Buying a new computer now or waiting?

I have understood that it is much better to build his own PC.
But today, opening the website of Dell to compare the component and prices, I saw that they have special prices just for today (-400€).

So for example, this computer seems pretty good to me, and it is actually 400€ cheaper :
http://www.dell.com/be/fr/p/alienwa...00awr622&model_id=alienware-aurora-r6-desktop

But since I am not an hardware specialist, I don't know if it's really a good deal or if there are hidden weaknesses...

 

Prices seem to be a lot higher than when I purchased my existing PC nearly three years ago

 

I built something similar DIY for USD$1100 a few years ago by buying items on sale , but doing some quick arithmetic you can probably get something similar today for around USD$1450. The desktops are not too bad, but yes you do pay $200-100 premium from what I've noticed. This is money you can use to go towards GPU.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

 

OP - Your question as i understand it, comes down to get a new computer now or later?

In general terms, - there will always be something better later. So if you need a computer for non-gaming purposes and do not have one, - get something basic, "now"

However, to be specific i'd note a few exceptions, where in "soon" might be better than "now", right this instant, - if you already have a basic, functioning computer for normal non-gaming activities.

You see, the different types of computer hardware have cycles. Generations of development, features and related performance. There are a few major players in the field too. These days primarily Intel, AMD, NVidia, & ATI ( I mean, the AMD gfx chipset division! ). Some of these cycles have tended to be incremental while other single cycles significant. See the introduction of NVidia's Pascal & AMD's equivalent vs. the perf. of 1 generation back. Next make inter-generational comparisons going 5yrs back and see the minor performance bumps that lead up to say, Pascal. Please bare in mind that all of the major companies are this way. Ninety percent of the time there's a 5-10% at most performance bump, year to year with hype and advertising suggesting much larger increases and related reasons to get the latest and greatest hardware. The only time to wait is usually around the time when new hardware has been released. Just to be sure whether or not its worth the new time-of-initial release premium vs. going with the last generations' hardware which has (hopefully) had hardware bugs resolved and some price reductions at retailers who're trying to move out old stock for the new-incoming gear. New gear that's likely only 5-10% better than last gen.

From a consumer/computer user's stand point you want to catch (read: purchase) hardware when it's in a sweet-spot in terms of price & performance relative to the current and near-future demands that'll be placed on it by your software and your initial intended use for the computer. Naturally if building a top tier exotic system, - this doesn't really apply, ... but otherwise

Personally i would suggest genuinely researching the current computing hardware scene by reviewing a wide array of youtube/forum tech journalist channels. Not just one. Try to get a feel for the current situation with regard to where AMD, Intel and friends are going. Be it CPU, graphics and related architecture or storage technology. This said, - imho, cpu cores, and threads are becoming important in newer games (including AC). Where once hyperthreading made little difference to game performance, a CPU's core clock speed having a far greater impact on game performance ...(presuming a good accompanying gfx card)...-Games are beginning to leverage multiple cpu process threads. With AMD releasing Ryzen, top to bottom performing equally to Intel in most situations while bringing i7 levels of threading to basic entry level computer setups, .... one can easily recognize developers in the near-future presuming hyper threading and large core counts available/necessary for minimum game req's.

So, short answer- IF you have zero working computer? Get one now.

Long answer - get a computer later if you can wait a bit- do some really solid research. Multiple sources, get a good feel for the scene. Work out budget, understand what you're getting into. Have fun!

 

But, why is the CPU not going up to 100%? Is it "underclocking" because it's too hot?

 

PCpartPicker has already compiled build guides with all the components listed and priced for any taste and budget. So you can save some learning curve and just follow guide recommendations.
http://pcpartpicker.com/guide/

 

While excessive, extreme heat will slow down core clock speeds, readings below if near 100% usage i would ignorantly guess might be related to the windows task scheduler. Essentially making certain or at least preferring that no one process or thread, takes up 100% of a processor's potential usage. 100% would end up locking the computer somewhat, a bit like a 'brick' where everything effectively seems frozen and unresponsive. In trying to avoid this state, cpu usage is rarely shown as being at 100% ... generally speaking. Or at least, for any protracted period of time.

 

A waste of time. I had been using Dells for years at work. They used to be very dependable office PCs, then they broke into the consumer market and I think they went downhill from there. Avoid any prebuilt PC you'd buy in a shop, they can be dated by the time you buy them.

Building a desktop is easy and you'll end up with a PC way better than anything you'll find in a shop. Even overclocking PCs is a breeze these days so you can get even more bang for your buck.

definitely get good parts, don't go cheap, but I'd say the most important part to consider is your motherboard, it's the foundation of your PC and will be the limiting factor when it comes to CPU and features like USB3. I'd also recommend getting a decent case, trying to work with a cheap case is a pain in the hole. The more expensive ones think about how the customer will be using the PC which makes installing and upgrading much easier.

Whenever I go to buy parts I go to a building and upgrading forum and knowledgeable people recommend a complete build, I can PM the link if you want, it's an Irish site but they recommend a German supplier.

Building a PC is not hard and you'll have something to be proud of at the end of it. My current PC is about 6 years old and it's still going strong, all I've done with it is upgrade the graphics card twice.

 

By the way. Make sure that everything you guys list is from a shop within Europe Import taxes and costs in Belgium aren't the cheapest.

 

If you're on mainland europe there's no need to look outside of Europe for parts, the only reason I use a German supplier is that Ireland just doesn't have the buying power or market for custom builds, so any parts you do see in shops have been sitting there for years. Germany and France have a good discount shopping culture from what I can see. Shipping cost isn't to bad either, it's usually all in one or two boxes, I think I paid about €40 to ship to Ireland so you should get much cheaper shipping.

 

This


The motherboard is unknow I cannot find info on the page, the K version of intel cpu is that they are overclockable and without know the motherboard model is a little risky, you could have a limit on overclock if you plan to overclock your cpu, If not you can save more money and take a better gpu beacause if the only purpose of your future pc is playing the most important think is the gpu, for example you can start from an i5 or Amd counterpart, no need to start from this cpu model even beacause it means have a sistem with adeguate components.
Imho you have to start from the monitor resolution and refresh rate for example 1920*1080 60hz or 120hz to have better experience you should poin at a pc that can handle 60 FPS for the 60hz and 120 fps for 120hz and from this start building your pc.
If you have time you can spend a bit more time searching on internet for components and build your pc It's not much difficult and it's very satisfying