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When Is A Good Time To Upgrade?

Posted by timothy on from the why-it's-nice-of-you-to-ask dept.

Andru Edwards writes "In an article which looks at the techie's mindset as it pertains to upgrading, Hector Martinez takes a deeper look at what makes us want to buy the latest gadgets. What are your options, and when should you actually just keep what you already have?"

29 of 490 comments (clear)

  1. Always by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    On the old Slashdot, there wouldn't have been any other answer.

    1. Re:Always by Kryxan · · Score: 5, Insightful
      Speaking of old slashdot, since when did such ignorance get to make the headlines.
      One time my PC kept shutting down on me for no apparent reason. After about an hour it just kept pooping out on me. I turn it back on, and it would last another 30 minutes before giving up. One day I tried this too many times and something in the back end of the case exploded, leaving tendrils of smoke climbing out the back of the desk. Turned out the power supply fan wasn't working and it kept heating up my PC, causing it to shut down as a form of protection. But I had friends in high places. For a mere $20, I was able to buy a new power supply and bring the whole system back from the dead, almost a full year later. The key is this: If it's only partially broken you can get away with saving a little cash.
  2. Re:Obvious Answer: by isometrick · · Score: 5, Funny

    So ... when your mom gives you your allowance? ;)

  3. Don't. by torpor · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I've been in computers for 20 years. I'm now thinking that, all along, this whole 'upgrade' thing is a pile of crap.. .. I'm not thinking of upgrading any more. I'm thinking "maybe its time to learn assembly, chuck away all this bloat, and push this metal really hard".

    Seriously. Upgrading is bad for the environment, especially if you do it in some sorta consumerican goose-step, a fatal religion.

    Lets see an "Ask Slashdot" about 'how did you bring old hardware new life'? Its much more impressive to me to see someone downgrade, albeit with new non-bloated software, than it is to see the 'latest and greatest' ricerbox being sliding off someones credit card ..

    --
    ; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
    1. Re:Don't. by devphaeton · · Score: 5, Interesting

      On the list of things that humans do that are bad for the environment, upgrading a new video card (which the average human does, well, NEVER) is a little bit lower than exhaling carbon dioxide (which the average human does a lot).

      It'd surprise you to know how many toxic chemicals and heavy metals are in that video card that will find itself in landfill much sooner than necessary.

      In most states, it is illegal to dispose of electronics, especially computers, in landfills or other conventional means without first processing them to some degree.

      Otherwise the electronics recycling business wouldn't be flourishing like it is

      --


      do() || do_not(); // try();
    2. Re:Don't. by mqx · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I was recently lectured by someone who worked in marketing in a UK HI-FI R&D company in the 1980's: his insightful comment (which must also apply to many other technologies, such as computers and mobile phones) was "the key thing we understood is that high fidelity market was not a technology market, it was a fashion market". I'd bet that a lot of slashdot readers are fashionistas more than technocrats - and I'd like to hear some ideas on what behaviours distinguish each type of person.

    3. Re:Don't. by @madeus · · Score: 4, Informative

      Its much more impressive to me to see someone downgrade, albeit with new non-bloated software, than it is to see the 'latest and greatest' ricerbox being sliding off someones credit card ..

      I dislike badly written software, (for example most MMORPG's have very poor 3D engines compared to most single player games - as an avid gamer this is a bug bear of mine) and I think it's been clear over the last 20 years that there are diminish returns in each upgrade cycle (Mac OS 6 through 9 were all faster to use for regular desktop bound tasks than Mac OS X for example, and it's not at all clear that the additional features are worth the disproportionate drop in speed - similar things can be said of the Windows platfom in comparing Windows XP to Windows 3.1).

      I think it's fair to say that both Mac OS 7 and Windows 95 were faster for navigating directories, opening word processor documents and checking email on average hardware for the time than either Mac OS X or Windows XP are on significantly newer hardware. Linux on my 1.5 Ghz PowerBook is *staggeringly* fast compared to Mac OS X for example (so much so, that I'm very tempted to keep buying the hardware, because I like the feature set, but switch back to Debian). The very apparent lack of optimisation on Mac OS X is just staggering.

      However...

      I can honstly say that I find it much more impressive for me to see Doom 3, PlanetSide or Unreal 2 running on high end new hardware and it is to see that after months of hard work they have managed to port a rather mundane title to a 10 or 20 year old system. The price of not having bloated software is sometimes just that - a mesurable monetary cost which someone has to be willing to bear. Time, money and the very real resultant possiblity that if it can't be made quickly it can't be made at all (which in the case of some software, could be be bad for overall productivity).

      I do think OS vendors have a lot to answer for - they are responsible for massive amounts of bloat (particularly Microsoft and Apple), but other than the period release of a new OS like XP or OS X, it's games more than anything that drive the cycle, and most developers are keen to do as much as they can to keep the performance as good as possible within reasonable limits.

      I hear David Braben is working on a sequal to Elite, I'm sure it will be very tighly coded. I think perhaps it will be a long time coming though - if, dare I say it ever.

