I'm in a terrible position because of Moore's Law

[Acorn Eyes]

Because every year, year and a half, we increase the performance of our components drastically we lose immense value on our existing components. There's never a good time to pay a component because it will lose value, and fast. 

 

Luckily we are nearing the end of being able to decrease the size of transistors. Right now we have 5nm transistors, however a silicon atom is only 25 times smaller; 0.2nm. that means our current transistors are 25 atoms long. 

 

But the newest technology isn't get smaller transistors. It's quantum technology. This will shit on high performance chip prices. 

 

It's impossible to get value out of any component and that sucks.

[leelaa14]

3 minutes ago, Spook Eyes ?? said:

Because every year, year and a half, we increase the performance of our components drastically we lose immense value on our existing components. There's never a good time to pay a component because it will lose value, and fast. 

 

Luckily we are nearing the end of being able to decrease the size of transistors. Right now we have 5nm transistors, however a silicon atom is only 25 times smaller; 0.2nm. that means our current transistors are 25 atoms long. 

 

But the newest technology isn't get smaller transistors. It's quantum technology. This will shit on high performance chip prices. 

 

It's impossible to get value out of any component and that sucks.

The only thing you can take from this, is we're all in the same boat.

[Spork829]

I don't think we'll stop there. I think companies are probably already hard at work figuring out ways to increase processor efficiency other than transistor/architecture shrinks. Perhaps we'll see stacked transistors so that more may be fit onto a die, similar to what's happening with stacked memory? 

[Acorn Eyes]

3 minutes ago, leelaa14 said:

The only thing you can take from this, is we're all in the same boat.

Well I have a shitty GPU so it's hard for me to shop for GPUs when I know I'm guaranteed to lose value.

[Ivyk]

Once you buy something it's almost guaranteed to lose value, not just with tech.

[Acorn Eyes]

Just now, Ivyk said:

Once you buy something it's almost guaranteed to lose value, not just with tech.

But with tech you lose more over a much smaller period of time.

[Sauron]

Quantum comuters are pretty far from the consumer space at the moment, I don't think we'll see them replace transistor technology for at least another 15 years. What will most likely happen within the next 4-5 years is a switch from silicon to carbon nanotubes or something similar, while still sticking to transistors.

 

As for it being "impossible" to get good value at the moment, at least in terms of performance we're in a great spot - cpus from 5 years ago are still perfectly viable and only about 30% below current offerings. However, I would argue this isn't a good thing. Having significant performance advancements does not make your older product any worse than it was originally, but it keeps the prices low and gives you a good reason to upgrade if you think you need more.

[corrado33]

1 minute ago, Spook Eyes ?? said:

But with tech you lose more over a much smaller period of time.

Wrong.

 

New cars being the main argument here.

 

It's called depreciation. Computers are NOT an investment. You don't buy a computer part just to sell it in X months. (Unless you're getting an extremely good deal, etc.)

[SnowyMus]

8 minutes ago, Spook Eyes ?? said:

But with tech you lose more over a much smaller period of time.

As they say, whenever you buy a computer, it becomes obsolete. This applies to many things, outside of basic items like scientific calculators or clocks which have pretty much stayed the same for a while.

 

As an enthusiast, I personally like the idea of having faster, better things released every couple of years, even though I know that everything I own will have somewhat less value in a few years. These kinds of things give me excitement, especially with what the affordable, mid-ranged market can accomplish.

 

If it bothers you that there will be better hardware in a few years, don't buy expensive hardware. Or buy used hardware, so you know it's already obsolete. People buy and sell used hardware all of the time so they can move on, and you can get absurdly high price to performance by buying such hardware.

[corrado33]

1 minute ago, wrathoftheturkey said:

Way, by the ECONOMIC definition, they kind of are, since anything a company buys is an investment. But technicalities aside, at least the government reimburses you for that depreciation, right?

Fine, by the FINANCIAL definition, computers are not an investment because you'll never sell them for more than they are worth. (Collectors items notwithstanding.)

 

Yes, they can be used to create wealth and therefore your definition stands, but they will never, themselves, increase in value. 

[SLAYR]

2 minutes ago, Spook Eyes ?? said:

But with tech you lose more over a much smaller period of time.

Yeah because better, and better tech is always being invented, at an exponential rate.

16 minutes ago, Spook Eyes ?? said:

But the newest technology isn't get smaller transistors. It's quantum technology. This will shit on high perform

Quantum computers are not at all like a regular computer, you can't run crysis on it, and some programs will most likely never be able to use quantum computers, there have been transistors as small as 2nm, but modern cpus are only at 14nm currently, and 10nm was delayed by Intel due to issues, so it will be a while until transistors reach their limits.

