# Will I ever need another computer?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-ever-need-another-computer/483640
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [January 30, 2009, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-ever-need-another-computer/483640 "2009-01-30T00:02:48Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Quasimodal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodal)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2009, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-ever-need-another-computer/483640/1 "2009-01-30T00:02:48Z")
Seriously, this Mac Pro might as well be sentient! With this computer I can make movies, and I recently finished a massive recording project. I can’t see what I else a computer can do for me. I have the 8-core 2 gig of ram computer. It seems computer technology is finally reaching the limits of what an average person could ever possibly want to with it. If i can edit video and audio…I am happy!
So do you think i’ll ever need another one (barring parts failing?)
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### Author:  [@Captain\_C](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_C)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2009, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-ever-need-another-computer/483640/2 "2009-01-30T00:07:37Z")
FWIW, if I didn’t play games on my computer I think I would have been good with the one I had back in 1998.
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### Author:  [@DJ\_Motorbike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DJ_Motorbike)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2009, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-ever-need-another-computer/483640/3 "2009-01-30T00:30:45Z")
**Captain\_C** has it. Gamers keep pushing the limit. Someday there will be a game that, at minimum requires 1 terabyte free on a solid state hard drive, an Octal Core 12ghz processor and 15 gigs of ram. I can’t wait to play Elder Scrolls 8: Nirn which will encompass a fully living world the size of the moon.
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### Author:  [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2009, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-ever-need-another-computer/483640/4 "2009-01-30T00:42:45Z")
I don’t play games, but it seems my business applications keep requiring more and more resources. My laptop from 10 years ago would be unbearably slow compared to the one I have now.
IMHO you’ll need to stop upgrading your computer when software suddenly becomes more efficient and has a smaller footprint.
_start hijack_ Why doesn’t just upgrading my ram, disk, video card or CPU ever make financial sense? It’s always cheaper and better to throw away a perfectly good, but slow, computer and buy a new one. _end hijack_
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### Author:  [@hobscrk777](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hobscrk777)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2009, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-ever-need-another-computer/483640/5 "2009-01-30T01:05:21Z")
> [@DJ\_Motorbike](#):
>
> **Captain\_C** has it. Gamers keep pushing the limit. Someday there will be a game that, at minimum requires 1 terabyte free on a solid state hard drive, an Octal Core 12ghz processor and 15 gigs of ram. I can’t wait to play Elder Scrolls 8: Nirn which will encompass a fully living world the size of the moon.
Oh man! I’m an Elder Scrolls fan. I set up a [website](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu_moia-oVI) just in case Bethesda Softworks does roll out an Elder Scrolls 8: Nirn in about a decade. Then I can sell them the domain and retire rich.
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### Author:  [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2009, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-ever-need-another-computer/483640/6 "2009-01-30T01:07:46Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#):
>
> IMHO you’ll need to stop upgrading your computer when software suddenly becomes more efficient and has a smaller footprint.
You’re funny.
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### Author:  [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2009, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-ever-need-another-computer/483640/7 "2009-01-30T01:24:13Z")
[This](http://www.theonion.com/content/node/27607) is coming soon…
Joe
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### Author:  [@Digital\_Stimulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_Stimulus)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2009, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-ever-need-another-computer/483640/8 "2009-01-30T05:24:49Z")
I’d say that you’re thinking big enough. Sure, for many (if not the vast majority of) people, the computers they currently own would and will be sufficient, _given what they do with their computers_. That’s not to say that any given person _needs_ faster and better hardware, now or into the future. But computational power is like one’s budget – your “needs” will expand to what you’re allotted.
Or, along the same lines, “Build it and they will come”. 🙂
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### Author:  [@DJ\_Motorbike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DJ_Motorbike)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2009, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-ever-need-another-computer/483640/9 "2009-01-30T06:17:27Z")
> [@hobscrk777](#):
>
> Oh man! I’m an Elder Scrolls fan. I set up a [website](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu_moia-oVI) just in case Bethesda Softworks does roll out an Elder Scrolls 8: Nirn in about a decade. Then I can sell them the domain and retire rich.
Damn you. 😛
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### Author:  [@Amblydoper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amblydoper)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2009, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-ever-need-another-computer/483640/10 "2009-01-30T08:32:14Z")
I had the same feelings when I bought my MacPro, in fact, that is the reason I bought it. My previous computer (a PC) lasted me 5 years, with only occasional memory upgrades, while every PC before that became obsolete after about 2 years. I don’t think I will need to replace my “cheese grater” until it turns 10 in 2018.
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### Author:  [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2009, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-ever-need-another-computer/483640/11 "2009-01-30T13:13:04Z")
I saw an ad a few weeks back from (IIRC) Fujitsu-Siemens offering a lifetime upgrade service. Buy a laptop now for £999, every three years they give you a replacement. The specs weren’t too bad, nothing exciting but sufficient for myself I suppose.
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### Author:  [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2009, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-ever-need-another-computer/483640/12 "2009-01-30T17:02:55Z")
[QUOTE=dolphinboy]
IMHO you’ll need to stop upgrading your computer when software suddenly becomes more efficient and has a smaller footprint.
