Basically title. I’m a digital artist in the USA and not rich by any stretch. In fact, somewhat in debt. (Aren’t we all.)
I also try really hard to not be a mindless consumer. I use old equipment as long as I can, repair, refurbish, etc…
All this talk of upcoming tariffs has me worried that, rather than being able to get a day-job at newly opened US manufacturing for electronics or something, I’ll instead be paying +60% more on like everything.
I know tech is a depreciating asset, but should I try to upgrade now to hold out for the next ~5 years or so?
I was considering hunting down a motherboard/cpu/RAM combo for instance.
Are worries about tariffs overblown? Trying to figure out how to prepare as best I can with my meager resources before everything just…keeps getting worse.
I am getting paid for my digital art, it’s not living money though. My spouse has a more stable income that enables me to keep trying.
Thanks in advance. <3
EDIT: Thanks a ton for all the helpful replies! I’m glad I’m not being overly paranoid.
Some of you have asked for system specs so here they are for the curious:
System Specs:
- OS: OpenSUSE Tumbleweed
- Mobo: Z590 Aorus Elite AX
- CPU: i7-10700k @ 5.1 Ghz
- GPU: Nvidia RTX 3090
- Mem: 32GB DDR4 (forget the speed…3000?)
I want to be clear: I don’t mean to sound too panicked and I’m more than happy to be content with what I have and see my blessings for what they are.
However, as I’m trying to break into being a 3D Blender artist and gamedev professionally, I’m trying to strategize whether standards will significantly increase and leave me behind in the next 5 years or so. (Game industry, not trying to do Hollywood VFX models on my home rig or anything lol)
I don’t game so much these days unfortunately. And if I do, like 5% of my library is particularly demanding. 😂
If they actually get implemented? There’s a good chance your prices from anything that touches China will increase by most of the listed tariffs. Since it will disproportionately affect China, it’s possible some stuff will eventually pull manufacturing somewhere else, but that isn’t going to happen overnight. Moving manufacturing is not fast and no one else is equipped to just flip a switch and take over for them.
Your income will likely not increase 60%.
Where would your new purchases come from? If its Mexico or Canada (or probably China), expect prices to rise very soon and get purchases in before 1/20. If the items come from other countries, you probably can wait a bit but if you know you will need something you may want to buy it now, just in case.
The tariffs will have to be paid by someone, and distributors will not take a hit on account of the idiot pumpkin, so it will be shifted to the end user.
Right now is a pretty good time to upgrade. Both Intel and AMD have shown their hands in the CPU market and I can personally attest to the performance of AMD’s X3D CPUs. Older models with the AM4 socket will become cheaper, and AM4 motherboards are plentiful.
Used stuff always exists and good investments would probably beat the return on buying better stuff now
used stuff always exists
True, but if you are expecting scarcity it’s better to buy new now.
I don’t know where you’re from, but here the used car market still hasn’t recovered after the covid chip shortage made new cars impossible to buy. Used cars still cost nearly as much as new ones.
Regardless of whether or not the tariff increases happen, Black Friday sales are going on right now, and depending on what stores are near you (namely Micro Center), you could find some good deals. Just make sure you check price history on anything you’re looking at (if you’re able) to ensure it’s actually a deal.
