How are you all coping with increasing PC hardware and tech prices around the world?

[freeagent]

I built this one 5 months ago.. I did pass up on some overpriced hardware.. I could have had a new GPU had I paid the price instead of not having one and mildly complaining. But whatever.. summer is here and we are facing losing it right now.. but I will continue to resist. I may be tempted to buy used from a forum if I trust the seller..

Honestly.. I don't even game enough anymore to justify a killer card.. I would probably just turn to admire it as I peruse the forums.. more than I would actually use it..

I do have a fair games library so who knows..

 

[robot zombie]

I love shiny new hardware, high-end stuff... thing is, I learned a long time ago there ALL KIIIIINDSA shiny things out there! I'm priced out of these shiny things right now. Can afford. Won't pay on principle. I'm not really suffering for this. I'm the type of person that can literally play 3 games for years. And if I don't want to play any of them, I figure I'm bored of them and start gravitating towards something else. I lived this way for years on decrepitly old hardware. There is also an amazing library of old games. Legendary games you ain't even seen. Don't upgrade your PC when you don't have it just to play more games. When I came here, this is where I was at. I got on with new hardware, new games. It was great. Starting to lull, but my mindset adapts. I've been riding the waves long enough to know the game.

When I came in, it was the right time, as well. I was ready, the spark was really there and I was sure I wouldn't tire of it too soon. Aaaaaannnnd Ryzen just dropped. We had the mining stuff then, but I snagged a 2060 at the right time and that was more than good enough from where I was coming from. Big jump for the money, in my world. I'm still good with it. I've been playing FO4 all day. I really wanna play RCT for some reason. The other day I was waxing over Paper Mario 64. Lex just sent me a cool mod for Red Alert 2: Yuri's Revenge. Super-down to play those, actually. Burning that off in prep for Horizon Zero Dawn. I'm even still playing newer games than that over a couple of years later. I played Cyberpunk 2077 with no major performance issues. So I see the market and I just have no urge. But I digress...

I'm constantly gathering interests that aren't cheap, on a blue-collar paycheck. The way I do it is to rotate and in most other ways live about as simply as possible. I kind of prefer that in my living situation, anyway. I'm single and cheap. I do nothing. I invest in the things most dear to me - I'm buying the time spent. It's easy when you're in this situation to try and 'fill the void' with stuff. So you have to ask yourself what your stuff is to you and really take it seriously. Shit's gotta count for more than just "I want it."

Best part? At some point, I might miss a couple of years of games. But do you know where I'm going to be when I DO get that brand new GPU and start gazing upon all of the hot newness? I'm going to shoot into outer space and not come back for at least two years. If I ever seem overly bright-eyed about games, that is why. I only follow them in big spurts.

It's all a long game with expensive stuff. I enjoy a 'modest' headphone setup... maybe $3k in there. But most of those purchases are years apart. There's an appreciation you get when you take your time with your purchases. I always remind myself that I don't need it. By the time I buy, I know that's mine for a long time. So I can be very out of sight out of mind. Even when I have the money. It's always gonna be there, till I spend it. And that item may go away, but there will never be a shortage of new luxury items to buy. That's the illusion. A luxury item is something not everyone can have. This is only true of the individual items though. That gotta have it feeling works out real well for sellers in a lot of markets like these. It's why I make it a point to treat each purchase as significant and always maintain that mindset of making them count. There is life outside of computers.

 

[80251]

I'm pretty much satisfied with what I have. Sure, I thought I could upgrade my GPU this year but I can wait. Also not a fan of the current mid-range lineup from either side, even with the "launch" MSRP, because I'll only buy GPU at $250 or less.

I remember when you could buy a mid-range GPU for $250 or even a last gen top tier GPU for $250 but I think those days are long gone now...

 

[itsakjt]

I built my new PC (1st one as on specs on August 2020). I kept incrementally upgrading stuff and finally settled after getting the 2060 Super on December for a normal price and I am glad I did that. Now I am extremely happy with my rig. It has a very nice overclock overall and has been perfect for me for gaming in 1080p.
Because of a potential possibility of increasing SSD prices due to Chia mining, I will be getting a 1 TB SSD today (NVMe). This is going to be a purchase for my PC after about 4-5 months since I got the RTX 2060 Super on December.
I don't think I will be upgrading anything else major anytime soon.
I think the present rig I have will hold up well at least for another 2 years after which a GPU upgrade will likely be required.

 

[joemama]

Good thing I have my 2070 so I don't need a new graphics card until this pandemic ends.

 

[Melvis]

For me an Aussie, RAM, SSD prices and for the most part Motherboards and PSU's, Cases are all priced pretty normal but as soon as you want a GPU of ANY kind the price doubles or more, like at the moment a 3090 will cost you around $3500.....and then if you want even a low end budget GPU, lets say a 3400G people are asking up to $300 Second hand! for one of these, average around $250 I guess when the CPU isnt worth more then $160 Second hand in the real world. SO as long as you dont want a CPU/GPU upgrade then your fine? Im just glad I got my 1080 Ti when I did for $450 ($320 US) as people are asking double that now...

