[PC part sales] kunalneo:
Getting the right set of computer parts, whether for a brand new PC build or an upgrade, involves a good amount of research and most importantly, patience. It is wise to purchase individual PC parts over a period of time which can help you save some money. But as I mentioned, this requires a lot of patience especially if you have been planning to build a new PC for some time.

If I am being honest, there is never a good time to buy computer parts. You might get a new monitor today, but in a few years or even months, it will be replaced by a new model that will be brighter, sharper, have a higher resolution, or even a faster refresh rate.

Yearly sales

One can anticipate a potential drop in price during recurring yearly sales. Amazon hosts multiple sales throughout the year with the biggest one being Prime Day that is usually hosted in the month of June. Similarly, Newegg is also a good place to buy PC parts at discounted rates during their Supreme Tech, and clearance sales. Additionally, Newegg also has Shell Shocker exclusive deals where prices change every day on different types of products. There are also smaller sales on occasions like Valentine's Day, Labor Day, and of course right before the holiday season.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are your best bet if you are looking for the best deals on PC parts. These are the biggest electronic sales where you can expect discounts, deals and price drops on a large range of hardware, peripherals, and other small PC parts. Retailers and sellers often host pre-Black Friday sales for long periods and those are not to be missed.

Having said that, don’t expect price drops on every single component. A lot depends on what you want to buy especially if you are seeking a particular model or a brand. There is a good chance that some component is not even included in the sale or the discounted price is not marginally better than the original cost.

Amazon Prime Day - June 21-22, 2021

Black Friday - November 26, 2021

Cyber Monday - November 29, 2021

Generational upgrades

This can be very tricky for the layman. However, if you are a PC enthusiast you can potentially capitalize when a newer generation of product is released. For instance, the introduction of Intel’s new 11th-gen CPUs has led to a small drop in the price of the outgoing 10th-gen CPUs. So yeah, it is s good time to get your hands on Intel’s Comet Lake processors.

The most obvious thing to note here is that you are not getting the latest piece of hardware, potentially missing out on a new feature or two. But if you don’t mind using hardware that is only one generation old, then this is a good way to save some money.

This isn’t always the case though, as it was evident when NVIDIA introduced its new GeForce RTX 3000-series last year. The entire GPU market has fluctuated with older generation parts selling at a premium, almost double the cost of their original retail price.

Price trackers

A good way to stay updated with the changes in the pricing of PC parts is by visiting PCPartPicker if you live in the US and PriceSpy if you live in the UK. These websites offer a breakdown of prices for a particular product from a list of vendors. This helps in comparing components, especially older generation models where you can end up saving a significant amount.

There are various external factors that can affect the price of PC parts. The most recent one is the ongoing chipset crisis along with crypto mining that has lead to an increase in the prices of graphics cards all over the world. Today, getting a new graphics card has become next to impossible, let alone getting one at retail price.