Question I'm out of the loop, What's good for PCs now and is there anything worth waiting for?

[right_to_know]

Black Friday and Christmas is coming up and I'm wondering if it's a good time to buy a new PC or if there is something better around the corner?
Do CPUs still come with built in basic gpus?

Are there any brands to avoid? I heard Asus sucks now and just caught this thread on intel.

Intel processors crashing Unreal engine games (and others)

As if we needed any more evidence that these Intel furnace monstrosities are being pushed beyond their limit just to win performance benchmarks. No wonder even 480mm rads or 1.5kg coolers aren't enough for these solar flares. These parts are being redlined because they're horrifically inferior...

forums.anandtech.com

Is there anything to watch out for like power supplies and their different connectors?

 

[BoomerD]

I've always been an Intel guy...built a new rig almost 2 years ago with the i5-13600K...and I'm happy with it, but with all the problems cropping up with the 13th and 14th gen Intel processors...If I was building now, I'd seriously look at AMD. Maybe one of their middle-of-the-line X3D processors. I can't justify their "latest and greatest" because of the cost and my usage, but maybe $600+ for the CPU isn't a problem for you...

I was also always an ASUS guy...but like you, I read about all their problems and horrid customer support. I always avoided MSI because I perceived it as low-end junk...I built my rig with an MSI motherboard...and am reasonably happy with it.

Power supplies have gone through some...changes, not only in the "new" connector for the newer GPUs, but also ATX3, bottom cabling for bottom-connection motherboards and cases with larger compartments for cabling.
Stick with the major brands...Corsair, SeaSonic, SuperFLower Leadex, basically anything on the Tier A group.

PSU Tier List rev. 17.0g - Cultists Network

PSU Tier List will help you to choose the best PSU out of hundreds of models on the market. From budget to the highest end Power Supplies.

cultists.network

 

[igor_kavinski]

Black Friday and Christmas is coming up and I'm wondering if it's a good time to buy a new PC or if there is something better around the corner?

No, unless you are interested in 9950X3D or maybe a possible 295KS from Intel.

What exactly is right for you depends on your use case.

Cheapest would be getting Ryzen 7000 or Intel 12700K.

After that, you gotta go with Ryzen 9000 or Intel 245K or 265K.

285K isn't widely available and probably not worth the extra cost.

What kind of workloads are you looking at doing on your new PC?

Do CPUs still come with built in basic gpus?

The best iGPU in a desktop GPU right now is the one in 265K or 285K if I'm not mistaken. 2nd best is Ryzen 8700G.

Are there any brands to avoid? I heard Asus sucks now and just caught this thread on intel.

Go with ASROCK for peace of mind. Their Steel Legend or Nova mobos are good. For Ryzen, MSI MPG Carbon seems to offer up to DDR5-8400+ RAM support (not that you would want to buy a really expensive kit like that I'm assuming) but point is that it's a very high quality mobo for the price. If you choose to go with 12700K, I can personally vouch for the ASROCK Z790 Sonic. For Z890 to host 245K/265K/285K, my pick would be ASROCK Livemixer.

Is there anything to watch out for like power supplies and their different connectors?

Just get a decent ATX 3.0 or 3.1 PSU. I'm using a 1kW Cougar PSU, though it's probably not ATX 3.0 but no problems so far.

 

[Ken g6]

I've been seeing rumors about an Nvidia 5000 series coming in early 2025, for insane prices, but nothing solid.

No new CPUs for awhile, I think.

 

[right_to_know]

I'm looking more at the budget end of hardware for gaming or rendering stuff.
So I was looking geforce 3050-60 or 4060 I'm not sure what AMD is equal to that or the Intel cards.

 

[igor_kavinski]

So I was looking geforce 3050-60 or 4060 I'm not sure what AMD is equal to that or the Intel cards.

I would recommend the 3060 12GB. Some would say go with 4060 8GB. On AMD side, you could get this: https://www.newegg.com/asrock-chall...adeon-rx-7600-xt-16gb-gddr6/p/N82E16814930121

 

[stargazr]

I built two PCs about a year and a half ago (Intel i5 12th gen). I went with MSI boards and am happy with them. I like SeaSonic for power, and have also had good luck with Corsair in the past.

 

[mikeymikec]

If you're going with MSI and you want more focus on quality, I'd go for their MAG line (IIRC MPG is about LED bling).

ASRock is owned by ASUS.

 

[igor_kavinski]

ASRock is owned by ASUS.

Which is really weird because ASRock behaves like a completely independent company with excellent bang for the buck!

 

[BoomerD]

If you're going with MSI and you want more focus on quality, I'd go for their MAG line (IIRC MPG is about LED bling).

ASRock is owned by ASUS.

Only sort of. ASRock was originally an ASUS company created to compete in the low end market…but is now part of Pegasus which was spun off of ASUS…so, yes, they’re owned by ASUS, but only in a general sort of way.

ASRock - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

As for MSI, MAG or MEG motherboards.

 

[Ken g6]

I'm looking more at the budget end of hardware for gaming or rendering stuff.
So I was looking geforce 3050-60 or 4060 I'm not sure what AMD is equal to that or the Intel cards.

I would recommend the 3060 12GB. Some would say go with 4060 8GB. On AMD side, you could get this: https://www.newegg.com/asrock-chall...adeon-rx-7600-xt-16gb-gddr6/p/N82E16814930121

If you want to do AI rendering, Nvidia is the way to go, and 12GB is the minimum VRAM you should get.

 

[DaaQ]

I'm looking more at the budget end of hardware for gaming or rendering stuff.
So I was looking geforce 3050-60 or 4060 I'm not sure what AMD is equal to that or the Intel cards.

Buy before Mid January, price gouging "could" take place then in prep for tariffs.