I am weak. I admit it.

After telling myself I could wait a few months, I just bought parts to build a new PC... Oh well.

the case for change

First I decided I needed a new monitor to get a larger desktop. I have a great 24" monitor at work and that only confirmed my belief that I needed one at home.

Then I rationalized that if my system was slow now, it would crawl at 1080p.

Then I tried to play Fallout 3. Bethesda's previous game, Oblivion, was the reason I did my last CPU update so it makes sense that their new game broke the camel's back. I have said many times that normal users (web and email and Word) havent needed a faster PC for the past few years but gamers arent normal users. The only reason to buy new a Windows computer is to play games.

Unfortunately my motherboard and memory were at the end of their lifecycle so I couldnt just get a new CPU. I had to do a total rebuild. This has been on my mind for about a month and I have done a lot of research, which kept it on my mind.

Until tonight when I pushed the button and sent in my order to Newegg. So much for my willpower in the face of wants versus needs.

low low prices

Although I agonized about spending any money at all, I am amazed at how low hardware prices are. I am getting a much faster system then the one I am replacing AND it is costing me almost 1/2 as much.

2GB of Memory - faster and 1/4 the price
New video card - 2x as fast and 25% less

You can build a screaming PC for $600 today and the only reason you would need to replace it is that games keep getting harder and harder to run. I think games are the only thing driving system demand these days.

The downside of cheap new PC's is that old PC's are almost worthless. I paid $1200 for my current gaming PC. Now I will be lucky to get $250 for it. Lucky if I can sell it at all. Computers have become a total commodity that few people understand. Low prices for a new but cheapo PC are going to be more popular than a used PC with top quality parts.

Windows computers are like throwing your money away so I guess it is good that the amount you have to throw away keeps shrinking.

big changes - intel inside

This new system is a big change for me. It will be my first Intel system and my first Windows Vista DX10 system.

I feel pretty guilty about leaving AMD to buy an Intel system. I have never had an Intel PC. Ever since my first PC in the late 1990's, I have supported the competition. It is important to have competition and AMD was usually cheaper, faster, and friendlier to home PC makers like myself.

But I did a lot of research on Intel's stuff for my mac and I just didnt want to do it all over again to learn about AMD's offerings. Especially since I only wanted a dual-core CPU and the AMD systems are slower. Moreover, AMD's architecture seems more complicated for overclocking -- something I want to do a little, not a lot.

Sorry AMD. It is sad to let you go. I really hope you stay in business.

big changes - vista to kick the floppy habit

At my new job, I have been using Vista. Its not bad for the office and I found myself wondering why it has such a terrible reputation. I am curious about DX10 and want to see it in games and I have heard that Vista improved the audio support for games as well.

But the REAL reason I want to try Vista is the floppy drive. I HATE floppy drives. Apple computers havent had a floppy drive in a decade but every time I have to install Windows XP, I find myself searching for floppy disks. Even though you can still buy XP in the store, it has the same 1990's installer that I have complained about before. XP doesnt understand SATA drives so if you want to install XP with a modern PC, you need that floppy disk with the right SATA drivers for your hardware. Blow me.

I almost skipped Vista completely, sticking with XP and its lame installer for years. But as fate would have it, now that Windows 7 is in beta, I am ready to try Vista. If Vista installs without asking me for a floppy drive, I will consider the change well worth it.

So wish me luck. I did the research and I ordered the parts but that is the easy step. Now comes assembly, configuration, and moving software. I will be updating our HTPC at the same and moving parts here and yon. It promises to be a frustrating time but I cannot wait to play Fallout3 in all is dismal glory.