r/buildapc • u/Nik1_ • 15h ago
Build Help NEW PC - Now or Black Friday ?
Hello guys.
I’ll be making a new PC since my current one will turn 8 years old soon.
I was ready to buy it in a week, but honestly don’t know if I should just wait until Black Friday at this point?
I know it’s generally a scam but sometimes there are some good deals.
Is there any possibility that prices will spike again until then or not really?
What would you guys recommend me to do?
Thanks in advance!
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u/amiga1 15h ago
will likely be good deals on peripherals like monitors, keyboards, mice, desks, chairs, etc. in black friday deals.
I think deals on components are unlikely. probably find better deals looking at open or damaged box stuff.
either way, always check its usual price with something like camelcamelcamel to see if you're actually getting a good deal as they are known to inflate and then drop back to norm.
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u/Upset_Science57 14h ago
Black Friday/Cyber Monday doesn't really happen anymore. We get Black Friday deals starting in October now lol Best thing you can do is "build" a PC wishlist, then track prices. Amazon is great at manipulating the price history. I've tracked several items on Amazon for electronics and it'll announce this is the lowest price ever even though it was 30 bucks cheaper 2 weeks ago. Track everything
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u/Jbarney3699 14h ago
Black Friday is good for peripherals like monitors, KBM, and other such devices.
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u/PokerLawyer75 14h ago
So many moons ago, I worked computer hardware retail sales.
There seems to be this belief that "Black Friday has insane deals on computers!" Bzzt. Wrong.
Back in the 90s, you could get stuff based on last year's hardware at blowout prices. Or you could get the dialup ISP subsidized machines . Remember when MSN or Earthlink or a few other carriers would subsidize $300 towards a PC when you signed up for a 2 year subscription for dialup internet access? You could walk away with a desktop from eMachines or Packard Bell for $0!!!
Not happening now.
There's absolutely zero incentive to get people into a Best Buy or a MicroCenter to buy a new PC. Why ? Because back then, not every household had a computer. Today, it's universal. You'll buy a new one when you need a new one. You're going to come into their doors eventually...they don't need to incentivize you with crazy prices.
Add in that memory supplies are going to be constrained for RAM and SSDs until 2029 at the earliest...
Get the computer when you can afford it. Period.
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u/Mravac_Kid 15h ago
My guess is prices will spike before then so they can be "on sale" at prices similar to those we're seeing now. But as you said, some things do get decent deals, so if you're not in a hurry waiting may be a better choice.
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u/Just_Cupcake_4669 13h ago
I know many people are saying to just buy now, but I'm in the same boat and here's the way I'm looking at it. Worst case, I think you might get the same price as now on "sale". I don't think you're going to see anything higher, even if it's inflated first, then "discounted". Especially if you're buying a bundle from Micro Center or Newegg, I think there's a good chance of savings over single components. In fact, I think that might be the only way to save this Black Friday or Cyber Monday. Personally, I'd wait if you can and I'd rather gamble at a chance to be pleasantly surprised or land back right where we are today. If the market shifts suddenly, and I'm paying a few bucks more, oh well. It's a risk I'm willing to take!
Edit typo
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u/SuperSkylerFTW 14h ago
If you have the patience wait and see. I am trying to forego upgrades myself personally Because of the economic hellhole affecting components.
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u/Alarming_Currency_38 14h ago
Prices probably wont “spike” until then, but dont expect any PC parts to be on sale tbh.
Only parts that might get a decent sale are coolers, and cases. Besides that don’t expect much.
MAYBE microcenter has some deals but I think you’d save at most 20-50$ total between gpu/cpu/mobo/memory/storage
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u/RunForTheHills1234 14h ago
Good deals don't exist right now. If prices go up 30% between now and Black Friday and you find a deal for 10 or even 20% off, did waiting help? I have never been a luddite and love new technology, but boy do I hate AI.
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u/DayQuilByNy 14h ago
Good luck with that strategy. It's not like anyone else is thinking the same thing, at that same exact time. /s
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u/TheDutchTexan 14h ago
Black Friday isn't what it used to be. If you find a price now and can live with it? Buy it. Besides, true "door-buster" stuff never lasts anyway. And then you're waiting again.
