Upgrade-aholism... is it a problem for you?

[Toro 45]

I change CPU's twice a day on several machines. Does that count?

Repeat after me "Hi my name is compuwiz1 & I need help"

You very sick man

 

[MichaelD]

Now THIS is a great thread! Nice idea. Well, I posted, what does that say? I've stayed away from the FS/T forums because I know it'll get me in trouble. My girlfriend doesn't live with me, but spends a lot of time at my place. She's already learned that if the "computer" is apart, and pieced-out on my dining room table and there are lots of tools lying around that "Mike spent money." So then I get the whining "why do you need to make it faster...isn't it fast enough already?" DUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Honey, it's NEVER fast enough. (Must break 5,000 3DMarks...must break 5,000 3DMarks.....:shocked Typical female response there! So then I have to do the whole counseling/educating/holding thing until she stops breaking my bingabongs.

Oh yeah, always looking for more speed, faster access times...but less heat....I love it and wouldn't trade it for anything. A coworker (with a Comcrap PII400 that he thinks is fast) called me a geek on Friday morning. (Staff meetings suck) I actually took that as a compliment. I told him "uh-huh, and when your scanner "stops scanning" again, don't call me to come over...unless you've got food and beer, buddy!" You are a geek when you tell folks how exited you are "that the GF3 just came out!" But you are GOD when their computer "won't print" and you fix it....go fig.

 

[KDOG]

OH MAN!! THis is me to a T!!! I had to stop though...my wife is about to leave me cuz of this thing. Just yesterday I upgraded my Duron 750 to a Athlon 1 Ghz, and this morning I went ahead and overclocked it up to 1.2!!! I FEEL THE NEED, THE NEED FOR SPEED!!!

 

[Raincity]

Have any of you gotten in the habit of getting the Amex statement from the mailbox first before the wife gets it like I have to do.

Rain

 

[sd]

I feel better knowin I'm not the only addict.

 

[GrumpyMan]

You know you are addicted to upgrading the computer when your family vehicle takes a hit in the upkeep and maintenance departments. So now I drive a piece of crap but my computer is all shiney, bright and new. Yeah I need help.

 

[apoppin]

<< 5. The only component your system of today shares with your system of a year ago is the powersrip you plug it all into. >>



Mu powerstrip is brand new. Did you miss the Staples - 2 Belkin powerstrips (1 with a 12' cord) for $19.95 with a $20 MIR a few weeks ago?

Even my toaster and clock radio have their own powerstrips . . . I even have an old UPS backing up a reading lamp (I live in Cali, after all). The 2 recent UPS for &quot;free after MIR&quot; are still waiting on rebates (as my credit card interest increases).





<< Upgrade-aholism... is it a problem for you? >>


NO! Lack of MONEY is a problem for me, however. And those rebates are so slow . . .

 

[MTDEW]

Uh, who said this was a problem?

I dont have a problem.

 

[dowxp]

hm, not really. counterstrike requires smp and scsi. i dont know what you are talking about.

 

[jzodda]

I get the itch usually every 12-15 months, and its usually in August. For major upgrades like replacing all major system components with new ones its more like 18-20 months. I have found that as I get older the time in between &quot;urges to upgrade&quot; grow longer. A few years ago it was more like 6-8 months in between upgrades.

The industry is changing somewhat also. There was a time when 12 months seemed to be far longer in the software industry. Today the P3-933 that you upgraded to 12 months ago can still run everything you can thow at it with full detail. That has not always been the case

 

[WHipLAsh13]

That is so mesed up. I thought I was the only one. I think we should form a support group where we could trade computer parts, ideas and secrets, I mean learn how to cope with this nasty, vile, disgusting habbit(my wife was standing behind me)...

 

[apoppin]

<< That is so mesed up. I thought I was the only one. I think we should form a support group where we could trade computer parts, ideas and secrets, >>



Click on the Hot Deals Forum or FS/T.

You will find all the &quot;support&quot; you need.

Don't forget your VISA.

 

[gygheyzeus]

I'm keeping all of my upgrades to little crap now. Like, ram heatsinks, a new heatsink and fan for my processor, also for my video card... I want to save the bulk of my money to pay off my car loan a few years early.

