i wish i could show my Boss at work all my bank statements and ledger to ask him what i shouldn’t have bought this year! my kids clothes, repairs and maintenance for my vehicles, healthy food?? i haven’t purchased a single “want” for me all year. ikeep saying “next check i put some up for the new CPU” but this 12$/hr sawmill job is to much for me. I know Me and my family deserves more than me working 50hrs a week and never know when I’m going to cut another finger off or worse, but i dont know where to start?
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It is a B A D time, to entertain purchasing pc hardware. Between the physical lack of new current stuff and major markups on older tech. Better off just stockpiling away on your account(s), while things try to sedate
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As long as you dont need current gen there are still deals to be had, but yes not the best time.
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If you want, you can try burning a live Linux distro to a USB stick and visit a pawn shop to see what they have, and at least test it a bit.
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I wanted to upgrade to a 6800XT from a GeForce 970 because of Cyberpunk but its current situation has me on pause. I will probably get a new card when the GOTY version releases but right now, the games I play isnt so demanding.
Same deal with the CPU. I was supposed to get either a new phone or a new CPU but the CPU and its mobo is still functional. Im glad I spent a lot in my last upgrade that upgrading right now isnt really required.
It also helps that I am on Linux and this keeps me away from the triple A game non-sense that gets recently released. Also havent got the time to play like I used to.
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It depends on what you already have, here is a starter kit you could get that give decent low-end performance, but still allows for some upgrades. Capable of most games up to 2017.
That said, if you can wait 6 months you can probably get a newer gen for cheaper. Skip the parts you do not need!
| Part | Model | Price | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 3400G | $149.99 | Best GPU+CPU combo for now, can play esports |
| Motherboard | MSI B440 Tomahawk MAX | $114.99 | Great VRMs for the price |
| Memory | G.Skill Aegis 2x8 GB DDR4 3200 MHz | $62.99 | 16 GB is plenty |
| Storage | Crucial P2 1TB M.2 NVMe | $91.99 | 1 TB is a bit small but works |
| Power supply | SeaSonic FOCUS 80+ Gold 650W | $99.99 | Gold is so worth it! |
| Case | Cougar MX330-X | $41.99 | Mesh panel, fits 2 fans in front |
| Case fan | Arctic Cooling F12 Silent 120mm | $9.77 | For extra case cooling |
| Case fan | Arctic Cooling F12 Silent 120mm | $9.77 | For extra case cooling |
| Total | $581.48 |
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50/30/20 for $12/hr translates into roughly 12k/year for mortgage, food, vehicles and bills. 7.2k / year for niceties, education, self improvement, vacations and hobbies and 4.8k/year for retirement and other forms of old age insurances or health insurance.
In short, you need to start earning more.
Build sheds, cut and assemble desks or shelves or hifi speakers, convert garages into home offices for people, build pet crates, fix people’s homes, start doing some light cad, cam, cnc milling. All these can be side gigs, whatever your local market needs. A new gpu will make you less happy than knowing you’ve done something towards getting out of the rat race.
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I would for sure look at used hardware, if bang for buck beats overall price, and “nice to have” features
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well i just got Fired so maybe ill get a better job but for now i guess i’m looking to change career
Shit, that sucks dude. I guess now is really not the time to buy new gear, unless really needed for a course.
In which case, I presume find course first, then work out equipment… though in the current environment, I would not be too picky, and probably look into another carpentry/factory position; if wood prices are still crazy high, should be other jobs in the industry?
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And Sorry to hear about the firing if you do switch job/career, good luck man
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Sorry to hear about your job, I hope you will find something else soon.
When buying on a budget I think it is important to look at what value you get. Not in terms about performance or specs, but personal value/enjoyment. What will it enable you to do which you couldn’t do before. Are you looking forward to play some specific games that your old computer can’t run? Then how much will the minimum required hardware cost compared to how much you expect to enjoy playing those games. How would it compare to say getting a last gen console instead with some other games? Will you enjoy looking at a new shiny thing, or will you stove it away under the desk anyway were you wouldn’t notice an old second hand case?
Or maybe what would give the most to you life isn’t a new computer at all? Crazy example, getting a tent to go camping so you can get some alone time away from the family. Talk to your friends and hear if they have any ideas. If you only have money to get one thing, you should be careful not to get too stuck up on one specific thing.
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Unfortunate news. Hopefully the next door, is a brighter / more promising outlook
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Sorry to hear that. 
I can’t give any good advice on what career to switch to, since that depends heavily on your particular skillset and where you live.
If it were me though, if you’re looking for a programming job, try embedded software - industry is still screaming their lungs out for that one, atleast where I live. Get a cheap Arduino kit and learn the basics of FreeRTOS and then you should be able to get hired pretty soon.
If you’re looking for something a bit more hands-on, renewable energy is just poised to get better and better - meaning, all these companies looking to put up solar will need more people. That’s where I would look right now for low-skilled labour. If you can get an electricians certificate that would be even better.
The most important thing though is not to rush into anything, figure out what possibilities you have and go from there, and don’t be afraid to learn something new. 
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well still no job, but been going over RTOS its much like many other Programming language and compilerbut still looking for work east tenneessee