 

[RandallFlagg]

RAM has actually gone up by 25-50% according to PCPartPicker. The 50% is on 2x4GB so that is probably due to ramp-down of older chips, but I was surprised to see the 25% bump on 2x8GB.

GPU's... LOL

 

[Tablet]

RAM has actually gone up by 25-50% according to PCPartPicker. The 50% is on 2x4GB so that is probably due to ramp-down of older chips, but I was surprised to see the 25% bump on 2x8GB.

GPU's... LOL

View attachment 198971


View attachment 198972

Increased money supply and purchasing power via central banks worldwide. Decreased/ramped down production capabilities. Inflation everywhere. Wood prices up 200% since last year. Other basic commodities following suit. Luxury goods will def follow

 

[biffzinker]

I don't even need my specs for what I do, which is watch YouTube videos 24/7

Would you be interested in a downgrade to a Raspberry Pi 4? I hear YouTube video playback has improved since release.

 

[Deleted member 205776]

Would you be interested in a downgrade to a Raspberry Pi 4? I hear YouTube video playback has improved since release.

I could probably sell my entire system for double what I paid for it and buy myself a nice car

 

[Jetster]

By not paying more than MSRP. I just won't. I'll go without. Luckly I had some good parts before all this started. Price gouging is illegal in many places, unfortunately it mostly applies to basic needs

 

[Deleted member 205776]

By not paying more than MSRP. I just won't. I'll go without. Luckly I had some good parts before all this started

Let's hope they last unlike my Zotac 2070 who decided to die right as this whole crisis started. RX 6800s were all over a thousand euro, and there was a 3070 at MSRP. The choice was easy.

 

[Jetster]

Let's hope they last unlike my Zotac 2070 who decided to die right as this whole crisis started. RX 6800s were all over a thousand euro, and there was a 3070 at MSRP. The choice was easy.

My 2080 is still chugging along. I probably have some parts i could sell

 

[80251]

RAM has actually gone up by 25-50% according to PCPartPicker. The 50% is on 2x4GB so that is probably due to ramp-down of older chips, but I was surprised to see the 25% bump on 2x8GB.

GPU's... LOL

View attachment 198971


View attachment 198972

Maybe they'll begin to trade GPU's as commodities on the NYSE.

 

[GreiverBlade]

how am i coping?

well on one side i am almost delighted that the rest of the world have to experience pricing that i quite often see in Switzerland...
hilarious .... a 3070 is almost at the initial price of my 1070 in 2016, 499.99$ for a 3070, 575.95$ for a 1070 ... 499.99? the 3070 is 785.06$ for the cheapest for me (not in stock ofc) 1chf to 1.09$ conversion

on the other side... my main rig is getting long on tooth ...

but hey! i am used to these pricing ... i just take the most expensive pieces with a tiered monthly payment like i always did ... well, when they will be available ... which is a bigger problem than the pricing ... for GPUs at last ...



well ... "your 3070 is still 300$ cheaper than my 3070 ... complain more on price hike, but wait till we can actually buy the products"


edit: ohhhh the best GPU in stock i can find is a .... 2060... pffahahahaha and around 749chf for the cheapest in stock ahahahah i guess my 1070 is here to stay, damn 4yrs already since launch ... ouch

 

[mb194dc]

No one ever did QE until 2008, and now we have zeroish rates with negative real return. That has *never* been done before.

Even Buffet, who is older than you are, said that they've never seen this environment of negative real returns on debt and have no idea what the consequences will be - only that there will be consequences.

Warren Buffett: Zero interest rates have created a 'sea change' in finance

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett warned that the consequences of zero interest rates remain an unanswered question.

finance.yahoo.com

Not true, Japan did QE and has had close to or below zero interest rate since 98/99 ish. The FED and other central banks are just copying the BOJ. Not sure exactly why though, given the policies in Japan have totally failed to "work".

Going to be interesting to see what happens if / when Covid stimulus starts to wane. Uncharted territory for sure. At least some chance hardware might be more affordable in 6 months or so, though we might then have other problems in any case.

Anyway, didn't hold out too well on my non buying policy. 6 year old, Samsung 1080p TV which I had connected to living room PC started to get purple discoloration issue, so replaced it with a Philips momentum 558m1ry 4K HDR 100hz display. Was on offer at Scan, hopefully will last 10 years.

Don't game much on this machine, or anything new anyway. PES4 in 4k and MOHAA run ok though...., probably best not to try anything newer than that on a GTX 960... It's for media and storage mainly. Want to get a 6800xt, guess will have to wait a year or more for a reasonable price. Failing that will just go for a card than can at least do 10bit colour at 4k 100hz on DP 1.4 and just game on other machines.

