My Dilemma, Buy now or wait for prescott?

[mrgoblin]

I know the prescott is coming out at the end of this year and im not sure what I should do. Everyone tells me to wait but im not sure how good the prescott will be. WHat would you do?

 

[dullard]

Prescott will be coming in Sept/Oct. So you don't have long to wait. There won't be much of a speed bump - but there will be quite a few performance boosting things included. You can probably realistically expect a 15% performance improvement at the same clock speed. Now is 15% worth waiting a couple months? Only you can answer that question.

 

[DaveSimmons]

And remember the prescott 3.4 will cost at least as much as a 3.2C does now.

For gaming over the next couple of years a 2.8C - 3.0C at stock speed should be quite fast enough. Or go budget and overclock a 2.4C to 3.0. Either way, you'll have saved several hundred to put into savings or pay off any CC debt.

 

[mrgoblin]

what about the amd 64. It looks like its gonna be sick when it actually does come out

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Originally posted by: mrgoblin
what about the amd 64. It looks like its gonna be sick when it actually does come out

Oddly enough they say it will be a great gaming solution above all else.

 

[Playmaker]

If you feel your system is sluggish now then upgrade, otherwise wait. Any performance increase will come with a similar increase in price, and nothing revolutionary is going to happen. If your going to wait for 64bit then why not next gen video cards? Or PCI X? Or DDRII? The list will go on forever...Upgrade now if you need it, otherwise put it off as long as possible.

 

[mrgoblin]

Right now im running a 1.8 compaq. Its not very nice and Ive had to reformat about 6 times now. I have lots of problems and compaq doesnt touch it. I guess its worth the wait tho. DDR2 and pci x are coming when?

 

[PowerMacG5]

I'm waiting for Prescott and a PCI-X solution to come out. It's been rumored (and maybe confirmed?) that the next gen high performance video cards will only come out in a PCI-X solution.

 

[Rio Rebel]

Waiting is down right unAmerican. Think of the economy, boy. Do your part.

 

[PowerMacG5]

Originally posted by: Rio Rebel
Waiting is down right unAmerican. Think of the economy, boy. Do your part.

Bah. I put 2000 into my computer last year when a 2.0a Northwood was the best. The economy can wait 2-5 months for me.

 

[FreiGuy]

I'd really have to need a new computer to justify upgrading to either A64 or Prescott this year.
neither has an upgrade path, and both will require a new motherboard to boot.

Do what you need to keep the current computer running decent, and wait till early next year to get Prescott on the LGA socket or A64 on 90nm.

 

[Rio Rebel]

I've never bought into the argument that "x" is around the corner, so don't buy now.

There is always something around the corner. To me, you should always evaluate what you have, get the best idea you can about what kind of performance gain you would get, and then consider your finances. I do this regardless of what is "just around the corner." There's always something just around the corner.

IMO, this is a great time to get a near top of the line processor. You can actually get an AMD cpu and board that performs within a few percent of the fastest thing out there for under $200 total. That's amazing. And by Intel standards, you can do similarly well with Intel (though not quite as cheap, but comparable.)

You can buy cheap now, and your $200 - $300 investment will be overshadowed in 6 months. Or you can wait, buy the new technology when it comes, and it will be overshadowed 9 months later. Or you can wait till the new technology is cheap, and then there will be something else just about to come out.

The cycle is always there, and it rarely significantly changes (one exception was the Celeron 300a which clocked to 450 - but that's a rare exception).

 

[mrgoblin]

Good point. however, its august and the new chips come out in september so its not like im waiting 6 months here. If I wait a month I can get something good. I think thats the best option right now. However if I do choose to wait, its gonna cost me a whole lot of money which is why im taking my time on this one. I figure that ill have to pay a 700-750 us premium on the new chip. That means that any kind of budget I have is gonna go out the window

 

[Intelman07]

Originally posted by: mrgoblin
what about the amd 64. It looks like its gonna be sick when it actually does come out

I dont see the point of a 64bit chip......Microsofts next OS codenamed longhorn wont even support 64bit it will still be 32........i say blah to it.

 

[mrgoblin]

Its just a more powerful chip is all. The 64 bit part is irrelevant. The idea is its a new processor. I think its gonna be slower than the prescott unfortunately though.

 

[Acanthus]

Originally posted by: mrgoblin
I know the prescott is coming out at the end of this year and im not sure what I should do. Everyone tells me to wait but im not sure how good the prescott will be. WHat would you do?

wait, if anything youll be able to get the "slower" (hah!) hardware cheaper

I would wait for prescott just to get a supporting mobo, so you could upgrade later without changing mobos. (make sure you get the new socket, not 478 with prescott support.)

 

[mrgoblin]

Are there names of the mobos with prescott support out yet or is it still all rumors?