[sum]

Hey all, im interested in buying a new pc alltogether to upgrade from my current 3 year old one. im looking to get something high end, so far ive decided on an intel quad 6600 or duo e6750, dual 8800gtx in SLI, 2gb memory as the core components.

This spec aint cheap and i want it to last so my question is, is this the right time to buy? ive heard its best to wait till after christmas since new technological advances are rushed into market in these 8 or so weeks before Christmas because everyones trying to cash in on the holiday spending fever. I understand new technology, especially in regards to graphics, is always adavncing but will there be any major changes if i wait till around jan?

Also, if anyone can recommend any reliable companies offering custom pcs, that would be great

[alex]

Is this the right time to buy? well, yes.

Is Christmas the right time to buy, well yes.

Actually, anytime is the right time to buy as deal's are always going on, and you can play the waiting game forever.

The only time you should wait to buy a new pc is when a manufacturer is releasing a new cpu or gpu or mobo chipset. At this point the previous models tend to shoot down in price. Simplified there, but you get the idea.

Although, good custom builders for a spec such as yours don't shift as many systems as e-tailers such as pc world so you'll see less deals because they're pretty much untouchable on build experience, overclocking etc, and that kind of expertise commands a price premium and rightly so.

For good custom builders there's only two in the U.K you should look at. Make no doubt about that, especially for high end rigs.

Vadim and Scan

I would only go SLI on a dual 8800GTX rig if you're gaming at 1920x1200. Any resolution below that and it's a waste of card(s). Also, only go SLI if you play a number of SLI optimised games.

[mrdaveyk]

yeh i dont think there is a right time to buy, deal wise theres always something on as alex said and your never going to be ahead of technology for long, i give it a day lol so yeh, see a bargain? snap it up when you got the chance, just browse for a bit, chances are high that urll buy a set then find a cheaper better one next day.

[mr_miller]

you'll probably see a sell off of the 8800 series cards in the next few weeks; the 320mb version has been dropped by nvidia and the 640mb is sure to follow.

[alex]

That's primarily because the 8900 is due very shortly, maybe even before end of year.

[sum]

Hey thanks for the replys and links. Vadim seems a bit over pricey, scan is more reasonable but i was also thinking of http://www.cyberpowersystem.co.uk/ they're cheaper than scan but im not too sure about their rep

about:

I would only go SLI on a dual 8800GTX rig if you're gaming at 1920x1200. Any resolution below that and it's a waste of card(s). Also, only go SLI if you play a number of SLI optimised games.

I use photoshop all the time for digital illustration and so i'm planning on going for the 30 inch Dell 3007WFP along with this mainly gaming upgrade. Im guessing such a monior will need SLI to play anything (such as crysis/bioshock/gears) close to the 2560x1600 res its capable of but im not sure if this alone is worth it or necessary for SLI. I'm also a bit concerned if dvds played on the computer can scale up to those high resolutions.

As far as waiting, will the release of the 8900 series put a significant plunge on the 8800gtx price?

[Insomnia]

A 30 inch monitor! Ouch!

A friend of mine runs a 24 inch and I find it almost painfully large to look at. Generally as screens get bigger, the refresh rate goes down right? At a resolution that high wouldn't the refresh rate run at around 50Hz? I've heard that having low refresh rates can lead to eye-soreness/red eyes etc.

Honestly I'd suggest getting a smaller monitor, say 24 inches. It'd be cheaper and would do the job just as well. Games and applications would also run a lot faster, as well as the bonus high refresh rate.

As for being the time to buy, I'd probably say: whenever you want to, or whenever a good deal comes up.