Buying a new computer...

Once every 2 years I upgrade my computer...

I started in 1996 with a Cyrix 486DX4/100MHz (remember those days - Cyrix was bought by VIA and now creates low power processors like C3). It was a good machine back then: 4MB RAM, Chips & Tech 1MB SVGA Video Board, a Seagate 540MB HardDrive, a KTeck/Ruffles(?) 14" SVGA Monitor (good old 800x600@60Hz and 1024x768@43Hz interlaced). I remember the motherboard had a respectable VL-BUS architecture, good for those days.
After about a year, I bought 4 more MB RAM, a OPTi SoundBlaster Pro compatible soundcard and a pair of active speakers that totaled about 7W.

In 1998, with the help of a friend of mine, got a Pentium Pro 200MHz, 32 MB RAM, a 4 MB ATI Mach64 (just temporarily) - a S3 Virge 2 MB VRAM. The speed increase was phenomenal! About 4x. It was on PCI architecture, a better videoboard. Cool! Also I've managed to replace the 540MB Seagate with a 1GB Fujitsu harddrive (way more capacity). Also by then I had purchased my first CD-Rom drive: 16x Funai.

In 2000 I had purchased an AMD 400MHz K6-2 processor, with a ACorp motherboard with the new AGP stuff :) in it. From the first day, I've kept that CPU overclocked at 450MHz (I just could not set it at 500MHz with that board...). The CPU remains as cool as ever with just a simple cooler... (these days, you have to have a real fridge glued to the CPU just to keep it at~40C). From a friend of mine I've upgraded my videoboard from a S3 Virge 2 MB to a AGP S3 Trio 3D with 4MB VRAM. I've also upgraded my RAM to 64MB Kingmax (slick memory those days). More memory was about to come to my computer a year later - another 128MB Infineon memory bar (Infineon was just as cool!) The hard drive couldn't last for long, so I've bought a 20GB Quantum LS drive (big mistake, because those drives had not 5400RPM but 4400RPM... and they've recently been introduced it... so with the element of surprise and a tiny bit cheaper, I've managed to screw this up). With the help of a friend, I exchanged the Quantum drive with a cooler 20GB Seagate Baracuda drive (way cool! 7200RPM and very quiet). An Aureal 1 sound board plus a pair of Phillips 50W speakers completed the system.

I don't know if you still remember, but my first monitor had been purchased was back in 1996, so, 6 years with the same old 14", was awful. In 2002, I've got myself a 17" DynaFlat Samsung 757DFX (way better than the "exploding bubble" that the old one was).
I was working on a project (a serious Java based Web application) and it really needed more RAM. So I've got another 256MB SDR, but when I've put it in there, the motherboard spelled 512MB and frozed. So no more joking around, I had to buy a computer to fit my memory... so I've got a 1200MHz Duron processor with a motherboard that could flip-the-chip and deal with DDR memory too. My 386MB SDR memory got upgraded a year later when I've sold them to a friend and bought a 256 MB Corsair memory. A merely month later, the price of the memory almost doubled (some trouble with an earthquake in Taiwan) and I've only got a 256 MB Samsung memory bar. So, with a new system, a 40GB WesternDigital drive would fit very well.

In 2003 I've won with a friend of mine second place in an software educational contest, so I've well spent my share on a 52x LG CD-RW (putting a rest on the little 5 year old 16x Funai drive) and a Gigabyte 9000PRO 64MB videoboard ("Shaders...here I come!"). At the end of the year, I've also got a Lexmark Z25 printer to help me with my papers.

In 2004, yes, two more years after the last big upgrade, I got a Gigabyte K7N400-L motherboard with a AMD 2500+ Barton processor. Assorted with that, came a pricey GeCube 9600XT 128MB. No way I could live with a Over that, I've exchanged one of my 256MB DDR 333 sticks with one Kingmax 256MB DDR 500, and then I've paired it. A good big, fast WesternDigital 120GB drive came in handy those days. No system should run without the appropriate powersource, so a 350W Hyper was enough for me. At the end of the year, I've also bought a Pioneer DVD-DL+-RW drive, a set of Genius SW 5.1 Deluxe sound system and a Audigy 1 LS soundcard.

In late october 2005, a good shinny Samsung 960BF TFT monitor arrived on my table (still not convinced the old CRT was such a bad monitor and this is new one is "wayyyy better...").

So here we are, in 2006, trying once more time to upgrade my computer. I think I'll change my system in a 939 style if you know what I mean, hoping that dual-core processors will drop next year: ASUS A8N-E, AMD64 3200+/3500+ and a Leadtek 6800 GS 256MB (so yes! I'll go nVidia way!). I should buy a 450W Hyper and a Geil 1GB Kit. Wish me luck at buying those!