a current gen overclocked CPU will trump a stock Skylake in games, most likely. I say most likely because as yourdietsucks pointed out, we don't really know much about skylake as of yet. If you're really worried about something coming out better than a 4690k, then just get a 4790k. Its hyperthreading makes it a little more futureproof, has a higher stock clock speed and more cache. Its only $80 more than a 4690k, you'll be paying at least that much more for a comparable Skylake. Or for $20 more than the 4790k, you could get a 5820k with x99 and ddr4. There's always something new right around the corner, especially at intel, but history tells us that it won't be THAT much better than whats out now. At least, not at first.

 

So you both say that I should just stick with the haswell i5 when i'll buy the parts? do you think that when Broadwell launches, the 4790k prices will be closer to what the i5 4690k is now?

[MoonDoggy-X]

So you both say that I should just stick with the haswell i5 when i'll buy the parts? do you think that when Broadwell launches, the 4790k prices will be closer to what the i5 4690k is now?

 

I can't say that for sure, but if you're waiting until June to start your build anyway, there's no reason to even think about this now.  You're just going to drive yourself crazy. I'm starting my new build in about a week, and in the past month I've gone through about a dozen potential configurations. One of which was also just waiting for Skylake. I had to ask myself if I would be more disappointed if A) I upgraded now and Skylake turned out to be amazing, or if B) I waited a year and Skylake is only barely better than what I could have been enjoying the whole time.

 

The best I can tell you is to just save as much money as you can between now and June to leave yourself with the most options possible. Then, about a month before your purchase, bring this topic up again. At least we'll have more information to work with, and as you said, prices might go down.

[davidarad02]

I can't say that for sure, but if you're waiting until June to start your build anyway, there's no reason to even think about this now.  You're just going to drive yourself crazy. I'm starting my new build in about a week, and in the past month I've gone through about a dozen potential configurations. One of which was also just waiting for Skylake. I had to ask myself if I would be more disappointed if A) I upgraded now and Skylake turned out to be amazing, or if  B) I waited a year and Skylake is only barely better than what I could have been enjoying the whole time.

 

The best I can tell you is to just save as much money as you can between now and June to leave yourself with the most options possible. Then, about a month before your purchase, bring this topic up again. At least we'll have more information to work with, and as you said, prices might go down.

 

OK thanks for the answer, i'll probably be asking this again sometime in mid may-june.

but, do you think (remember it's think, not know) the 4790k will drop to about what the 4690k is now? just think. not know.

[MoonDoggy-X]

OK thanks for the answer, i'll probably be asking this again sometime in mid may-june.

but, do you think (remember it's think, not know) the 4790k will drop to about what the 4690k is now? just think. not know.

 

Probably drop, yes. To 4690k prices, no, probably not that much. Remember, thes CPUs haven't even been out for a year yet.

 

Do you live close-ish to a Micro Center or will be by one on your trip? They have the 4690K for $199, 4790k for $279, and 5820k for $299. Thats at least $50 ckeaper than I've seen online. And they have bundles with motherboards that save you an additional $40. The only catch is that these pricese are in-store pick up only, and you'd have to pay taxes.

[davidarad02]

Probably drop, yes. To 4690k prices, no, probably not that much. Remember, thes CPUs haven't even been out for a year yet.

 

Do you live close-ish to a Micro Center or will be by one on your trip? They have the 4690K for $199, 4790k for $279, and 5820k for $299. Thats at least $50 ckeaper than I've seen online. And they have bundles with motherboards that save you an additional $40. The only catch is that these pricese are in-store pick up only, and you'd have to pay taxes.

 

as I said, I dont live in the US. no microcenter for me