My old PC was 6 years old before it died back in December. I have been saving up since then and so far, if I go half and half with my parents, my budget will be a total of about $3500/3600. I would like to say I don't want to go crazy and just buy, say an alienware just because I can. I would like to save as much as possible whilst still buying the best PC I can get.

The PC will be used mainly for gaming. I also want it to last a long time. 6 years is too much to ask, so I'd really like something that'll last, maybe 2.5/3 years before it really starts to get sluggish and I feel I need to upgrade.

Thats why I'm waiting. I've got my eye on things like the 790i, GeForce 9's, Intel's QX9770 and stuff. I also read something about AMD/ATi's 4000 series coming the second half of this year. I don't think I'll wait that long though.

I made a mistake with my last PC where I rushed to buy and ended up with a crappy spec. I only waited until about 3/4 months before it's death to stick a new graphics card and some memory in, simply because I landed a job and had the money to do so.

This time I'd like to spend wisely. So, back to the original question, which you probably forgot after I rambled so much - when will be the best time for me to buy? I will be building it myself btw.

Hi HitRaj47

Nice to meet another builder , you will have to wait for the 790i and the GeForce 9s (I'm hoping the 9s will be out soon or I'm going ATI), i have just got an Asus P5N-T Deluxe nForce 780i because i want mine built and running in the next 3 weeks just got to wait for my CPU , and if your going to game do consider WD Raptors in raid 0 and something not - for the OS, also 4GB Ram, as you know its not just one component but how every thing works together (you can build a high power fast rig install Vista and ruin it ! use XP or Linux with all the Cr*p chopped out, one more thing don't skimp on the Ram cheep Ram kills a Gamer Rig, keep us up to date hun

I have been waiting for the 790i. I think I will go with DDR3 memory (2x2GB) as I want this machine to be able to last for some time. The 9600GT is already out and outperforms the 8800GS, plus it's only about $30/40 more, so it's a great card.

However, the 9800GX2 will apparently be released March 11th, according to this article: GeForce 9 series roadmap updated, GeForce 9500 added | NordicHardware

It looks like I will be getting the 9800GX2 then? Btw, I think it would have been a mistake for your to go with ATi/AMD on the graphics card as I read somewhere that the Radeon HD4000 series might be released/announced second half of this year. Did you buy already?

I've always though the Raptors were a bit overkill, plus expensive too, which is why I've never really considered them. I was going to go with a WD 500GB 7200 RPM hard drive, but I'll see when I come to buy if I can fit it into my budget... (lol)

I won't be getting cheap RAM or any cheapo stuff, I really want this to be a good rig, my last one was terrible! Now, about the OS... I was gonna Vista Home Premium... Is Vista really /that/ bad? I haven't got a chance to use it yet, let alone play games on a Vista system. I will end up getting Vista anyway, but I may still use XP if Vista causes me too many problems.

Finally, about the CPU -- I still don't know about the release date of Intel's CPU's, specifically the QX9770. I won't be overclocking when I get the system, but a few years down the line when performance starts to drop, I will probably do so. And I know these CPU's have great overclocking ability!

Thanks for your advice too, I will keep you updated as well, I am bugging everyone I know about buying this next PC, so it's only fair once I do buy to tell you how it goes :P

Hiya

I sent for the Graphics card today This one I have been all over the spec with my Dad "hes a very experienced builder" and i think i will be happy with it , OS i have Vista Ultimate on a dual boot on a second Computer and ATM i would not recommend it for gaming there are three good choses of XP and all will perform better then Vista "but its what you prefer ", yes Raptors are not cheep, i have just bought three for my new build if you try one you will see the difference, but again its what you prefer, hope your build goes well hun.