> -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Why hold onto other components that may be obsolete,
End of life of a component does not equal obsolesence! I have several Socket A systems that give 24/7 duty as HTPC/DVRs. Another, an Athlon 3200+ has motherboard features that you don't see on many systems today, including; Firewire 400, 4 IDE connections (for a total of 8 drives), IDE RAID, Dual BIOS, in addition to 2 SATA channels. > also, especially if you > feel you will have to buy Windows all over again? I have no need to purchase Windows again. I have 2 retail copies of Windows XP Pro and one Windows XP Home I don't even use since I also have a MAPS subscription giving me 10 licenses for Windows XP Pro, and now Windows Vista Business Ultimate (which I have been avoiding like the plague). > Why not simply sell the working computer and build a new one > from scratch? With new brand name systems available from the big box stores at the $500 price level, it is difficult to get an adequate return. In addition, I have a $125 large server case with 2 year old $100+ 550 watt PS I don't plan on selling. > My experience has it figured both ways (rebuild vs. sell) and > the difference > in money outlay is hardly any. Perhaps that is your experience, I don't think it holds water in all cases or situations. For me, the only components I plan on upgrading are the CPU and memory. > The difference if you get all new parts when > you build from scratch. The life of my computers is 5 years, not 2. The life of my computers is much greater than 5. I have been building my own systems since 1994. I have purchased only one "brand name" PC (other than laptops) in that period. I still have a working 1.3GHz Duron system I build in 2000. Works like a charm. High quality components do last a long time. > I certainly would not want to use a 2 or 3 year old power > supply for a rebuild > when I could sell off and build new. To do so would be > expecting that power > supply to last a total of 7 to 9 years. My new power supply > would be of a > higher wattage, of course! I am still using an Antec 300 watt PS with the 1.3MHz Duron system. I am also using the 440 watt Antec PS I purchased in 2003 to power an Athlon 3200+ system. I expect the Seasonic 550 watt PS I purchased in 2005 to continue to give good service for many years. I tend to recycle my components into less demanding rolls as I upgrade: HTPC, spare systems for my daughter, single purpose use such as coding Xvid files, etc. > Chuck While the investment in the Operon 185 + DDR RAM would approach the bottom level AM2 system, it would be about half the cost of a new state of the art Core 2 Duo system. I would lose my Firewire 800 (no one seems to be putting the 800 into new MBs) as well as the time and effort to re-install EVERYTHING! The cost of the Opteron is high enough that I may just put off any upgrades until I am ready to make the plunge to brand new system. I was just looking for comments on the pros and cons of the proposed upgrade versus a new build. While your comments may have some validity, it is not the central issue I am facing. Thanks for the input, Jim Maki [EMAIL PROTECTED]
