Computer: Now Or New Year?
 

Greetings All,
The time and opportunity have come to get a new computer. My first and main conundrum is when to get it: now or wait for the new year. Of course, I want a new computer now but I can also see waiting until the new year for a few things. Coming very soon are Vista, DirectX 10 and the new Intel hardware hitting the market (possible price drops by January).
My computer now is OK. It has a 2.6HT P4 with a 9800Pro (a gig of meshmash RAM) but it was originally a Dell which I have gutted and replaced with what I could. I would very much like to play Obvilion and AoE III. If I keep saying this is on the horizon I will never buy and in a state of perpetual waiting.
Does it make sense to wait for January or buy now in prep for Vista, etc. I would appreciate any input, ideas, suggestions as I weigh my options. Many thanks!

Personally I have found the best times to buy are around X-mas, for the good deals, however, as anyone in the computer industry will tell you, by the time you have unwrapped, booted it up, and loaded the software, it's already obsolite....lol. So Really it comes down to.....Are you looking for price? or are you looking for latest stuff?

Price? Buy around X-Mas
Gadgets? Buy around the first of the year.

Aye. You're right about things moving forward. There's never a perfect time, though some seasons and technological leaps provide better value than others.

If the lines don't kill you, Thanksgiving is close and usually has the best prices of the year.

There are good Core Duo deals now as lines switch to Core 2 Duo. Depends on your price/performance target.

As for Vista, don't hold your breath. I use the latest builds every day. I have it on five systems with two systems dedicated to it. Compatibility and stability still drive me to distraction. Unless it's your job stay clear for six months to a year. That'll be the time for early adopters to find and struggle through all the issues. The old "avoid 1.0 releases" adage holds especially true here, regardless of eye-candy or industry PR.

I've installed Vista 64 RC1 and it's pretty to look at but I haven't really loaded any apps on it. Things like surfing and videoplayback kill it sometimes.

I did buy 2 new machines recently E6400, 2Gb RAM, 7900GT and dual monitors... :) happy playing World of Warcraft

I think it depends how often you update your computer. if you wait like 5 years to replace it i would say wait and get the next gen stuff when it comes out if you update every year or two just get it now because it will be a while before software takes advantage of the next gen fancy stuff. whatever you do just make sure you dont wait till they hike up prices on stuff before the holidays and still get it before the new year. if your gonna wait just wait till next year.

Wait for the Core2 Duos to come down in price.

They're absolutely outperforming AMD in heat and performance, but with the new X2s coming down the tubes, Intel will be similarly pushed.

And they're hand-over-foot better than the Athlon 64 and the P4. AMAZING performance.

Amazing performance.

My base price for the custom build E6400, 1Gb RAM, 250SATAHD was $799 two weeks after they were introduced, after I pushed up the specs it went up past $1200.

I'm still hard pressed to find a similar deal from anyone.

Hey man, the problem is technology is always moving forward. As soon as it is unwrapped, bang!, there comes something better. Vista is "supposedly" being released between Q1 and Q2 of 07. From experience, Microsoft never delivers on time. Also, you never ever want to pick up the initial release of a Microsoft OS. Way buggy as hell. Sure, the hot fixes and patches will be available for download, but do you really want to deal with that? Best wait at least a year and let the dust settle. Then, make your move. As far as buying a new PC... if the one you have is doing the job, the best bet is to wait as long as you can. The latest and greatest technology of today will be on the clearance racks of tomorrow. If you can't play the stuff you want, then upgrade soon. Heed the advice of cyrnel and Deltona, wait until the holiday season is upon us and the deals are hot. I try to replace my rig every 3 years or so.