To upgrade your computer - or not?

(June 14, 2002 1:05 p.m. EDT) - Waiting for your computer boot-up is more
agonizing than waiting for Christmas.

What's more, downloading an MP3 file takes longer than driving to the store
to buy the CD it came from. And the only video game your computer is
powerful enough to run is the solitaire program that came preloaded.

It's a sad state of affairs. But you're not alone.

These days, personal computers seem to become outdated the moment you carry
them out of the store. So we asked experts for advice on how long to hang
onto your old machine and what to look for when buying a new one.

Tim Hanson, owner of a Lakewood, Wash., computer business, points to a
principle known as Moore's Law to explain the speed with which new,
improved hardware lands on retail shelves.

In 1965, Gordon Moore, the co-founder of Intel, observed that the number of
transistors that could be crammed into each square inch of integrated
circuits was doubling every year.

Moore predicted that rate of miniaturization would continue for the
foreseeable future. Although the pace has slowed somewhat, data density has
continued to double about every 18 months.

Case in point: In the mid-'80s, Hanson said, the average personal computer
didn't become dated for three years and wasn't obsolete for five.

Today, it takes only about a year for a computer to be considered dated, he
said. They're dated because programmers crank out software that takes
advantage of the latest hardware's capabilities, but the way they write new
software leaves owners of older machines out in the cold.

"It's terrible; it's absolutely terrible," Hanson said. "They (programmers)
want to leave (older machines) behind because, if they write code for it
... it makes their operating system less efficient."

But if you're like most computer users, even though your machine won't be
state-of-the-art after a few months, "You're going to be satisfied for a
long period of time with what you have now," Hanson said.

The key to determining how long to hold onto your old computer is to
realistically assess how you use it, experts said.

If all you do is write and browse the Web, for example, there is little
compelling reason to buy a new computer.

"A simple upgrade could consist of (buying) a new modem," Hanson said. "If
you're an Internet user ... and your complaints are speed, that's all you
may need."

Similarly, older computers - even models with archaic 486 processors - are
still good for word processing, databases, spreadsheets and many other
programs used in a typical office setting.

Some consumers are blinded by what Douglas Thompson, a computer
entrepreneur, calls the "bigger, better, faster syndrome" - the compulsion
to own the most powerful system that money can buy,
regardless of true need.

"A lot don't know why they want a superfast computer when they haven't used
all the memory on their current machine," Thompson said. "They just do.
But, God bless 'em, I'll build those high-end systems for them until I
can't turn a screwdriver."

Video gamers may be the most noteworthy of that breed of consumer, because
video games demand faster processors and better video cards than many other
programs. It's not uncommon for an avid gamer to own a $4,000 machine
that's used primarily for recreation, Thompson said.

If you've given up on your computer as is, there are a few things to
consider before upgrading or buying a new machine. Consumers often find
that older machines aren't worth upgrading, because their components aren't
compatible with newer ones.

Once consumers replace all the individual parts, "you end up with a new
computer in an old box that costs more than if you just went to Dell or
Compaq and had them build you a new machine," said Bob Poland, who owns
Memory Lane Computers. "Upgrading just isn't cost-efficient any more."

He recommends building a custom system versus buying a cheap, preassembled
one off the store shelf.

A good low-frills machine can be built for $900 to $1,500 that still will
be easy to upgrade, Thompson said. Here is his checklist of essential
components:

- Start with a quality motherboard; choose one that supports high-end
memory cards. Expect to spend $130 to $325.

- Pick a good microprocessor that fits within your budget. Intel's Pentium
4 and AMD's XP processors are state-of-the art this year.

- A quality, high-capacity hard drive is a must. "Hard-drive failure is one
of the leading reasons people lose data and have their systems crash,"
Thompson said.

- Invest in a high-quality video card if you play lots of video games or
run multi-media software.

By Ernest A. Jasmin, Tacoma News Tribune
Copyright 2002 Scripps Howard News Service
Copyright 2001 Nando Media
http://www.nando.net/technology/v-text/story/434602p-3476503c.html

janet paterson: an akinetic rigid subtype, albeit primarily perky, parky
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