[/QUOTE]
That rules out Office 2007. It’s been a long time that I’ve been able to type faster than an application can keep up, and this is on a new PC.
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### Author:  [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2009, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-ever-need-another-computer/483640/13 "2009-01-30T17:51:31Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#):
>
> _start hijack_ Why doesn’t just upgrading my ram, disk, video card or CPU ever make financial sense? It’s always cheaper and better to throw away a perfectly good, but slow, computer and buy a new one. _end hijack_
Because various aspects of PC architectures – expansion card standards, memory standards, CPU families/socket types, and so on – seem to undergo major every three to four years, rendering even easily upgradable equipment difficult to upgrade.
I’ve got an AMD 939-based PC; four gigs of DDR memory, Athlon 64 X2 3600+ processor, and considered top-of-the-line four years ago. It’s still fast, but I can’t upgrade it any further, since almost every standard incorporated by the motherboard and architecture has been superceded. I can reuse the case, motherboard, video card, hard drives, monitor, and that’s it; to upgrade would involve a new motherboard, new CPU, and new memory. Because further upgrades would involve a motherboard swap, I’d need a new copy of Windows XP or Vista; Microsoft considers a motherboard swap a new computer.
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### Author:  [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2009, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-ever-need-another-computer/483640/14 "2009-01-30T18:01:44Z")
Well, my office computer is pretty up-to-date but it takes much longer to open Mircosoft Word than it did 15 years ago (on much “slower” computers). Commercial software produces expand to use all available resources.
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### Author:  [@Digital\_Stimulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_Stimulus)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2009, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-ever-need-another-computer/483640/15 "2009-01-30T18:09:49Z")
> [@elmwood](#):
>
> I’ve got an AMD 939-based PC; four gigs of DDR memory, Athlon 64 X2 3600+ processor, and considered top-of-the-line four years ago. It’s still fast, but I can’t upgrade it any further, since almost every standard incorporated by the motherboard and architecture has been superceded.
Huh. Almost my exact setup. My MB died recently, and I figured I’d just upgrade it. But, no – not possible without also getting new RAM and CPU. I ended up buying a 2nd hand MB, same make and model.
Not a happy geek was I at being denied the prospect of upgrading.
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### Author:  [@Redwing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Redwing)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2009, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-ever-need-another-computer/483640/16 "2009-01-30T18:19:57Z")
You’re so cute, asking a question like that. Less than ten years ago, I had around 25TB of storage (cooked) on all of my SANs around the country. I’m getting close to that in a single tray these days. And, as always, there’s still not enough disk for our current needs.
This means that you need faster computers to handle that much data in meaningful amounts of time. And more RAM, obviously, to store the queries. While most business applications don’t need the video power that games do, they can still easily eat a decent workstation. The current trend towards virtual desktops may reduce the horsepower of the machine on your desk dramatically, but all it’s really doing is moving it to the vm host to make things easier to scale and manage.
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### Author:  [@The\_Batman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Batman)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2009, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-ever-need-another-computer/483640/17 "2009-01-30T18:27:32Z")
Of course you’re going to need another computer.
Did the projects from 10 years ago require the processing power and graphics of today? Do you think the projects from 5 years from now will be doable with a 8-core 2 gig of ram computer? 2 gigs is no longer the orgasm-inducing amount it used to be. I have friends with 4 gigs and that’s not really pushing it.
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### Author:  [@Amblydoper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amblydoper)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2009, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-ever-need-another-computer/483640/18 "2009-01-30T19:57:39Z")
> [@Tijuana\_Golds](#):
>
> Of course you’re going to need another computer.
>
> Did the projects from 10 years ago require the processing power and graphics of today? Do you think the projects from 5 years from now will be doable with a 8-core 2 gig of ram computer? 2 gigs is no longer the orgasm-inducing amount it used to be. I have friends with 4 gigs and that’s not really pushing it.
The Computer the OP has can be upgraded to 32 GB of RAM, and most of today’s applications can’t utilize all 8 cores (3 ghz or 3.2 ghz?). So, yes, I think his rig will be able to handle the tasks 5 years from now. It won’t be keeping pace with the contemporary machines of 2014, but it will have enough power to run whatever applications he throws at it.
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### Author:  [@Fear\_the\_Turtle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_the_Turtle)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2009, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-ever-need-another-computer/483640/19 "2009-01-30T20:51:22Z")
> [@elmwood](#):
>
> … Because further upgrades would involve a motherboard swap, I’d need a new copy of Windows XP or Vista; Microsoft considers a motherboard swap a new computer.
That may be true in same cases, but it is not universally true. I’ve upgraded my MB multiple times under the same copy of XP and only needed to reactivate it (once it took an actual call to a human, but the last time just over the internet).
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### Author:  [@Quasimodal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodal)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2009, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-ever-need-another-computer/483640/20 "2009-01-31T01:31:46Z")
My question would be, what would I possibly use it for? I don’t game, and all I want to do is edit video and sound. What else do I need a faster computer for? What could it do? I mean, is resolution beyond 1080p really functional? Could my eye physically be able to process the higher resolution?
The tech has seemed to reach beyond my abilities to imagine what I could do with it.
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