Are you considering changing computers and thinking about the best time to do it? Well, here we are to help you and solve your doubts, because of course it is not an issue that we should ignore. Computers, these old friends who often start to limp and need a change. Ok, but when?
Many components, many programs and games, and a lot of complexity. The reality is that deciding when to buy a new computer depends on many factors such as the launch of new video games, the new components (processor, graphics card) as well as, of course, what we are going to use it for and the age of our current one. team.
The games come after the summer holidays
The video game sector is not stupid, far from it, and many of the great video games arrive after the summer , on many occasions around Christmas to take advantage of the large shopping campaign during those dates..
Video games are, on many occasions, the reason why we buy a new computer, since they are the most demanding programs for it. If our computer needs a change, the last months of the year can be a good time to renew , especially if the last game that we have been waiting for months has just been launched.
Usually the launch window is between September and December , depending on the title and franchise, although of course there are video game launches throughout the year. Most of the release dates are known at the major annual trade shows, such as Game Developers Conference (GDC, in three different editions in March, August and October), Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3, June or July), Gamescom (August ) or Tokyo Game Show (TGS, September)..
If games are the main goal of your new computer, buying it after the summer seems like the best idea. Even so, do not forget that although it is true that this final stretch of the year is usually the usual for new launches, many companies maintain surprises during the rest of the year depending on the status and evolution of the development of the titles themselves.
Hardware news, all year round
We all ask ourselves the same question: how long will my computer remain a novelty? And it is logical, for example, that we wait for a manufacturer to launch its latest product on the market to buy it, and not the previous and already obsolete..
And here things are difficult. A computer is made up of a few dozen different components, which complicates things when choosing a perfect moment so that everything is an absolute novelty. If it is true that there are two components that stand out from the others, and in which a greater amount of money is generally invested: processor and graphics card.
The processor is a component that constantly evolves, every very little time, and therefore its rate of evolution and updating is frantic: throughout the year we have news almost month after month , of greater or lesser importance.
It is therefore very difficult to give a specific, general and universal date, although it is true that renewals are usually annual: if a certain product is launched, for example, in April, it is most likely that its successor will be launched. twelve months later.
If you are interested in a certain microprocessor, check what its date of first availability in the market has been, and estimate how much is left for it to be renewed.
As a reference, the usual thing is that in the middle of the year (months of May, June or July) the new families of processors arrive on the market , with minor renovations (that is, sub-models with less novelties) during the rest of the year.
With graphics cards it happens something similar, although recent years have been very irregular in this sector who regularly breaking records year after year. In the past it was normal to see annual renewals - I would even dare to say that every twelve 'clock' months - but the reality is that today they usually go for a year and a half or even two years .
Rather than knowing when the next great graphics card will arrive, I propose to do it the other way around: check the 'age' of the graphics card you are interested in, and ponder if it is worth buying the one that is more than a year old . Also keep in mind that depending on the use you are going to give it, it is not essential to get the latest - and most expensive - model on the market.
To all this there is always an essential ally: rumors and news from specialized websites that filter the data and often advance the launch dates. They will be very useful to know in advance if something great is going to be launched on the hardware market.
Finally, we will talk about all those other components that are also part of a computer, but whose importance is usually less. RAM memory, storage (SSD, magnetic hard drives), housings and chassis, cooling and so on.
With some exceptions - such as the launch of a new generation of RAM such as DDR4, for example - launches are staggered throughout the year, depending on the manufacturer and the type of component. There is no standard or ideal date, and therefore, the only thing we can recommend is that you check at all times if there is a superior technology to be able to propose your purchase.
It is also necessary to mention that the hardware is in continuous renewal and that many times there is no launch pattern for the novelties, since these depend both on the original manufacturer of the component and on all the technologies that it uses around it. Check the age of your new computer, study if there are news or rumors about renovations and then decide.
