Recently, we received a question from a reader asking a question that we receive at least once a month. The reader asks:
Hi,
Just wanted to say great site, been a longtime reader. I’m looking to build a new PC for school and a bit of gaming as well. I have all the components in mind already and have a budget of around $1,000. My question is, when is the best time to buy the parts?
Thanks,
Jeff
Well Jeff, first of all thanks to reading CPCR and glad you enjoy our articles. It’s the support of readers like yourself that encourage us to continue producing new articles, so thank you.
Your question asking when the best time to purchase a new computer hardware is actually a very common question we receive here and while I’d love to give you a specific date and time, there really isn’t a “best time”. While the common belief is that the best time to pick up new computer hardware is during times like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Back to School season, or during the Holidays, the best time to purchase is actually either when you need it or when the hardware has just been released.
During the major sales events, generally speaking the only great deals available are typically on lower end hardware or last generation hardware that recently got replaced with something newer. If that’s what you’re looking for, then the best deals from what we’ve seen typically run from Black Friday through the holiday season to around February. However, if you go with the best deals, you will likely be purchasing last generation hardware and with the big CES show happening in January, your brand spanking new computer parts may actually be two generations old in a very short period of time.
As such, our best recommendation on purchasing new computer hardware is to purchase it when it’s needed so that you can get the most use out of the hardware or to pre-order and purchase the hardware about a month or two after it’s released. The reason for this is that typically the “early adopter tax” is gone by then so you’ll get that big initial discount from MSRP and because the component just launched, it’ll be relevant for a longer period of time rather than going obsolete within one or two months.
As always, if you have a burning computer question you’d like to ask us, send us an e-mail to [email protected] and we may feature it in a future article. Thank you!
