pc upgrades just aren't what they used to be

[jlarlee]

At work we got a new pc and it has like twice the processing speed, ram and MB on its video card than the one I have at home and made me realize something. The days of brand new pcs blowing the old ones out of the water is over. it uased to be mind numbing how much better a new pc is. I have had my pc for about two years and feel no need to trade it in but in the old days a two year old pc was obseolete. I mean who notices the difference between a 1.5 gig and 3 gig machine? i could see if you were running high octane programs but i bet that is the minority. I really think the computer market could be in for a hurting here pretty soon.

[SevereTireDamage]

I agree... For the vast majority of users, and until we get another super resource-guzzling version of Windows, we won't see a huge hardware push except from the hardcore gamers. I love PC games, but it's hard for me to justify buying a $300 video card that will be unable to play brand new "cutting edge" games well in 2 years. Especially compared to the console bargains around here.

Likewise the Ghz argument, the vast majority of people probably don't see the performance difference from 256 to 512 megs of RAM, let along 512 to 1 gig.

[jlarlee]

makes you wonder if Bill Gate sis in bed with all these computer manufacturers to keep them is business

[XboxMaster]

I don't know much about computers, but I can agree with you. You said that in the old days, a two year old computer would be obsolete. I can agree with you there, because, unfortunately, I have one of those computers you'd be talking about. :cry:

[MadChedar0]

gotta disagree on this one. Try running Command and Conquer Generals or FPSs like Call of Duty... even doing regular mail checking. I can definitely tell the difference :D

[xzafixz]

I really don't consider myself a "hardcore" gamer as you say, but i for one can tell the difference between most anything. I upgraded from a 1.4gig to a 2.3gig and 512 to 1gig ram and the difference is immense, i also self built my computer so it isn't a shitbox like a dell would be, i know someone who has a dell computer that costed a little over 2 times the price of mine and mine blows it away. Maybe that is your problem?

[SneakyPenguin]

i can definately tell the differeence, going from a laptop that couldnt run demos to a pc that can run farcry on max settings smoothly.

[guyver2077]

i know ho wit feels. now i gotta find a way to get the nvidea 6800 ultra. that is a true monster. and i have a 5900 se right now

[BULL_Ship]

I think he ment with the exception of gaming and high end tasks. This is more about how you don't have to wait for average programs like ie or word to load they just pop up. For the average user everything happens when you tell it to and with less crashes than in the past.

[PsyClerk]

Ah, the catch though is that as hardware gets better, the software manufacturers will beef up their wares to take advantage of the new hardware. And the hardware people will make better hardware to run that software better. Then the cycle begins again.

If you only use a machine for internet apps and occassional gaming, then no, you will not see much difference. Once you start doing the movie editing/making, photo and audio manipulation, DVD authoring/burning/copying, and major database work, you'll want the finest machine you can lay your hands on.

[guyver2077]

amen well said

[FlipSide]

The reason is : Software lags behind Hardware. Of course its not noticeable.

[msdmoney]

I think he ment with the exception of gaming and high end tasks. This is more about how you don't have to wait for average programs like ie or word to load they just pop up. For the average user everything happens when you tell it to and with less crashes than in the past.

I agree, the people who have disagreed have mentioned games (and rightly so since it is a gaming site), but I think the OP meant normal day to day use. For the average user (browsing the internet, emailing, using Word) once you hit a certain point, you really won't notice much if any difference. I think that point is somewhere in the mid-1 ghz range.

I remember my family getting a 90 mhz pentium back in the early 90's. It was the bare minimum to run FMV but that took forever to load and so did everything else. Eventually it was just too slow even for just browsing the net.

I upgraded my computer about two years ago from a 266 mhz to a 550 (I know, its old and sucks) and added more ram. For most stuff internet and mail it does okay. I can even play Warcraft III on it, although with too much it starts to slow.

My parents 1.7ghz with 756 mb ram (after I upgraded it) has no noticeable wait for internet explorer, outlook express, or word to come up. They rarely use it for anything more intensive than that so why upgrade.

The only thing really pushing people to get the latest and greatest is games at the moment, whereas 5 or 6 years ago everyone had to upgrade (mostly for each edition of windows) for the computer to even be useable.

I will be upgrading later this year (now that I have a job) with some of the latest and greatest stuff so I can play some of the new games out.

[msdmoney]

Once you start doing the movie editing/making, photo and audio manipulation, DVD authoring/burning/copying.

I left this stuff out of my post, besides gaming these are the major things selling comps right now. Even some average users want to play around with dvd burners and editing their home movies.

[KingDox]

yeah, I don't see the reason to buy a new PC untill digital video harware is much cheaper. I'm doing fine with my current computer and my consoles are fine for gaming.