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I had a quote for computers bought by a local college in 1990

Scary how much some of it all cost:

Quotation of PC’s from 1989 for local college

20 x 286 systems @ $2895 each
• 16 bit 286 CPU @ 12.5 mhz
• 1mb ram expandable to 5mb
• Ems 4.09 supplied and supported
• Real time clock
• 40mb HDD
• 1 3.5 inch 1.44mb floppy
• 1 5.25 inch 360k drive floppy drive
• Serial port
• Parallel port
• 80287-8 maths co processor
• 16 bit vga card and tystar vga high res monitor
• 1 optical mouse

Special features
BMS 386 sx CPU module at 16 mhz with socket for 80387sx. Price = $495
BMS i486 CPU module at 25 mhz available March 1990

Standard upgrades
From 1mb to 1.5mb = $145
From 1mb to 2mb = $290
From 1mb to 3mb = $495
From 1mb to 4mb = $990

Replace 5.25 360k drives with 5.25 1.2mb drives = $35 per drive
Upgrade from 40mb to 80mb hdd = $495.00

Ethernet card
8 bit Ethernet card = $235
16 bit Ethernet card = $255

Software
MS Dos 4.0 = $110
MS Word Education pack of 10 users = $625
MS Windows 2.11 Education pack of 10 users = $388
MS Works Education pack of 10 users = $405


you would struggle to get a lot of that now.
 
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AMD already struggling to sell 7000 series, now reviews are out and confirm Intel back in the lead. Depending on pricing of the whole build including mobo and RAM, AMD behind once more for gaming.
 
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AMD been behind for a little while again, even if Intel using monstrous amounts of power to do it.

Full AMD setup here, had Nvidia/Intel for years before that. Just interesting to follow hardware, recommending stuff is just an excuse to use that otherwise completely useless knowledge ;)
 
AMD been behind for a little while again, even if Intel using monstrous amounts of power to do it.
the x3d variety of the AMD CPU might help a little.

I don't care, its the same every year. little incremental increases to get fan boys excited. More free advertising.
Maybe I am too old and been watching same game now for 20 years. Hardware almost as bad as cars now, change color scheme and charge people more. Burnt out.
 
the x3d variety of the AMD CPU might help a little.

Yes the 5800X3d is already not far off the current gen, so if they do announce/release 7000 series X3d next year as the rumours say they'll catch up again. Theyre still way ahead in power and for MT in a lot of pro applications, so that probably means they will do well for business use.

Its mostly academic for games true, if youre at 1440p or above the differences between the latest Intel and AMD is average about 5% and less at 4k even if you have a 4090. Still good to know what is fastest and what offers the best value. The tech is just interesting to follow.

For about 10 years from 2007 we had quad cores as the fastest gaming chips, now we have 8 cores for the same price, Ryzen has been progressing things in the last few years. Who knew that 'make more cores' would eventually prove to be the right move. :p
 
You might be right, I hadn't thought about them not making them any more.
I have to decide if I want that more than the GPU right away. My plans change every week though what I want doesn't.
  • 6800xt or 7800xt
  • 5800x3d
  • 3 x noctua 140mm fans (this easy part, I just add onto order)
I could get all 3 at once but it depends on price of GPU.
Or just get CPU and fans and get GPU later. that might let me get cooling system right before I put a GPU in.
if I did that I could buy it all now...

GPU lets me run screen at full speed in games, and lets me use resizable bar.

So I don't know which is more useful...

I can't decide what to do... hence I just keep waiting.
I hate being indecisive :)
 
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Since posting I have decided to get 5800X3d & 3 Noctua fans next week. Shame its Saturday morning (here) so no point doing anything until Monday. I have the money for that much now, the GPU was questionable.

Only as its unknown, it was going to be less than a 4070 but as they not out here yet, I don't know. The 4090 costs $3500+ here. So guesstimate would be around 2k. Sapphire 6800xt still cost 1500 here but its best make/model you can get. So 7800xt prices?

They won't release cards much before Xmas, so I just look at them then and not rush into it.
Get CPU now and make sure cooling works before Summer (which starts for me in 5 weeks).

edit: since posting this I looked into CPU and the performance benefit I would get from CPU on current GPU doesn't make it worth it, so back to waiting for 3 November announcements.
 
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Don't you guys 🙃 have Black Friday & Cyber Monday days? Those would surely be worth waiting for in case there's a great deal—if not, then soon after as companies try to shift product during the shopping season.

We do, and I'll be looking then. Thing is the 2 main online PC parts stores here dont have deals in the same way a Newegg does. I'll be keeping an eye out then for sure though.
 
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I believe I wasn't born to be a consumer so I generally just ignore sales and only buy things when I need/want them. Yes, I miss out on bargains but I also don't see advertising so it cancels itself out. People always buying things means they believe their job is to buy crap and keep the economy of crap alive.

Black Friday is an import from USA and well, like Halloween, I don't celebrate imports.

the top of the world is just arbitrary, map designers thought it made sense that way. They were all biased.
 
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Maybe it's because I have already have a Ryzen 5800X and I have no need for an upgrade, but the 7000 series and 13th gen launches have felt pretty uninteresting to me. The 7000 series has the issue of high platform cost, and 13th gen is super power hungry and not dramatically better than existing parts.
That does seem to be a problem for most people. The cost is a little steep, and for AMD people we used to being able to use old parts. Its all new and the boards are expensive as well.

I don't need a new PC for a few more years, happy to make this one better instead.
 
Maybe it's because I have already have a Ryzen 5800X and I have no need for an upgrade, but the 7000 series and 13th gen launches have felt pretty uninteresting to me. The 7000 series has the issue of high platform cost, and 13th gen is super power hungry and not dramatically better than existing parts.

Yea I'm definitely not going to change platforms based on these chips. Especially with the RAM and mobo costs
 
JayzTwoCents just put out a 20m video titled "Too many choices! How to choose the right PC parts", aimed at people who've been out of the hardware loop for years and are now looking at upgrading after say 5 or more years since their last build or purchase.

A bit beyond my knowledge level—tho I still found it interesting—but maybe of interest to our hardware experts here.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQ308X5_xn4
 

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