Ready to build??

[MARSHP]

Hey Rob...
Built my first superpc in 2004...do you think I should be proactive and build another before I have problems? Upgraded to Windows 7 a year ago...works fine.

Have, per your specs at the time...Antec Sonata w/380 watt; amd athol xp2600 barton; abit NF7-S, 4G of memory (upgraded); PNY GEforce 8400GS DDRA 256 mb pcie graphics card; 3 hard drives up to external 1T; new samsung HDTV syncmaster t260hd monitor.

I'm concerned that something might fail after six years of faithful service. The components I have work fine...I do mostly web surf and text work...some amateur photo and video...no games...the specked parts I would buy new from your list cost me $600 in 2004, and your current recommendations would cost me about $990...have anything at about the same price as before (haven't costs gone down in the interim?)

Thanks very much for your help and advice...

Marsh Phelps
The Original Growth Coach
Tustin, CA

[Rob]

That's a long time and I think you're right to be mindful of the potential for problems. If it meets your needs then there's no need to upgrade. But, yes, computers do fail. Electrical components fatigue over time and sooner or later something will go wrong. If you have anything on the computer that you don't want to lose then you should be doing regular backups.