Computer upgrade thoughts

I was recently thinking of upgrading my main computer to an AMD 64 bit CPU monster with 4 GB’s of RAM amidst other high end toys. The thought occurred to me though that as always, was my present main box doing the work I required of it? Well after replacing the pooched CD-RW in it things were looking much better in terms of its serviceability to me. That plus I did recently pick up two 19″ LCD displays for my home computer office. It is quite nice now with the dual LCD’s sitting on my computer desk.

Question is though like many of us I often upgrade simply for the sake of upgrading. The old computer/iPod/other tech toy work just fine in reality. One of the biggest things holding me back though I think is the lack of software for the new 64 bit architecture for x86. Microsoft finally has XP for 64 bit and when Vista finally ships it will of course have 64 bit operability built into it.

For me specifically there really wasn’t a need to drop $3,500.00 on a new computer tower after giving it some sober thought. It is not that I minded doing so as I can claim some of it on my taxes due to being a consultant, but rather that the money could likely be better spent elsewhere. Maybe I might just pick up some other h/w for the home lab instead. Likely the best thing is to simply wait for another year before making the planned upgrades. All I know is that I will certainly get my next computer custom built rather then buy a name brand.

The worst problem with buying a name brand computer at your local retailer is that you must further customize it to suit your individual needs. Also one of the biggest irritants are the puny power supplies that come with an off the shelf product like the one’s offered by HP and Compaq. If you want a higher end video card for whatever reason you may be surprised to see what it needs as a minimum power supply. Long story short before upgrading think do you really need it, and if so then list exactly what you need. Once done do your homework to find the cheapest price for the assembled computer. Anyhow before rambling on for more let me know if any of you have had any recent experiences with upgrading your computers.

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