How do you know it is time to upgrade computers?

[Kalrog]

So... I have been building my own computers for a long time. And I know when all of the new stuff comes out and how much better it always is (kinda like new camera bodies). I used to know when the right time to upgrade the computer was - that was when the new game I wanted to play wouldn't work well enough. But I don't do that anymore. Now I'm wondering when the "correct" time to upgrade it is. From a business standpoint anyway. Do I spend the profits on a new computer or put that towards some new lighting gear?

Thoughts and preferences are welcome!

[Flea77]

The "correct" time for business to upgrade their computers is when the cost of the upgrade will be offset by the time saved with the new equipment.

Allan

[duronboy]

When your sanity is suffering from having to wait for progress bars to s-l-o-w-l-y inch across your screen.

Honestly, I would buy the lighting gear first. Lighting gear can help you make pictures you couldn't make before. Sounds like you might have an acceptable computer already, I'd wait on it just a while longer. I find computer upgrades are generally something you KNOW you have to have.

I've got my eye on a Phenom II x6 1055T or i5 661.

[Kalrog]

I did get the lighting gear first. Darnit.

But the computer is making noise. Just a fan, but still annoying. And replacing the whole PS isn't exactly cheap. But cheaper than a new computer...

[ChristopherCoy]

I had a $450 HP Laptop that I bought for a college class back in 2008. I used it to edit on for as long as I could. I maxed out the HD a month after I started using it, and had to revert to loading images, then burning them on CD's and removing them from the HD. Combine that with the 6 hours it took me to edit a handful of images, and it was completely sending me over the edge every time I sat down. As I got busier, I justified the upgrade to the iMac because I needed more speed, more HD space, and more graphics.

I hope it wont be time to upgrade again for a very very long time, but I'll never let it get as bad as it was last time. Absolute craziness.

[athompson]

I'm with the others. When the upgrade is going to save you time. Lights first.

[SCone]

when the cost can best offset income on your 1040

[DEMDeepEllumMusic]

When your comp looses that knew comp smell, really an upgrade is truly useful when it increases your work flow efficiency. If you have plenty of time for things to process when being crunched and letting it do it's thing while you do something else is not a problem then stick to it, while if it really says takes a couple hours to work over a shoot that should take under 30 minutes you may seriously want to upgrade. (still doesn't mean that you can't keep using the machine as a secondary work unit).

As to maxing out the harddrive on a laptop why not just buy an external HD system (1 TB can be found for under $150 now) and just dump finished files onto the external drive. (that is what I do- work up maybe a few gig+ of files-do whatever online work that needs to be done ie posting then do a big data dump to an external MAxtor 1TB unit-otherwise my laptops (2) would have had their HD's blown away by now).

[Kalrog]

I already store my images on a separate NAS - so that is much less of an issue. And the speed/redundancy of that is quite helpful.

[Night Owl]

Originally Posted by Kalrog

So... I have been building my own computers for a long time. And I know when all of the new stuff comes out and how much better it always is (kinda like new camera bodies). I used to know when the right time to upgrade the computer was - that was when the new game I wanted to play wouldn't work well enough. But I don't do that anymore. Now I'm wondering when the "correct" time to upgrade it is. From a business standpoint anyway. Do I spend the profits on a new computer or put that towards some new lighting gear?

Thoughts and preferences are welcome!

If you've been building your own, that means you can swap components. Not sure what your specs are, but if it's a game you want to run, would that mean your GPU is in need of replacing? Swap it out. I just built one and the ATi 5770 handles CoD2:MW nicely. Or if you're a nVidia guy, the GTX 460 offers great performance for a decent price.

That being said, if your rig is too old, replacing one part may domino into wholesale replacement of several. The only one who can make that decision is you.

Originally Posted by duronboy

I've got my eye on a Phenom II x6 1055T or i5 661.

Do some research before you commit to the hex-core AMD. I've read in several places that it doesn't perform nearly as well as their own quad-cores, much less Intel Cores.

FYI, the i5-661 is $209 on newegg, but the i7-930 is $200 at MicroCenter. I know it's not as fast, but I'm OC'ing my -930 almost to that speed.

[Zack Davis]

Do some research before you commit to the hex-core AMD. I've read in several places that it doesn't perform nearly as well as their own quad-cores, much less Intel Cores.

FYI, the i5-661 is $209 on newegg, but the i7-930 is $200 at MicroCenter. I know it's not as fast, but I'm OC'ing my -930 almost to that speed.

The AMD chip has more physical cores but speed wise it still only comes out about as fast as the i7 930. The i3 and i5 chips aren't even worth looking at since the socket has been retired imho, they were never anything amazing and mostly an attempt by Intel to run a GPU and CPU on the same chip. If rumors are right there's a chance that AMD's next chip will give intel a run for their money, but then again the Phenom 2 was supposed to do that as well.