Mine was yesterday, I bought a papa john’s pizza of medium size and some garlic knots. I was feeling like shit because my job and store is very good at that, so I stress ate. I contemplated in the car which would’ve been more valuable for my buck to dine with. I picked pizza.
$20 (more like $27 but I took away the price of the knots) was what it cost for a meats-based medium sized pizza from there. The problem I had with the pizza was that it didn’t look like a medium, it looked like the smaller-end of a medium. Secondly, the person cutting the slices did a shit job, because I had two smaller slices than the rest. And I felt there wasn’t enough meats spread evenly.
I honestly should’ve picked a chinese buffet because at least I would have variety and I could eat as much as I wanted. Plus saving a few dollars.
This is the first and last time I’m ordering something out of my comfort budget.
Buying computer parts is one of those areas when buying high end is usually cheaper in the long run. My 5800X3D / 3090 build is still extremely relevant despite being two generations behind the latest hardware. I have no desire to upgrade and I’ll probably be able to push it for another 2-4 years easily.
Never bought a Windows license though, and I’ve been building PCs since 1998.
Buying just slightly below highest end (so 5700X3D/3080) is the best bang-for-the-buck of all, IMO.
I just upgraded my seven-year-old 1700X/Vega 56 system to 5700X3D/9070 XT, and I expect it to be good for probably another seven years at least, give or take failure of the original motherboard I’m still using.
I used to do the same, and for stationary PCs, that’s still my recommendation. Sure, some might actually need bleeding edge stuff for for some specific niche high performance thing, but for most people that’s a waste of money.
The only exception is for laptops. I rely on laptops as I’m often on the go, and I’ve generally had better results when going high end (within reason) than going mid-tier.
I’m not saying I won’t buy high end. Just not new. There are so many used parts in circulation, and some of them in pristine condition. They’re cheaper, work almost as well (if not just as well), and keep e-waste out of landfills/being stripped for precious metals. I get to pat myself on the back and save some money, what could be better?