So now is not the best time to build a brand new rig...right?

Hey guys. My current Dell rig is really dead in the water right now in terms of gaming, and I'm definately going to start from scratch this summer. I've got my mid-range AMD rig (for cost issues) all mapped out - 5200+ processor, 8800 GTS, EVGA N590 mobo....

However, I was just reading a PC buying guide and it talked about Q6600 prices dropping to E6600 prices within a few months. Then I read about AMDs new Quad Core processors being released in July.

So my question is: should I buy a new computer as planned in early July, as new CPUs will be too expensive for me or wont come out for ages, or should I wait until I get back from my holiday in mid August to upgrade when quad core stuff will be more available? Keep in mind that I don't want to spend any more than what the 5200+ is going to cost me, my planned rig is completely price perfect for me and I don't have a lot of change flying about :)

 EDIT: Aaaah, and now I hear about the 8900. I know that computer technology moves along quickly and that you shouldnt wait forwever, but I don't want to buy a new rig if it's going to be trashed in terms of performance within a few months.

Well July 22 will be a really good time to upgrade but heres a protip for you:

Your computer will always be trashed out in terms of performence within a few months. It's jsut the way the computer world rolls. 

I've heard alot about July 22nd being the window for something big. What is it? It also happens to be the day I go on hols 

the time to upgrade is 3 weeks before crysis comes out. which should be around september-october. filmography

 Can't somebody be a little more specific? Is there anything that I should be waiting for, or is there no reason to delay?

On July 22nd the price of Intel's Core 2 Quad Q6600 will drop from $533 to $266 (roughly the current price of the Duo E6600) which is why many people are waiting, me included.

As you probably know the Q6600 and the E6600 run at the same speed, but the Q6600 obviously, as the name states, has four cores as opposed to the E6600's two cores.

*EDIT* Also, by then Nvidia's 89** series cards may be out, which will drive the 8800 prices down slightly. However, there is no definitve word on when exactly these cards are coming out or if they're even coming out anymore, as some people think Nvidia is going to go straight to the G92 cards for the fall/winter. If the 89**s are coming out, they will probably be released Q3 this year, making it possible for a release before the July 22nd quad price-cut. 

On July 22nd the price of Intel's Core 2 Quad Q6600 will drop from $533 to $266 (roughly the current price of the Duo E6600) which is why many people are waiting, me included.

As you probably know the Q6600 and the E6600 run at the same speed, but the Q6600 obviously, as the name states, has four cores as opposed to the E6600's two cores.

FireBurger

 Aha, that explains alot! So I should definately wait until I come back from hollies to buy my CPU?

http://www.techspot.com/review/36-intel-core2-quad-q6600/page7.html

For at least a couple of months you should notice very little difference between duel and quad core cpus apart from a few specific programs. The benchmarks between the q6600 and the e6700 are almost identical in most current applications.  Unless you don't want to upgrade your cpu a while down the line from now, it wouldn't be a bad idea to sit with a duo until yet another price drop (there will probably be one, right?).

Well it's highly unlikely that I'm going to upgrade individual parts in the future, so the Q6600 may be worth waiting for.

HOWEVER: It also presents me with an interesting dilemma. I've realised that my budget dictates that I can either go with the 5200+ Dual AMD Core and a 8800GTX, or the Q6600 and a 8800GTS 640mb.

So, what should I waste my money on? I have a feeling that the answer is going to be the graphics card!

 In case it helps, I'm also getting 2gb of Corsair Dominator memory

Ooooh, that's not what I expected to hear! Does anybody have any more input? Thanks for the advice though :)

 BTW, could I go down the AMD route this July? No new quad core or major price drops coming up, right?

Is your computer older than an Athlon Thunderbird 1Ghz? I'm still running along with plenty to play.

If you're itching to build a new PC, the Bearlake motherboards came out today and they will be pretty future-proof. If the price drops concern you, but the cheapest Intel CPU that is available (think Ebay) for the P35 chipset, buy all your other components, then just upgrade the CPU after the price drops. In the meantime you can still buy all the other components like the power supply, case, memory, DVD writer, etc. while you're waiting for the CPU prices to drop, because those components change less dramatically from year-to-year.  GPU prices are not expected to change in the near future, so all lights are go except the CPU.

Good luck. 

i can only say one thing to you: welcome to the world of PC gaming

Simply accept you'll be second best, games won't fully use todays top of the range sytems for a while yet and you can always overclock.

Who plays at anything above 1600x1200 anyway 

Fantabulosa guys, thanks for the advice. I've set myself a budget of £1000/$2000 that I don't want to pass. I also don't want to wait too long to upgrade or I'm never going to bite the bullet. I also get to spend around £300 extra, since everything I buy is going to be tax free (don't ask!), and without that bonus I wouldn't even be able to consider buying a quad-core, so I guess that I should be grateful!

 Looks like it's going to be an AMD 5600+ and a 8800GTX after all. Just a few cuts in the RAM and case departments to make and I should be ready to rock!

^ i might go with the GTS, that CPU will bottleneck that graphics card. And unless you wana play at 1900x1200 the GTS will do fine. Oh i said wait for crysis because its gana be the first dx10 game at least a good one. SO little games right now use dx10 and its pretty much a waste until a dx10 game comes out, and by that time you will see a major drop in price and some new dammit(amd/ati) hardware that will further drive the prices down.filmography

Aaaaaaargh! Will the confusion never end?!

So it's really either a Q6600 and a GTX or a 5400+ and a GTS. right?

 Sheesh, building yourself is stressful ;)