Know When To Upgrade Your Computer

You're sitting at a coffee shop, reading the latest Percy Jackson on your Kindle, when you notice someone sitting at a table with the newest MacBook Air. Suddenly, your old laptop seems as clunky as Fred Flintstone's car. But is a new computer something you need, or just want...very, very badly? Here are a few questions to help you figure that out.

Is your computer over four years old?

Planned obsolescence is an unfortunate fact of life. Some newer operating systems—and all their attendant devices—simply don't work on older laptops. Many Macs need an Intel processor to update to Snow Leopard or, shortly, Lion. Upgrading your processor would cost as much as buying a new computer, so in this case, you may simply have to bite the bullet.

What are the problems you've been having? And can they be solved with a simpler upgrade?

Perhaps you've realized that your netbook is making your fingers feel cramped while you type. In that case, a new keyboard is probably a wiser purchase than a new computer. And if your computer is running slowly, that's less a problem for your CPU than a lack of adequate memory—something that can be easily fixed by installing more memory.

What are your needs?

And be honest. Surfing the internet, keeping track of bills and pecking out your next article doesn't actually require that much memory or a dazzlingly fast CPU. Some specialized needs that would necessitate a purchase include: If you just got into college or became a business traveler; if you're a newly minted digital photographer, or a gamer trying to switch from a desktop PC. In the first two cases, you might want to look for light, sturdy laptops with built-in WiMax to access the Internet in coffee shops or in the backs of taxis. In the second, you'd need massive hard drives with lots of RAM, and probably a big screen with high resolution. A gamer might also look for a laptop with an integrated graphics processing unit.

Will you sprinkle everything you read with salt?

While new chipsets seem breathlessly exciting, even people who build computer architectures for a living don't really care about them. And why buy a computer with a Blu-Ray player when physical format media is about as cool as smoking in movies? Even Bill Gates said that in the future, “Everything's going to be streamed directly or on a hard disk.”

Why don't you upgrade your phone instead?

A study by CTIA: The Wireless Association shows that nearly everyone in the United States doesn't yet have a smartphone. How about upgrading that, instead?

Based on an original entry by Adrienne So.'

Source: http://howto.wired.com/

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