I've gone through 3 different processors so far this year, 4 motherboards (I fried one by accident), 3 keyboards, 6 different sticks of ram, 2 video cards, 2 cases...

I think I'll get over this problem, I've just got to be happy with the machine I've got.

 

[Sundog]

<< I think I'll get over this problem, I've just got to be happy with the machine I've got. >>


We've all said that. Just make sure you say it after every purchase!

 

[Sham]

There is only one cure... TIME. I used to have the upgrade urge all the time, but after 10+ years of first building and constantly upgrading my pc, the main urge is gone. Last major upgrade(mb,cpu,ram,video) was november 99.
I have only added ram,hd, and video, and even that was spread out over 6 months, and was finished six months ago. My pc still runs everything I play ok, so I do not feel the need to upgrade it. Wait, I forgot about the digital camera, scanner, and printer I bought last november for my newest hobby. I guess I did upgrade afterall, just not the usual stuff.

 

[LarryJoe]

I think you will find that the &quot;problem&quot; runs about a 2 year cycle and then it becomes manageable. I would say it goes like this:

Year 1 - Get first rig and start learning how the thing works
Year 2 - Obsessed with upgrading
Year 3 - Obsessed with upgrading
Year 4 - Ask self &quot;Do I actually do anything with this thing besides take it apart&quot;.

In year 4, upgrading is not as frequent, realize benching is all you do, games all look and feel the same and getting boring, start to get into more productive things to do with the box - digital cams, video editing, mp3's, etc.

I am in year 5 and pretty much will upgrade the CPU every 18 months unless something killer comes out. It just isn't the same as 3 years ago when the latest and great made a huge impact. Increasing CPU speed beyond 1ghz is virtually unnoticable. Burners at 12X is plenty, hard drives are cheap and big, GF1, 2 or 3 all run everything fine. Really, what is there to get passionate about?

I realize the fun is in benching, but no upgrade has the reward like getting a Voodoo 2 and then adding another to get to 1024*768. Soundcards are over-rated.

I like upgrading, but there is nothing compelling to buy.

LJ

 

[Joyride]

is this just stupidty or a severe case but I went to a zoo and actually had a thought run thru my head of how fast a CPU a gorilla ran on.

It was just sitting there so i would say Pentium 166

DAMN IT!!!!!

 

[NelsonMuntz]

Joyride, that was DAMN funny. The implications are astounding. a three-toed sloth is a 386. a cheetah must be running a 1.4 easy! Snails are what, 8088s. You could go on all day.

 

[LarryJoe]

Joyride

<< If my Klipsch 2.1's are to loud then your to dang old. >>



Your &quot;to&quot; should be &quot;too&quot;. Both of them. Sorry, it was bugging me.

LJ

EDIT - This is in your sig, I would normally never correct grammar in a thread.

 

[DoOLiE11]

yes this is what anandtech has done to me in the past 8 months!

i cant sleep at night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and i refresh the FS forum every 10 seconds

 

[Shudder]

The only reason I felt bad my KT133 died and I had to get a Kt133a instead was because I didn't have a pc for a few days.

I purposely only bought a duron 650 because I knew I'd be spoiled and want more speed later instead of buying the fastest cpu at the time and feeling the same way in a few months anyway.

Some people have family scrapbooks. You have a binder with laminated online receipts.

 

[Mikendi]

Some one PM'd me a compliment on my Rig - I had to tell him that it's been dismantled - and I'm building a new one as soon as I get finished with another project, or two. I guess got it bad too . . . did someone say Ultra?!?!?! :Q

 

[Maverick]

another thing to add to the list:
8. Do you spend hours upon hours wasting time at work by looking at the hot deals and FS/FT forums?

 

[Phatty106]

Just more evidence that this country isn't based on capitalism, it's based on consumerism.

~ph

 

[billyjak]

Another good one
Do you serf the net just to find reviews to that New device or processor, so you can justify in your mind to get it.
The Need for speed is overwhelming
Do you benchmark every time you make a minor change to your system.
Help