 

[X71200]

E-bikes are neat but really only as a novelty at this point IMO.
Getting 80 Miles out of a 4KW battery with that size motor, maybe if you putt around @ <25mph you might get that far.

For that kind of money you can get a nice used bike that was well taken care of.

With the extended battery pack, you can get around 200 miles out of the Zero ones. No oil or other bits of the engine to take care of either.

But if you're super cheap, just get some used $2k Italian speed bike.

 

[RJARRRPCGP]

Bought a Crosshair VI Hero from a local contact a couple weeks ago for $80 to replace a defective B550 PG Velocita I bought used from Amazon. While I was initially having trouble with the Hero (constantly dropping internet connection) it seems to have smoothed itself out and even though boot time is kinda slow on it, I'm probably just gonna keep the board and instead look at buying a different case.

IMX, I avoid Amazon, too for used motherboards, I got a socket AM3+ motherboard with a bent corner and it looked like it was making strenuous RAM tests fail, with more than 4 GB of RAM! (more than a single 4 GB DDR3 stick, FFS!)

 

[RandallFlagg]

Not true, Japan did QE and has had close to or below zero interest rate since 98/99 ish. The FED and other central banks are just copying the BOJ. Not sure exactly why though, given the policies in Japan have totally failed to "work".

Going to be interesting to see what happens if / when Covid stimulus starts to wane. Uncharted territory for sure. At least some chance hardware might be more affordable in 6 months or so, though we might then have other problems in any case.

Anyway, didn't hold out too well on my non buying policy. 6 year old, Samsung 1080p TV which I had connected to living room PC started to get purple discoloration issue, so replaced it with a Philips momentum 558m1ry 4K HDR 100hz display. Was on offer at Scan, hopefully will last 10 years.

Don't game much on this machine, or anything new anyway. PES4 in 4k and MOHAA run ok though...., probably best not to try anything newer than that on a GTX 960... It's for media and storage mainly. Want to get a 6800xt, guess will have to wait a year or more for a reasonable price. Failing that will just go for a card than can at least do 10bit colour at 4k 100hz on DP 1.4 and just game on other machines.

Japan isn't the same as the US, see Bretton-Woods, Petrodollar, and Reserve Currency. Japan does not and cannot run huge trade deficits for sustained periods.

If any other country had been doing what the US has been doing for the past 40 years, their currency would have long ago gone the way of countless Banana republics. The only reason we can do that is because there is artificial demand for dollars via dollar-denominated markets. i.e. if a country wants to buy oil, pork, soybeans and any number of other goods in any real quantity they must have dollars to do so.

 

[DR4G00N]

With the extended battery pack, you can get around 200 miles out of the Zero ones. No oil or other bits of the engine to take care of either.

But if you're super cheap, just get some used $2k Italian speed bike.

The same principal applies, if you ride the zero sport bike like a sport bike you won't get nearly that kind of range. Those ones also cost over $20k.
IMO I just can't get my head around why anyone would want one of those when there are gasoline bikes that cost the same or less but are better in essentially every way.

 

[Hemmingstamp]

The same principal applies, if you ride the zero sport bike like a sport bike you won't get nearly that kind of range. Those ones also cost over $20k.
IMO I just can't get my head around why anyone would want one of those when there are gasoline bikes that cost the same or less but are better in essentially every way.

Gas won't be the fuel of the future and battery powered mobility is being pushed hard right now, as I type..
The powers that be want net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Yeah it seems a lifetime away but the information is out there, nothing is hidden....if people only looked.

 

[purplekaycee]

I want an upgrade but CPU and GPU prices are not favorable.

 

[Vendor]

I want an upgrade but CPU and GPU prices are not favorable.

same missed out on many great deals few months back and now it's impossible to find anything at reasonable price

 

[cornemuse]

I recieved 'email promo codes' from Frys till they closed down, I've bought 6-7-8 2½" WD 1 T Blues for as I recall less than $40, bit more for 3½" WD's 1 T. & 500 G. Bunch of name brand micro sd cards up to 160G, likewise thumb drives. Have prolly 20 full 2½ & 3½ hdds, and a bunch still sealed. Lotta mobos & memory over the years.
A whole lot of other stuff from them, sad to see them go, they were about 4 mi from home, , , ,

 

[Hemmingstamp]

I recieved 'email promo codes' from Frys till they closed down, I've bought 6-7-8 2½" WD 1 T Blues for as I recall less than $40, bit more for 3½" WD's 1 T. & 500 G. Bunch of name brand micro sd cards up to 160G, likewise thumb drives. Have prolly 20 full 2½ & 3½ hdds, and a bunch still sealed. Lotta mobos & memory over the years.
A whole lot of other stuff from them, sad to see them go, they were about 4 mi from home, , , ,

It's really sad to see the brick and mortar stores continue to close.