SmoothOperator
New Member
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2020
- Messages
- 15 (0.01/day)
So in general, it always seems like now is not the time to buy. In the spring/early summer, covid added a premium to non-premium parts, then in mid/late summer it was "don't buy right now, rtx 30 will really shake up the GFX market and you'll regret paying the same price for 1/2 performance if you only wait 3 months." Right now its still wait for Big navi if you cant get a RTX 3080 or 3090. This holiday season will be, don't buy zen 2, wait for zen 3. And its not just if you plan on buying the latest and greatest components, even if you plan on using one gen older components, its still wait for the next gen to come out, the price points will go be better on current gen when that happens.
And this cycle repeats itself every year, this year seems the most regretful for people who bought in high on the RTX 20 series or small navi.
So to me it would seem there is never a right time to buy. You either get the best of what you can get right now and live with the fact that in 3-6-9 months from now there will be much better bang for buck or you wait wait wait but never feel like the wait was worth it.
That being said.....
It seems like the only way to get your hands on a RTX 30 series card right now is to buy a prebuilt from AVADirect, Cyberpower or Origin. AVA seems to have the best selection in terms of 3rd party (MSI, ASUS, EVGA) options, Origin only has founders editions (I believe) and cyberpower is limited to 1 or 2 third parties available.
I'd hate to get a pre-built pc, I prefer the building experience as it teaches you the specific ins/outs of your hardware/software configuration, where as pre-builts feel like laptops.
If I was to go pre-built right now, it would likely be an R7 3700X / RTX 3080 setup w/ a high end B550 board (X570 would love, but the VRMs dont seem worth the extra cost if your not planning on pushing the system to its limits with OC). In terms of branding, I wouldn't call myself a fanboy but the far majority of systems I've had have been MSI. I Know its a premium, but I'm leaning towards an ASUS build this time in terms of mobo, just to try something other than MSI.
My setup would likely be:
Core: Ryzen 7 3700X (is this scope creep for a gaming only rig? It seems like the R7s and R9s are more meant for multipurpose like gaming and programming, or gaming and streaming, or gaming and graphic design). At the same time is a B550 board for a R5 overkill? I think because of the GFX it warrants B550, but I still feel like the Mobo is too good for just a R5 3600.
GFX: 3080 (which ever version is actually available).
Mobo: Asus ROG Strik B550-F (Wifi for convenience)
Case: Lian Li II Mesh or P400A (I like having good inherent airflow properties, not saying this will be an air-cooled only rig, but good airflow is good to have regardless of cooling strategy.)
Memory: (8 GB x 2) 3600 (whats the prefered memory here, don't need anything crazy like CAS16. I heard Trident Z is decent, same with corsair. Just looking for a safe 3600 pick.
Storage: Most likely 1tb of m.2. Another place I'm open for suggestions. I keep seeing the seagate firecudas with high advertised speeds, I assume they have lower build quality for that price point. Likely just go back to samsung evo like always.
Power: Gold 800w Modular - whatever works best for the price point.
RGB: Yea I dont need this, whatever comes with the case and mobo is enough, I'm not spending 200-400 on lighting package accessories, would rather spend that on performance.
Cooling Solutions: Was thinking a simple AIO for the processor. I will likely do some OC'ing but no where close to pushing limits. I also like the added volume and slight noise reduction from not have an air-cooled cpu . I don't really see a need to add more case fans, both the Lian Li and P400A have good stock fan setups, I can always swap in better quality fans later if I start pushing thermal limits.
But yea, I'm actually considering a prebuilt right now, will likely wait for black friday / cyber monday to see how the market shapes up before making a final decision. And again this is really only valid if RTX 30 series cards are still not readily available by the end of next month for the holiday season.
Let me know what you think,
And this cycle repeats itself every year, this year seems the most regretful for people who bought in high on the RTX 20 series or small navi.
So to me it would seem there is never a right time to buy. You either get the best of what you can get right now and live with the fact that in 3-6-9 months from now there will be much better bang for buck or you wait wait wait but never feel like the wait was worth it.
That being said.....
It seems like the only way to get your hands on a RTX 30 series card right now is to buy a prebuilt from AVADirect, Cyberpower or Origin. AVA seems to have the best selection in terms of 3rd party (MSI, ASUS, EVGA) options, Origin only has founders editions (I believe) and cyberpower is limited to 1 or 2 third parties available.
I'd hate to get a pre-built pc, I prefer the building experience as it teaches you the specific ins/outs of your hardware/software configuration, where as pre-builts feel like laptops.
If I was to go pre-built right now, it would likely be an R7 3700X / RTX 3080 setup w/ a high end B550 board (X570 would love, but the VRMs dont seem worth the extra cost if your not planning on pushing the system to its limits with OC). In terms of branding, I wouldn't call myself a fanboy but the far majority of systems I've had have been MSI. I Know its a premium, but I'm leaning towards an ASUS build this time in terms of mobo, just to try something other than MSI.
My setup would likely be:
Core: Ryzen 7 3700X (is this scope creep for a gaming only rig? It seems like the R7s and R9s are more meant for multipurpose like gaming and programming, or gaming and streaming, or gaming and graphic design). At the same time is a B550 board for a R5 overkill? I think because of the GFX it warrants B550, but I still feel like the Mobo is too good for just a R5 3600.
GFX: 3080 (which ever version is actually available).
Mobo: Asus ROG Strik B550-F (Wifi for convenience)
Case: Lian Li II Mesh or P400A (I like having good inherent airflow properties, not saying this will be an air-cooled only rig, but good airflow is good to have regardless of cooling strategy.)
Memory: (8 GB x 2) 3600 (whats the prefered memory here, don't need anything crazy like CAS16. I heard Trident Z is decent, same with corsair. Just looking for a safe 3600 pick.
Storage: Most likely 1tb of m.2. Another place I'm open for suggestions. I keep seeing the seagate firecudas with high advertised speeds, I assume they have lower build quality for that price point. Likely just go back to samsung evo like always.
Power: Gold 800w Modular - whatever works best for the price point.
RGB: Yea I dont need this, whatever comes with the case and mobo is enough, I'm not spending 200-400 on lighting package accessories, would rather spend that on performance.
Cooling Solutions: Was thinking a simple AIO for the processor. I will likely do some OC'ing but no where close to pushing limits. I also like the added volume and slight noise reduction from not have an air-cooled cpu . I don't really see a need to add more case fans, both the Lian Li and P400A have good stock fan setups, I can always swap in better quality fans later if I start pushing thermal limits.
But yea, I'm actually considering a prebuilt right now, will likely wait for black friday / cyber monday to see how the market shapes up before making a final decision. And again this is really only valid if RTX 30 series cards are still not readily available by the end of next month for the holiday season.
Let me know what you think,
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