Windy city

Question for the knowledgeable folks: Is this a good time to build a PC?

I was talking to a friend and she said, "This is the lowest they'll be for a long time ahead so you might as well bite the bullet."

#askfedi #pc #linux #windows

Yes, prices are manageable
No, wait a month
(something else - comment)
Poll ends at .
Apr 7 at 8:02amWeb
Show threadRoot Moose19h ago
@pheonix my 'gut' says ram prices will be lower in 9-12 months.
Show threadWindy city19h ago
@RootMoose Hmm, interesting. RAM is the the only bottleneck I noticed when researching last week. So inflated at the moment.
Show threadFabian Transchel19h ago
@pheonix You can do with 16GB of RAM and a system SSD of ~512GB and upgrade later. The rest is fine (unless you want to do AI with it obviously...)
Show threadWindy city19h ago

@ftranschel Very good point, I don't even need a dedicated GPU, just an upgrade over my decade old machine. The integrated graphics of a modern CPU fits well for my use-cases.

Now that you say it, getting a motherboard that can easily be upgraded in the future is a safe bet. Incremental changes. Thank you! ✨🙏

Show threadAdam Zawodni19h ago
@pheonix I don't think there'll be any good time to upgrade computer, either AI will keep prices high or bubble pop and prices going to be high due to financial turmoil, so most likely best time is ASAP.
Show threadWindy city18h ago
@adamzawodni Good point, Adam! It's so tough to predict. Even if macro trends shift and component demand dries up by big companies, that 'bullwhip effect' takes months to trickle down through the channel to actually affect retail prices. And that's assuming distributors don't just artificially constrict supply to protect their margins anyway. Plus what's a machine use if it isn't with you when you felt you needed to upgrade. Much thanks!
Show threadDźwiedziu19h ago
@pheonix
Is buying used an option?
Show threadWindy city19h ago
@dzwiedziu for this one, if the hardware is sufficiently new and well-used, why not. Just needs to be solid for a few years is all. I even plan to repurpose a small SSD I have lying around too.
Show threadDźwiedziu14h ago

@pheonix
Then a quick shortcut would be buying an post-corpo pancake PC, or a similar, like Intel NUC's or Minisforum.
Pretty much the only “consumable” would be fans.

The downside is that the parts like disk sleds, motherboards, chassis are pretty much all proprietary. You can find those or jury-rig it/3d print it, yet the earlier can be expensive, the middle time consuming (I have specific experience here) or latter no models existing.

Yet can be cheap and available, depending on req's.

Show threadJari19h ago
@pheonix The waiting game has always been bad. It's either price hikes or shortage or a big upgrade around the corner. Just set a budget and buy the best you can with that price.
Show threadWindy city19h ago
@rulquh thank you!
Show threadmollysinless18h ago
@pheonix Ram and ssd prices are still very high. Nobody knows when they will get back to a more fair or normal range.
In these uncertain times, its worth looking at prebuilt PCs instead if you need one right now.
Show threadAlice GG18h ago
@pheonix with the helium shortages, prices can get even worse in the long run
Show threadWindy city15h ago
@alicegg I had no idea about that, thanks!
Show threadDaniel15h ago
@pheonix It was a little surprising to me how industry absolutely swallowed the consumer market for hardware. There is definitely an ongoing war on personal computers (that you actually own) and the availability of reliable components feels like a tool in that war. I say buy and build before some other world event makes it worse/impossible to do.
Show threadWindy city7h ago
@daniel in their ideal world, maybe they envision us all RDPing into theif stupid cloud to do everything utilizing just a simple chromebook like end terminal. I don't know what sane person would agree to that. Personal computers need to stay in the consumer market. It's so vital.
Show threadDaniel7h ago
@pheonix A person with a hungry family would agree to that and they’re counting on it.
Show threadJerko15h ago

@pheonix I always hear about two „rules“:
1. If you need it now, buy it now.
2. Buy Storage/RAM when it is cheap, not when you need it.

I am not sure about a general rule but I guess for normal users point 1 fits more. For the enthusiasts who build their own Servers or NAS point 2 fits more.

Show threadWindy city7h ago
@traumtheater excellent rules, this is why I love fediverse. I get actual advice from smarter folks ✨