How Long Can You Wait To Get Stitches

Why Wait? Build Today.

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Nehalem is coming. So is Larrabee. So is whatever AMD/ATI and Nvidia are working on. You're building a system today. What do you do?

People ask me that all the time. "Should I wait for X?"—with X being an upcoming or just-announced graphics or CPU architecture. My response is usually, "When do you need a computer?" If they say now my answer is always, "NO! Don't wait."

Why not? Why not wait until the inevitable CPU price cuts or the Next Big Thing comes plowing through the industry? Simple: If you wait, you'll never build. There's always something newer and better coming along.

Even after a new architecture is released, the manufacturer keeps pumping it. Higher frequencies. Two GPUs on one card. Today we have the Radeon HD 6780, tomorrow the Radeon HD 6780 X2. Prices on the older stuff come down, and the cutting edge keeps on cutting.

My advice to anyone who is looking to build or buy a PC is this: Set a budget first, and see how much you can get for your budget second. Don't decide how much to spend based on what's out there and when the price drops happen. Figure out how much you can afford before you do the tiniest bit of research. There are parts and systems available for every price level these days.

Yes, when you purchase or build a new system, you're going to freeze in time. The industry will pass you by. Crack the old joke about it being obsolete the moment you get it home: It's true. Something better is already available, and more stuff is on the horizon, and even better technology is right now being researched for the distant future of product development. Get over it. Continued…