      I do not think coding in assembly is very efficient, as it takes significantly longer to write complex software, which is why we have C (and other higher level languages). We should be picking the right battles I think. Perhaps by attacking poorly implimented and very inefficent high level languages and ensuring we have good compiler technology (and run time engines) to appropriatly optimise software to make use of the hardware it's running on.

      Hardly any programs (certainly hardly any of the programs I use) take advantage of features like Altivec (on PPC G4's) or Hyperthreading (on Intel P4's) - having them do so by being appropriately written and having compilers that can do a good job of optimisation would be a big step in the right direction. It was the efforts of Motorola (donating code to GNU/FSF) and the work of companies like Red Hat and independant individuals that Altivec optimisation was added gcc for example - yet Apple rely on it, even ship it on CD/DVD with every Macintosh, as such many would think perhaps they should have been leading contributions to such a project. Which brings me to perhaps one of the best targets for bloatware critisim - vendors of commercial operating systems (i.e. Sun, Apple, Microsoft) - some of there software is frankly appaulingly slow given the hardware it runs on, and what they do in many ways sets the tone for the rest of the industry.

  4. Upgrade time: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Responibility is when you ask yourself: "Do I *REALLY* need this??"
    Maturity is when you answer: "No."

  5. Re:Obvious Answer: by billysielu · · Score: 4, Interesting

    when it doesnt do what i want it to do. i generally buy top-of the range stuff so i dont have to upgrade for a very long time (if ever)

    --
    -Mike Whitehurst www.mike-whitehurst.co.uk
  6. Best time to upgrade? by LegendOfLink · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Easy, when Carmack puts out a new first person shooter.

    --
    IGB: More fun than eating oatmeal!
  7. Every 6 years by Tibor+the+Hun · · Score: 5, Insightful

    But then again I use Apple products. Right now I have a 1.4 G4, and I don't foresee upgrading it for another 3 years...

    --
    If you don't know what AltaVista is (was), get off my lawn.
  8. Re:Obvious Answer: by Reducer2001 · · Score: 5, Insightful
    What do you think credit is for.

    Screwing over consumers with high interest. What do YOU think it's for?

    --
    When you get to hell -- tell 'em Itchy sent ya!
  9. Simple answer: by Ars-Fartsica · · Score: 5, Insightful

    When do you upgrade? If you are poor, hardly ever. If you are rich, whenever you want. In fact for the rich, the hassle of setting up a new piece of equipment is probably a stronger disincentive than the cost.

    1. Re:Simple answer: by johansalk · · Score: 5, Interesting

      You're absolutely right about the hassle. I'm not saying I'm rich, but I have a technophilic temptation that often interfers with my functional use of the device. I often find that a slightly older, classic and well-reviewed item works best for me, and I've had many occasions where I bought an "upgrade" that turned out to be less preferable when put to use than item i had it was meant to replace.

  10. Re:Obvious Answer II by spidereyes · · Score: 5, Funny

    When my wife says so or when I upgrade my wife.

    --

    I say we just grow up, be adults and die.
  11. NOW! by i_r_sensitive · · Score: 5, Funny
    Er, no NOW!

    And AGAIN!

    Wait... ...NOW!

    Is it Wednesday? Then my answer is NOW!

    You get the point...

    --
    "Talk minus action equals nothing" - Joey Shithead, D.O.A.
    "Talk minus action equals /." -
  12. Re:Obvious Answer: by Soko · · Score: 4, Funny

    I upgrade when I get the money.

    And I get the money when my lovely bride (read: Domestic Finanacial Manager) decides to give it to me. (Hi, hon!)

    Soko

    --
    "Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm." - Anonymous
  13. Average PC User by FriedTurkey · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I think the average PC user upgrades when the computer gets unusable with spyware and viruses. Its easier to plunk down $2000 instead of wiping the computer clean. PC manufactures should thank spyware and virus writers. The average PC user would never upgrade again because all they are doing is web surfing.

    1. Re:Average PC User by antiMStroll · · Score: 4, Funny

      Hell, I'll wipe the drive and reload your software for a low, low $1699 during my November special. An extra $100 will Windex the case.

    2. Re:Average PC User by toddestan · · Score: 4, Funny

      I think the average PC user upgrades when the computer gets unusable with spyware and viruses. Its easier to plunk down $2000 instead of wiping the computer clean. PC manufactures should thank spyware and virus writers. The average PC user would never upgrade again because all they are doing is web surfing.

      Judging by how fast I have seen clueless PC users can screw up a virgin Windows XP install, you're saying that the average PC user buys a new system every week or so?

  14. "whatever you want" by mqx · · Score: 5, Insightful


    I'm looking forward to reading the various replies: but honestly, just do as you please. If you're a gadget freak, then upgrade whenever you want the latest. If you're not, then wait until breakage or functionality is required.