[Sreno1]

Want to upgrade your components? Then upgrade your components now. You can use Ivy-bridge and GTX 600 series cards and still be competent in most things. If you buy top of the line now it will still be decent in 2-3 years. Buying new components is a part of why PC's are the best platform. Console's are tipping towards the PC life cycle where you will have to buy a new console every few years (PS4 Pro, Xbox One S).

[Sreno1]

10 minutes ago, SLAYR said:

Yeah because better, and better tech is always being invented, at an exponential rate.

Quantum computers are not at all like a regular computer, you can't run crysis on it, and some programs will most likely never be able to use quantum computers, there have been transistors as small as 2nm, but modern cpus are only at 14nm currently, and 10nm was delayed by Intel due to issues, so it will be a while until transistors reach their limits.

I believe you can go to 2nm but the amount of electron drift will make the chip ridiculously hot and power inefficient.

[Thunderpup]

While i understand having issues buying a product that will have a better and faster alternative in a short time.

 

You ultimately have to make due with what you have. Fortunately if you build a decent computer today it will be relevant for years to come. I typically average 7 years between upgrades and even then its not like the computer is useless at the end of the 7 years. 

 

In the end there aren't many consumer goods that retain or go up in value after they've been purchased.

Houses and firearms are about the only thing i can think of that you can typically get back what you paid for if not more. 

[Devin92]

If you are a enthusiast you wont care about this since you will go for the most powerful anyway and not care of bang for you buck.

If you are a average use, get what you need now, and your component will satisfy your need for 3 years anyway. say you want 1080p 60hz ultra, a 1060/1070 is still a good buy even if you know 1160/1170 will be much much powerful, because they get the jobs done. ans as long as it get the jobs done and keep satisfy your need, you cant call it losing value.

[SLAYR]

5 minutes ago, Thunderpup said:

In the end there aren't many consumer goods that retain or go up in value after they've been purchased.

Houses and firearms are about the only thing i can think of that you can typically get back what you paid for if not more. 

It can occasionally happen to some computer parts in rare instances, right now x79 boards are selling for higher then the original msrp prices, due to the tens of thousands of e5 2670s dropping down to $50 a piece earlier this year, but old rare cars like 60's ferraris and such can go for millions of dollars.

[Thunderpup]

3 minutes ago, SLAYR said:

It can occasionally happen to some computer parts in rare instances, right now x79 boards are selling for higher then the original msrp prices, due to the tens of thousands of e5 2670s dropping down to $50 a piece earlier this year, but old rare cars like 60's ferraris and such can go for millions of dollars.

 yea i know plus now that i think about it old retro video games can often sell for more than their original cost.

 

i was referring mainly to items that consistently held or gained in value after being purchased.  Though those too have their exceptions. 

[AshleyAshes]

You don't buy computers to have them increase in value.  You buy computers for the utility and entertainment that they will provide you in the short term span of 2-8 years or do.  To think otherwise is just foolish.

[BuckGup]

Size is not the only way to increase performance. It was before the easiest but now we just need to switch off from silicon.

[laminutederire]

3 hours ago, Thunderpup said:

 yea i know plus now that i think about it old retro video games can often sell for more than their original cost.

 

i was referring mainly to items that consistently held or gained in value after being purchased.  Though those too have their exceptions. 

There's a reason people invest in gold!

[straight_stewie]

5 hours ago, Spook Eyes ?? said:

Because every year, year and a half, we increase the performance of our components drastically we lose immense value on our existing components. There's never a good time to pay a component because it will lose value, and fast. 

 

Luckily we are nearing the end of being able to decrease the size of transistors. Right now we have 5nm transistors, however a silicon atom is only 25 times smaller; 0.2nm. that means our current transistors are 25 atoms long. 

 

But the newest technology isn't get smaller transistors. It's quantum technology. This will shit on high performance chip prices. 

 

It's impossible to get value out of any component and that sucks.

I hate posts like this. Who builds a gaming computer as a financial investment? If the joy it brought you was worth the cost, then it was worth it, otherwise, why are you spending so much money on computers??

[Guest]

There is one small issue with the whole Moore's Law thing...

 

Moore's law has faultered, and we don't drastically increase performance every upgrade cycle.

[Litargirio]

5 hours ago, Spook Eyes ?? said:

It's impossible to get value out of any component and that sucks.

How exactly would you define "value"?

[Soundsystem90]

Try cow girl?

[Bananasplit_00]

i really dont mind, i get used stuff for cheap  im getting a I7 2600 + motherboard and 4GB RAM for $50