The games that the end of 2015 has left us
We said before that the many of the main games on the market tend to be launched in the second half of the year, often hitting the Christmas shopping campaign. As an example we are going to check everything that has been released from September to December 2015:
- September : Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Pro Evolution Soccer 2016, FIFA 16, NBA 2K16
- October : Minecraft: Story Mode, WRC 5, Guild Wars 2: Heart of Throns, Darksiders II, Batman: Arkham Knight.
- November : Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Fallout 4, StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void, Football Manager 2016, Star Wars: Battlefront, Assassin's Creed Syndicate.
- December : Just Cause 3, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, Dirt Rally.
In Wikipedia you can take a look at the complete list of games released in 2015 and anticipate future releases with the forecasts for 2016. The requirements increase slightly year after year , although a good 2015 computer such as the Lenovo Y50 may Run the 2016 games with ease. It will be desirable to check for each game what are your requirements at the level of characteristics of our team.
But not only video games, many computer manufacturers also launch their respective equipment. For example, Lenovo and Razer have announced a new range of computers, the Lenovo Series Y Razer Edition, designed for the most demanding users who want to improve their gaming experience.
These teams will draw on Lenovo's design and engineering expertise along with Razer's gaming community experience, resulting in a series of models that will begin with the Lenovo Y Series Razer Edition desktop , and will continue with other teams in a Next future.
The Lenovo Y Series Razer Edition have been announced at DreamHack Winter 2015 and will be officially launched at the CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2016 in Las Vegas, a fair that will be held between January 6 and 9 next year and where they will be know all the details.
Components and computers to come
We mentioned before that the rate of hardware renewal is constant . Year after year, almost mechanically, different manufacturers and technology developers launch new products on the market, which have a greater - or often less - impact on previous technology.
What is expected in 2016? Changes Given the secrecy of the sector, the most difficult thing is to give specific launch dates , even more so with the margins that we currently manage - a few months away -, and also the improvements in performance that will occur. But let's try to see what are the news that await us for next year:
- Processors : Intel and AMD as the great bastions of the sector, every few months they have something new to present and launch on the market. And 2016 is no exception, of course; We expect renewal of all its families of processors, of all ranges and products. The best way to adjust the launch dates is to think that they will do so one year after the current models. An important note will be the arrival of DDR4 RAM memory technology to other product ranges.
- Graphics cards : we already mentioned that the renewal rate has been reduced compared to the past and it is possible that many of the current models will continue to be the novelties also during 2016. All? No, surely we will also see specific news throughout the year, of the most veteran models (especially those cards launched in 2014).
- Storage : SSD technology is well established and ideal for a gaming PC. There will continue to be news but these will not be significant, that is, they will not mean the arrival of something completely groundbreaking and innovative. Yes it is true that SSDs will continue to drop in price , but otherwise they will remain constant. Magnetic hard drives will also maintain both their function and performance and their cost.
- RAM memory : DDR4 will be the main novelty during 2016, already present in the most cutting-edge computers. It will reach other families of cheaper computers , including medium ranges and, perhaps, also low ranges. A lot of information will surely be revealed during the first months of the year.
- Other components : the computer market is tremendously changing and, of course, novelties are not ruled out in any component, at any time of the year. The usual thing is that it is during the first half of 2016 when the first technologies are presented (the second half is usually more focused on consolidating the products for the final months) such as new chassis, ventilation systems, more powerful network adapters , monitors and screens, keyboards and mice, and so on. There will be news in all fields , although it is not expected that these will represent a new point in the world of technology.
Lenovo has a lot of news ahead of it . Of those specifically oriented to the gaming world, perhaps the most representative is that Lenovo Series Y Razer Edition that we have already mentioned, but of course it will not be the only one; Its Y Series laptops also for gaming will improve their characteristics, as well as other ranges and families will also gain news. The common point of all these releases is that they will depend on what allied manufacturers such as Intel, AMD, NVidia, etc. have prepared.
This does not mean that the cycle of today's computers is going to close anytime soon. The latest equipment today will continue to run games with great efficiency , being tremendously interesting machines for the gaming world in every way and allowing you to enjoy them for many more years.