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Poll: Does anybody else like waiting before upgrading/getting a new computer?

M

Martin

Lifer
In lots of the threads here I see people upgrading their GF3s or 1.4ghz CPUs.

My question is, how long do you wait til you upgrade?


I personally like to wait until the whole computers somewhat antiquated and then get a new one. That way I can REALLY feel the speed and don't have to scavenge my old one for parts and such.
 
I wait a long time (~3-4 yrs if possible ) but only buy parts that I feel are the bottleneck.
 
I also wait until components are well past their prime. A slower PC by todays standard can still run all the ususal software without a problem, espcially since i don't play PC games that often any more.
 
I upgrade once in a while, typically cause I see something I want at a good price, or cause I have a part I feel is in need of replacement.

Sometimes I upgrade quite often for a period of time, then maybe I'll hold off the upgrades for a while since nothing catches my fancy.
 
When I see something that is a good deal and I either don't have it or it's worth it in my mind to buy it, I do. Otherwise I don't get something brand new cause computers are old tech when you put it in the machine. You can't keep up with everything. I would like the new cutting edge stuff, but it's not economical to buy the stuff when it first comes out.
 


<< You need to put the option "I upgrade as soon as I get some extra money" on the list. >>


Absolutely! Usually I save my money until a component breaks, then replace it with another much newer component. But lately I've decided now that I have two computers (so I can still use one if the other breaks) that I'm going to keep saving my money until I can afford a nice Clawhammer system. 🙂
 


<< I typically wait a very long time before upgrading (when I really feel the need to) >>




I only upgrade when I really need to,I like to get some moneys worth out of my PC hardware,however I may treat myself to the odd new part now and then which`s not often.Major upgrades normally like motherboard,cpu,ram happen between 14 - 20 months or so.Btw my last upgrade was few days back adding a CDRW drive.
🙂

 
I usually just hold off and build a whole new computer, although a lot of times I'll add more memory or what not because memory is so cheap. But if something breaks then I usually will buy a newer, better version of it... if you call that "upgrading".
 
I use to be 'cutting edge' building and rebuilding something about once every few months! Of course then computers where slower you saw big differences in a few months time. Now I have a 1.4 AMD with a gig of RAM GF2Ultra and two 60GB HDDS,...from the benchmarks I've seen of the fastest out there I don't see upgrading until there's a large jump in speed (and software that can utilize that speed) I'm happy for a good long while.
 


<< In lots of the threads here I see people upgrading their GF3s or 1.4ghz CPUs.

My question is, how long do you wait til you upgrade?


I personally like to wait until the whole computers somewhat antiquated and then get a new one. That way I can REALLY feel the speed and don't have to scavenge my old one for parts and such. >>



I try and wait a little while before upgrading, not to the point of getting some that is always first out, i.e. GF1 DDR, upgrade to GF2, upgrade to GF3. For me it's more like GF1 DDR to GF3 Ti200 when the Ti200 first came out.

CPU I have now is 1.2 GHz, waiting for AMD to roll out 2.2 GHz and they are $175 each.
 
When I upgrade things, it's usually on components that will retain value because they aren't quickly superceded in a short period of time.

I used a 17" monitor and then jumped to 22", I've upgraded my boot drive from 7200RPM IDE to 10K SCSI, and bought a nice aluminum case. These are things I know that I will keep and not feel the need to change. If I'm going to upgrade, I want to make it worthwhile instead of a gradual process that is cost intensive 🙂

For things like my video card/CPU/mobo/ram, I upgrade when I find an attractive price point and if it's a large enough gap in speed to warrant an upgrade.

I went from a Pentium 233 w/Voodoo 3 to a Pentium 3 800 w/Radeon 32DDR to a Pentium 4 1.6A (OC'ed 😉)w/Radeon 8500

Also when I upgrade, I want to stay right behind the curve. The price to performance ratio is too large to make top of the line worthwhile. The only time I get top of the line is if the product in question retains its value (case, monitor)
 
I try to upgrade only when there is at least a 2x increase in performance with the upgraded part. It really isn't cost effective to do it otherwise.
 
Usually my rule of thumb is to upgrade when when the new item is more than twice the overclocked speed of the old item it is replacing, and at a price I am willing to pay.

So I just upgraded to an Athlon XP 1800+, coming from a Pentium III 700E overclocked to 933....right in line with my requirements.
 
I typically wait a very long time before upgrading (when I really feel the need to)

I too do what cbuchach and Andy do, that's upgrade only when there's at least a 2X performance increase. However I'm always on the lookout for good deals and if I get any, I pounce on it 😉
 
IN the last 5 years (has it been that long?) I have gone through 2.5 new systems. its only ben about a year since my last major rebuild.
I am about to Build a complete new system which i dont intend to upgrade for the next 2+ years.

I realy dont see even games requiring more poewer than a kt266a, top end xp and gf4, for the next couple years. software is starting
to realy lag behind the cutting edge becuase most users hardware realy lags behind the cutting edge. adn the more advanced software,
after its long develpent cycles, usualy doesnt require cureent hardware by the time it is released

I think last tiem i made the mistake of upgrading to stuff that was on its way out in an effort to save $$.

I dont regret it because now i will finaly have my dedicated linux box.

travler
 
Yup, the part must be 2x as fast, if not more. I will be going from my P3 750@930 to a P4 2.0A (to hopefully)@2.6 this summer. I went from a Voodoo3 to a GeForce3 Ti200 (b/c of Best Buy deal), and from a Turtle Beach Montego II to a Soundblaster Audigy.
 
anytime my parents think i deserve one. well, at least i think it's like that but i've been getting upgrades in every 3 years and this year and last year was the best. 2 brand new systems which perform quite well for today's standards, but of course, not top of the line. my next upgrade will definitely not be in 3 years...it will be a processor upgrade to clawhammer. 😀
 
I do major upgrade about every 8 - 12 months.

I might add some minor stuff in between.

For example, last July i bought AMD 1ghz, 256 PC2100 DDR, Kyro 2, and a 4x cd-rw drive.
Over the the next 6-8 months, I bought a Gainward GF3, another stick of 256 DDR and a Liteon 24x cd-rw drive.

Finally, i did a major update just this week. And i got P4S333, 1.6Aghz, and 256- 512 PC2700 DDR

 
i upgrade very frequent. visiting these forums dont help my habits. sheesh i think i will lie down now.
 
If I had unlimited funds I would upgrade very often, just for the sake of it, because I enjoy playing with the latest hardware. This is not the case however.
 
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