Technology moves fast. According to Moore’s Law, it doubles about every 18 months. This can be frustrating for those of us who try to stay on top of all the latest trends but don’t have disposable income. I have found myself in this predicament many times. The goal is to stay one step ahead of the game. This can be achieved by looking at current specifications and the history of specific technologies and companies. In short, this means the most for your dollar.
Rule 1) Look Ahead
Netbooks running Windows 7
Companies don’t always display their latest upcoming technology at conventions or on their website right away. One of the best ways to determine when new technology will hit the market is by looking to other factors. I was looking at some netbooks online a few weeks ago. Their specifications were modest to say to say the least. About 1 gig of RAM, single core processor, low functioning integrated graphics. Once Windows 7 came out, all that changed. The very same day this new operating system was released, entire lines of new netbooks hit the market. Now they have dual core processing, more RAM and better graphics capabilities. Windows 7 ran just fine on most netbooks from the previous generation. However, companies saw an opening attributed by Microsoft’s product and ran with it on the new generation of netbooks.
Unfortunately, these factors aren’t always easy to come by. After all, anticipation for a new operating system is going to be large. However, it’s often the smaller components that we forget about. How can we know about those little upgrades? The sad truth is that we can’t always know, we can’t be everywhere at once. Before you buy that item you’ve had your eye on, this is the time to check out the company’s website for recent news and read up on articles about conventions and conferences they may be taking part in. This will get you an idea of new products soon to be released.
Rule 2) Patience is a Virtue
Some companies don’t need to follow trends too closely. Either they follow a completely different set of rules or they are the trend setters themselves. Apple in particular comes to mind. I own an Intel iMac from 2006 and it works just as good as the day I got it. Keep in mind that my Mac’s specs are nearly laughable compared to today’s norm. That being said, Apple certainly doesn’t need to worry too much about the trends in the market. However, they do anyway. The specifications of their computers are kept up to date. Though in reality, they don’t need to keep up with anyone but themselves. Apple, like many companies, upgrades their products on a regular basis. About once or twice a year, products like these are displayed at conventions with new specs and upgrades. That’s how the word usually gets out with companies like these. Try to wait until the latest model of a particular product comes out on the market.
Rule 3) You Can Predict the Future
Almost anything you can think about in the world of technology has already been achieved, or will be achieved. Many predictions about the future that were made as far as 100 years have come true. We have the ability to do almost anything with technology. Sometimes we just don’t know specifically how to use it yet. Other times, companies are waiting to market it.
When the iPhone was released in 2007, people were gladly paying hundreds upon hundreds of dollars for this item. To most countries, this was innovative technology. After all, this was far more than just another cell phone or palm-pilot. It was clear that other companies wanted in on this action. Once other touch-screen devices came to the market, Apple dropped the iPhone’s price by a few hundred dollars and even added some upgrades. The moral of the story is this: new and exciting technology will continuously be innovated. The features you want in the device of your choice will most likely become a reality someday.
iPhone generations from left to right: original, 3G, 3GS
About Computers
A PC in itself is quite a separate subject. If your looking into components, you may feel a bit lost unless you have kept up to date on every latest technology there is about the subject. For example, a new processor may come out and in the meanwhile, the latest video card series may already be a few months old. Basically, the newest technology doesn’t always align with each other. This is a major problem when it comes to pre-built computers. You either spend a lot to get the best deal for your budget or you go cheap and buy a computer for its most basic uses. Anywhere in between and your stuck with a machine filled with both quality components and weak components. Here’s a few tips to avoid all of these dilemmas:
My rig built in 2008 undergoing a "power-on self-test" (POST)
1) Consider buying a cheap prebuilt and only upgrade the components you want. This may be cheaper than building an entire computer with the same specs.
2) Advanced BIOS features are good and certainly add a degree of life-span to your system. However, not all features on a motherboard are necessary (unless you choose to fully utilize them). You probably won’t need the latest north bridge or four PCI-E slots for SLI or crossfire.
3) Reuse old parts. My gaming rig uses an ASUS DVD drive from years and years ago. This probably sounds like it defeats the point of being “future-proof” but in fact, I’m sure it will work for years to come. It works perfectly fine now and saved me a little money.
4) Buy low voltage RAM. Some processors will be damaged if the RAM’s voltage is too high and buying low voltage RAM generally doesn’t cost anything more than RAM with higher voltage. This will also ensure that your rig will be able to take on new series of processors.