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u/AngeloPappas 13h ago
I highly doubt there will be any meaningful Black Friday deals on PC parts. Considering the demand for them outpaces the supply there is no reason for dealers to drop prices. Black Friday "deals" are also not what they used to be. Stores now order special stock for BF that is cheaper than their normal stock. An example would be a TV. The store will carry say model XBR900 normally, but they get model XBR900b for the Black Friday sales which appears to be the same as the normal, but when you really look at specs you realize why it's so much cheaper.
For building a PC everyone always asks "should I wait until xyz time to buy?" and the answer is almost always "buy and build when you are ready, don't wait for the perfect moment that won't come". Prices are insane right now, and I'm not sure anyone can predict where prices are going to go, but considering the trends I imagine it will just be up for the foreseeable future. Buy when you have the money to do the entire thing at once. Don't wait and slowly accumulate parts, that ends up backfiring.
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u/Suitable_Cheesecake7 13h ago
The best time to buy new components was two years ago; the second-best time is right now.
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u/tooth1521 12h ago
really, black friday deals start the first week of november. Put your parts together and wait 3 more weeks from today
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u/BeginningFig6552 12h ago
Mine turned 13 years old and I couldn’t wait any longer. It was so slow, it chugged just opening up Gmail!!!
I wouldn’t wait. Prices are already high due to the chip shortage from AI. Doubtful they’ll get any lower anytime soon. Case in point, the 3in1 intel bundle I purchased for $499 is already up to $529.
Know your budget and try to stick to it.
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u/NeedleworkerNew2085 12h ago
I just built a new one with a 5080 and a 9800x3d. Went from a 12th gen i5 and a 3090. I have no power whatsoever and I can't find what the problem is.
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u/onthenerdyside 11h ago
As others have said, Black Friday deals aren't what they used to be, and it's more of a seasonal clearance sale. If you can, find a store that offers a price guarantee and/or an extended return policy. There will be decent sales to be had, but you'll have to be both flexible with what you want and vigilant to find them.
Whenever you're buying, look for a price tracker app so you can find the history to make sure you're not being scammed. If something is at or near the annual low, I'd be pretty comfortable buying now. You might not hit the absolute lowest possible price, but you might miss that anyway if you're not paying attention.
RAM and storage in particular are going to be very difficult to find the value purchase. GPUs are still pretty high. If you're on AM4, it might just be worth doing a partial upgrade rather than a full platform swap. I went from a 2600 to a 5800X about two years ago and have been pretty happy with my upgrade.
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u/MCFroid 10h ago
One of the benefits to waiting until Black Friday is that you get to take advantage of the Holiday return policy, at least at places like Amazon. So, you get a lot more time to return/exchange the items you bought. I guess that policy starts on November 1st (for Amazon), so you don't actually have to wait till Black Friday if you don't want to.
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u/greggm2000 10h ago
If you can wait until Black Friday, you can wait a little longer than that, do a Intel Nova Lake or AMD Zen 6 build early next year (possibly as soon as January, and we will see the official announce for both, then). You'll get a lot more performance for your money, doubly so if you live within reasonable driving distance of a Microcenter in the US, and so can take advantage of their bundle deals.
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u/Gabians 8h ago
If you're not in a hurry just keep an eye out for deals, check r/buildapcsales every day, between now and black Friday. Buy the component you need when it comes on sale, piece by piece, instead of buying all of them at once. Even if sales aren't better on black Friday / cyber Monday there will at least be more products and brands on sale at the same time. For example, AMD processors might be on sale this week and Intel processors on sale next week, whereas on black Friday AMD and Intel processors might be on sale at the same time. So you'll have more of a selection for parts on Black Friday.
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u/nibble4bits 6h ago
use sites like camelcamelcamel.com to take note of pricing trends, that'll tell you if Amazon raised the price before the "sale."
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u/Ok_Perspective_7978 6h ago
If you have the money for the build you want now, just get it. Prices might come down a bit, but they're equally (or more) likely to rise. You're also not likely to see great deals on components for black Friday anyway.
If you're looking for deals, I recommend Microcenter or Newegg bundles on CPU, RAM, and Motherboards. You can save a pretty penny on those without waiting for black Friday
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u/jackcopen 5h ago
I just upgraded mine now because in the past month the GPU I wanted went up like $150 😂
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u/Ok-Mycologist1727 15h ago
Lol I too am waiting for black Friday sale. Have no idea what's going to happen.
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u/jjason82 15h ago
Black Friday "deals" kinda don't really exist anymore like they used to years ago. Sometimes you'll get lucky but it's usually the same stuff at about the same price. I would buy now if it was my money.