When a new processor or graphics generation launches, the previous one drops in price sharply. The size of that drop is driven by inventory economics, not by how much worse the older part became.
Silicon loses value on a schedule
Chips are produced in long planned runs, and a supplier commits to volume well before demand is known. Stock that remains when a successor launches is difficult to move at the old price.
Unlike food, the part does not spoil, but its perceived value falls the moment a newer number exists on a shelf beside it.
Discounting is the fastest way to convert that stock into cash before the gap widens further, so price cuts arrive quickly and go deep.
Generational gains are smaller than the naming suggests
Successive generations often deliver modest improvements in everyday tasks, with the larger gains concentrated in specific workloads such as sustained rendering or machine learning.
For browsing, office work and most gaming, the previous generation frequently performs within a small margin of the new one.
The price difference, by contrast, can be substantial. The value per unit of performance is usually best one step behind the front.
Retail channels clear at different speeds
Manufacturers cut prices to distributors, distributors cut to retailers, and retailers pass on what they must. Each layer holds stock bought at an older cost.
That is why the same outgoing part can carry very different prices across shops for weeks. Some are clearing at a loss while others are still protecting margin.
Checking several sellers during a transition period tends to reveal a wider spread than at any other time in the product's life.
Support horizons are the real constraint
The genuine risk in buying an older generation is not speed but how long it will receive driver updates, security patches and platform compatibility.
A part one generation behind is normally supported for years. A part three or four generations behind may be approaching the end of that window.
Checking the manufacturer's stated support policy separates a sensible saving from a purchase that will need replacing sooner than expected.
Timing the discount curve
The steepest cuts usually arrive shortly after a launch, when channel stock is heaviest and the new part is not yet widely available.
Later in the cycle, remaining older stock becomes scarce and prices can actually firm up, because supply has dried up faster than demand.
The window is therefore narrower than it looks, and waiting for the price to fall further often means waiting past the point where it does.