5) CPU first, GPU later. A high end video card is no good if your processor can’t support it. This is called “bottlenecking.” It is always a good idea to invest more in your CPU than your video card. Hopefully, you will also be able to upgrade to newer video cards in the future that the CPU can adequately support.
These are just a few guidelines that have helped me out in the past. Feel free to share your own suggestions and experiences.
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Interesting article, I enjoyed reading it.
I personally help people get the most value out of their computer builds on my blog (See link in my name), by offering various build designs and helpful articles and here’s what I would add to your list, regarding PCs:
1- Get a system that is easily upgradable in the future. By that, I mean get a motherboard with a socket that will be around in 1-3 years (Example: Avoid Socket 775 now), go with DDR3 instead of DDR2, get a solid power supply that will last you a few years and has enough power to let upgrade later.
I couldn’t disagree more regarding investing more on the CPU than the video card though. That used to be true a few years ago, but with bigger monitors and higher resolutions, the video card is most often than not the bottleneck these days. Besides, you can upgrade the CPU as well.
Found your blog through Digg, looking forward to your future articles.
Cheers,
Mathieu
Related: I also suggest to friends to buy the BEST monitor that you can afford at a particular time. Monitors have a tendency of outlasting PC’s, so it can be re-used over the life of 2-4 PC’s, depending on how fast you cycle. You sit in FRONT of your monitor whenever you use your computer. You probably also use your computer for hours a day…think about it. Do you stare at your PC case or Hard drive for hours?
You monitor can have the biggest single impact on the “looks” and “feel” of your PC on an everyday basis. Instead of investing in a fancy light-up-LED-case….get a 24″ (or 30″) LCD monitor that makes everything you use look better, and gives you way more desktop room.
Get a floppy disk drive, you have no idea how important that stupid sounding idea is! You will regret not having one later and they cost next to nothing
My list:
1) Refuse to play the game altogether.
2) Get off the hamster wheel.
3) Interact with people in person.
4) Enjoy the real world while you can.
5) Spend your money on experiences, family, and charity, not plastic and circuitry.
Yea you read and commented on the article.
Bye Andy, I’ll see you in the future when I come back to visit you in my spanking new time machine. Why on earth would anyone not want to use the most flexible and innovative tool (the computer in it’s many forms) ever developed by mankind? Ludite ?? Unbelievable how certain people have the ability to pass up such life changing opportunities. Lack of imagination perhaps?
Good article, but i think the best way to save money is to stay about a year behind the current technology. Buy your friends iphone 3G when he upgrades to a 3GS for $30. Play pc games about a year after they’ve been out–they usually go down to $20 and have all the bugs fixed on them. Also games that are a year old don’t take a top of the line pc to play either, so you can have the graphics settings turned all the way up.
I agree with Nick. I have a great PC that was built with 6-month-old technology for under $900 TWO YEARS ago. Now, I can play every game that came out before 2009 at the max settings. Also, AaronR made a good point about the Monitor. I have two great 24″ LCD’s that I’ll likely use for a total of 5-7 years. That was money well spent.
One last thing that I would suggest to people is to buy a Case with lots of Hard Drive Slots and a good power supply. That way, when you do build a new PC in a few years you can still use the Mobo, CPU, Power Supply, Video Card and case to make a very nice server. Just add more drives. I have a file server that I built from a PC that was 8 years old.
That’s actually not what moore’s law states, but a common misinterpretation of it.
Moore’s law is not a law, and it doesn’t apply to “technology” but to the number of transistors in a microprocessor …
Some interesting points about staying ahead of the curve, which can really help someone be more marketable for jobs of all kinds. Nice post.
U can never win with technology, as soon as u get something the next day your outdated.
bah everything i buy is old by the time i buy it! just be selective and buy things that will have longer use and are not just fads!
About the Moore’s Law dispute-
Moore’s Law doesn’t necessarily refer to just transistors, it also refers to the cost of transistors. Anyway, many would say that was his original intention. Nowadays it has also been proven to coincide with the technology of other products. In layman’s terms, Moore’s law and its many variations can predict the power of processors, RAM, etc. and in some ways the capabilities of other products (most notable would be digital cameras).
So even though saying that “technology doubles every 18 months” isn’t true in its strictest sense, it is still an accurate way to predict the direction of many technologies.
Chris is correct. Similar to how gravity is not a law, but the laws of gravity are constants that we can find within the theory of gravity, Moores law supports theories, or particular trends, and can therefore be applied as sort of guidelines, rather than the final word.
I’ve tried to comment several times on this post, but seems as though the website freezes in some manner every time I push the submit button. A pitty really, because this is usually a kind of post that deserves to be commented.