I remember when 32MB of RAM cost $375. I paid it anyway, even as a poor undergraduate, so I could avoid swapping while running g++, emacs, and X11 at the same time, on my cheap linux machine
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32GB of DDR5 now costs $375 – AI shortage continues to squeeze PC building
361–370 of 415 posts
Re: 32GB of DDR5 now costs $375 – AI shortage continues to squeeze PC building
#362Earlier quoted context omitted.
Here I'm on a 5800x and a 4070ti super and it's woefully inadequate for some games. Though I suppose if you play at 1080p (which is hard to look at these days for me) you might be OK on low-medium settings in some newer games. I can't see you getting very far with something like Forza Horizon 6 or Death Stranding 2 though.
Brother, I'm on a 3070 Ti and I can play basically all games at full settings at 1900x1200 resolution. I've only found one game where I had to turn the settings down (Talos Principle 2). Most games aren't really demanding.
I suppose if you turn off ray tracing and don't mind 1900x1200. I'm trying to push 1440p w/ ray tracing. Sometimes 4k if it's a good TV game. I'm constantly having to turn settings down to get >60 fps. These days more and more games seem like they expect some sort of ray tracing to get the full experience.
It's also quite nice to actually hit 165 fps in some less demanding games on my 165 hz monitor.
Re: 32GB of DDR5 now costs $375 – AI shortage continues to squeeze PC building
#363Earlier quoted context omitted.
The value of my desktop pc has almost doubled, my ps5 is worth ~ $150 more than I bought it years ago. It's gotten to the point where nvidia doesn't even bother to report their gaming revenue anymore. It's a clear sign that we're back to the bad old days of pc gaming being a 'prosumer' hobby, but don't worry I'm sure nvidia and their ilk are salivating at the idea of making pc gaming into a streaming stadia like solu…
https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Sohcahtoa82/saved/n76zkL I think I paid a total of around $5,500 for the current components of my PC. Hard to say for sure since my PC has been a Ship of Theseus for over 30 years and started as a 486. The link merely reflects its current state. At one point, PCPartPicker was showing my PC as worth $11,000. It's now at $7,200 without including the RAM or PSU . That would put it at $9,000…
> unless you're still gaming at 1080p
I think modern rendering techniques need more pixels. 1440p should be considered bare minimum, and 4K the norm. Unfortunately, the prices are what they are.
On the flipside, being a low-spec gamer is better than ever. Indies, oldies, mods... all in great shape.
Re: 32GB of DDR5 now costs $375 – AI shortage continues to squeeze PC building
#364Earlier quoted context omitted.
>they're probably more than what most people are looking to spend on a technically second-hand computer (even if they are like new and still under warranty) Some people need to buy at these inflated prices anyway, and are ultimately willing to spend. Maybe it differs in your area but there's no risk in listing these on Facebook Marketplace or similar platforms and see the interest.
I've had them listed on FB Marketplace for months. In that time, I've sold four (3 to one guy, one to myself), and still have 20-ish more. i5-13500E, 32GB DDR5, 512 GB NVMe, scratched and dinged a bit for $500 is practically a steal! Hardly anyone's biting or clicking, I don't get it... New open box models (not scratched and dinged), if anyone's interested: https://www.ebay.com/itm/188355326179 Edit: they're intended…
13th gen, and they still have VGA out? Amazing.
The only thing I've found that's annoying with these POS/Office builds across various brands and models from 2013-2017 is the PSUs are less reliable and end up failing if you're doing more than just running excel and outlook. The OEM PSUs are often priced at ~25-70% of the value of the entire machine. I've seen some people end up cutting a hole in the case and bolt an ATX PSU to the exterior.
Re: 32GB of DDR5 now costs $375 – AI shortage continues to squeeze PC building
#365Same thing with storage. I wanted to upgrade my SSD but prices are more than at the end of 2025. I refuse to pay 500 euro for a 4TB SSD. I rather go outside and play with my bike like when I was 5.
Even spinning metal has gone through the roof even on refurb and server pulls.
I have to wonder if some online stores have been drip selling stock, trying to sell at the top of the market. A few extra $k on thousands of units from a day-to-day price change is probably tempting for small pc part businesses.
Re: 32GB of DDR5 now costs $375 – AI shortage continues to squeeze PC building
#366Earlier quoted context omitted.
There's not necessarily anything wrong with gaming at 1080p, but I shudder to recommend anyone use a 1080p display for productivity. I feel like 27" 1440p is a good minimum experience. I also think that you're doing yourself a disservice going with an 8GB gpu in 2026, even for 1080p
How do you reconcile your comment with the fact that computers were used productively for decades before the invention of 1080p and larger formats.
We also have decade of studies showing that one of the best ways to boost productivity is to give people more screen real estate. This was true in the 80s, it was true in the 90s, and it didn’t really seem to plateau until something like 5-6K displays. The only reason people didn’t use bigger displays back then was due to the cost — a friend’s dad ran a prints go in the 90s and he really benefited from a display big enough to fit a whole page legibly, but that and an 11x17 printer cost enough that he needed a small business loan to buy them. He could justify it on productivity grounds but most people just accepted the hit.