    For example, I've had a GSM phone here in the UK for the last 6 years: initially a motorola tri-band that was part of a no initial cost 12 month lock-in contract in 1998: it served me well until 2003, until I took option on a free upgrade to sony ericson T68i (I'd been getting text-messages about free upgrades for 18 months or so, and finally decided to act) - I even got £20 cash back on sending back the old phone! I don't plan to upgrade again for another 3-4 years or more - that'll be 10 years without paying for a phone; and I'm still on a cheap plan from 2001 for low cost calls :-). I don't need to surf the web on a postage stamp, nor take 1mpixel pictures.

    On the other hand, guys I work with have been through the latest and greatest phones every 12-18 months or so - buying expensive camera/colour models. Sure they are nice and snazzy, but honestly, they don't seem to really use all the extra functionality other than as occasional toy. But, it seems to keep them happy. It keeps me happy knowing they're helping drive the technology forward until I decide to upgrade ;-).

    Back to my hand, I do spend ~£500 a month at good restaurants here in London because that's my thing: when taking to one of these constant upgrade guys once, they couldn't understand why anyone would pay more than £30 for a meal.

    It takes all kinds! Just do what makes you happy and just ensure that you're not doing something you might regret such
    as throwing away 10 years of money on frivolous toys - some people actually have no regrets about this type of thing, I would.

  15. Re:I upgrade when... by gid · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You should pay all those credit cards off and upgrade only when you need more speed and have enough money to cover your full credit card bill next month... but that's just me--I don't like throwing money away. I know, I know... I'm unamerican.

  16. Rule of thumb for me by PoderOmega · · Score: 5, Informative

    To fight the urge to constantly be upgrading the last 6 years my rule has been I can upgrade motherboard and CPU every other year and on the off year I can get a new video card. Also, never spend more than $150 on a video card, or $200 on a motherboard and processor. Of course some upgrade require new RAM, so it isn't a perfect rule.
    Other than that I get a new hard drive about every 3 years and I've had to get a new power supply in there somewhere. This has worked well for me.

  17. Re:Obvious Answer: by KilobyteKnight · · Score: 5, Funny
    Screwing over consumers with high interest. What do YOU think it's for?

    Buying lots of stuff I can't afford and blaming evil corporate entities for making me do it because I am a slave to the bling-bling.
    --
    When will Windows be ready for the desktop?
  18. Re:Obvious Answer: by Jason1729 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The top-of-the-range stuff is the biggest rip-off in terms of price per length of time you get to use it. I discovered that a long time ago. I bought a high-end ATI 9600 baud modem for $600 because it had all sorts of great features. I could have bought a cheap one for $300, but I figured I use my modem a lot and I want the best. A year later, I replaced it with a 14.4k modem that cost $150 and didn't have the nice features but it was 50% faster so it was unambiguously better. It just doesn't pay to get the bells and whistles because the core features get stale so fast.

    Does it matter if your CD-RW drive can burn at 8x or 40x when the DVD+-RW drives are under $100?

    Jason
    ProfQuotes

  19. Re:I upgrade when... by zoloto · · Score: 5, Insightful
    This might seem off topic, but I like how being American has become synonymous with "wasteful and willful negligence" as well as corporatism and greed. I am an American and this is what I am building, as has my family:

    If it is not broke, do not fix it.

    Be able to pay off your credit card in full each month.

    Debt is bad; avoid it at all costs, sans emergencies.

    Do not spend simply because you have an excess of cash - emergencies are not cheap.

    Insurance may cover that slight fender bender, but if you can fix it yourself or leave it you will be doing your premiums and your actual monthly insurance cost (by keeping it lower) a favor.

    There may be an "I" in family, but do not spend like it.

    This is probably unpopular with the consumerism trend and the encouragement of our government to "spend, spend, spend" to keep our economy strong and it is just a total farce. I swear the economy can do much better if based on something other than the revolving debt of our society. Now back to the main point: You do not "need" the latest hardware, software or gadgets. However, damn it they sure are fun!

    More on topic, I sure did get your sarcasm. Your point does register with me 100%. It's a shame that too many people aren't like this in their own practice of financial sensibility and responsibility.

    -- just my 2 cents.

  20. Re:Obvious Answer: by npsimons · · Score: 4, Interesting


    What do you think credit is for.

    Screwing over consumers with high interest. What do YOU think it's for?

    There are two types of people: those who pay interest, and those who collect it. I don't know where that quote is from originally, but I've found it to mostly be true.
    --
    Nathan's blog
  21. "embarassment"? by DogDude · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I agree with the embarassment thing. Every time somebody shows me a new gadget or computer that they just bought I'm embarassed for them. There's nothing cooler than using old hardware. And by the same logic, there's nothing less cool than buying brand new hardware for no particular reason. Any Joe Schmoe can drive to Wal-Mart and buy the latest and greatest. A real geek will make it work, regardless of hardware.

    --
    I don't respond to AC's.
  22. Re:Obvious Answer: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Nope. I'm married. I have to ask a totally different woman for permission now.