Re: 32GB of DDR5 now costs $375 – AI shortage continues to squeeze PC building
#367Earlier quoted context omitted.
you've 'upgraded' the same pc since a 486? i really can't believe that unless you're counting your mouse and keyboard.
> you've 'upgraded' the same pc since a 486? Yes. The most I've ever replaced all at once is the CPU/mobo/RAM trifecta. But even when I do that, I still kept the same storage, case, GPU, PSU, mouse/keyboard, etc. But otherwise, upgrades are piecemeal. New storage when my current storage is full or I want to upgrade to a new technology. New GPU when I feel like my current one is holding me back. New mouse or keyboard…
Did you mod the case? I can't imagine a case designed for a 486 would be super great for thermals for a modern CPU and discrete GPU combo. For me, it was such a pain in the butt to try and mod it vs. $100 for a case that "just works", so that was the nail in the coffin for my old AT case.
Re: 32GB of DDR5 now costs $375 – AI shortage continues to squeeze PC building
#368Earlier quoted context omitted.
> you've 'upgraded' the same pc since a 486? Yes. The most I've ever replaced all at once is the CPU/mobo/RAM trifecta. But even when I do that, I still kept the same storage, case, GPU, PSU, mouse/keyboard, etc. But otherwise, upgrades are piecemeal. New storage when my current storage is full or I want to upgrade to a new technology. New GPU when I feel like my current one is holding me back. New mouse or keyboard…
I get it, the Beige Box of Theseus. I guess most would probably assume at least one epic refresh where there wasn't really anything carried across except maybe the parking spot on your desk. And since the 486 era, most probably expect your desk and/or physical site changed too. There were so many potential PC era boundaries like case and motherboard form factors, external peripheral buses, HDD controller types, expan…
> There were so many potential PC era boundaries like case and motherboard form factors
Only one change really from AT/Baby AT to ATX. We've been on ATX now for 30 years. I could grab an A-Bit BH6 motherboard from 1998 and put it in my modern Hyte Y60 case if I wanted to.
> external peripheral buses
Since we're talking starting from 486 era, that only means going from PS/2 to USB for keyboard/mouse, parallel port for your printer, maybe serial port for a modem. During the transition period, adapters were cheap and common.
> HDD controller types, [..], display connection types.
I don't know about the ESDI to IDE transition, but I know from IDE/PATA to SATA there was a period where motherboards had both. During the transition from VGA to DVI, then DVI to DisplayPort, GPUs had both.
> cooling and PSU demands
If you overbuy on the PSU a little, you can get a ton of futureproofing. CPUs came with stock coolers until just a few years ago.
> socket/RAM formats
Which is why the CPU/mobo/RAM upgrade was typically done as a trifecta.
> So many opportunities to think, "this seems like a time for a clean slate."
Never felt the need. As mentioned above, there was frequently a transition period for when hardware supported both old and new tech.
Re: 32GB of DDR5 now costs $375 – AI shortage continues to squeeze PC building
#369Earlier quoted context omitted.
The value of my desktop pc has almost doubled, my ps5 is worth ~ $150 more than I bought it years ago. It's gotten to the point where nvidia doesn't even bother to report their gaming revenue anymore. It's a clear sign that we're back to the bad old days of pc gaming being a 'prosumer' hobby, but don't worry I'm sure nvidia and their ilk are salivating at the idea of making pc gaming into a streaming stadia like solu…
> pc gaming being a 'prosumer' hobby, As much as I hate to say it, the move at this point is GeForce Now, at least for the time being... I just subscribed to the 200 USD/year Ultimate plan with a free 007 game. My ping to the datacenter is a mere 5ms, with 5080, RTX, 4k@60Hz (which my projector can drive) I am getting way more performance and similar latency than I would if I were using my own, semi-affordable rig or…
It is the move if you want to be Jensen's little bitch, and want to fuck gaming and computer ownership for everyone, forever.
Re: 32GB of DDR5 now costs $375 – AI shortage continues to squeeze PC building
#370Earlier quoted context omitted.
There's nothing wrong with 1080p gaming though. You can get a $200 to $300 microcenter cpu+motherboard+16GB DDR5 bundle [1], then $300-$400 GPU, and you'll be able to play nearly every game on the market just fine at 1080p. I'm sure there are pre-builts using stockpiled RAM that are similar $1000 price range. And if you buy used you can do even better. $300-400 might get you a 5060 or a 9060XT right now [2][3] but if…
> There's nothing wrong with 1080p gaming though. Hard disagree. Once I went 4K, I could never go back to 1080p. Sure, in an action-packed scenes of close- to moderate-quarters combat, I don't really notice it. But in long-distance combat? Having 4x the pixels per square inch is noticeable. In slower scenes and cut scenes it's definitely an appreciable improvement.
You really need 4K to appreciate all the hallucinated details in games.