I disagree that the segment of the market that drives CPU speed lust is growing smaller. When it comes to computer speed, "perceived value" rules the marketplace, not real computing power being continuously employed by the end user. Here are two automotive analogies:
SUVs: I live in suburban Chicago where 4WD Lexus, BMW, and Mercedes driven by the affluent can be seen on nearly every street. I bet the average usage of 4WD systems to get these people out of a jam occurs maybe once or twice a year. Yes we have harsh winters, but the roads are plowed and sanded/salted as necessary. There is absolutely NO NEED for that kind of performance.
SPORTS CARS: I also see Posche 911s all over the place. Beautiful car that can go from 0-60 in less than five seconds. Top speed of 150 mph. NO ONE can even BEGIN to employ this kind of brute force in the city. You would have to drive to Montana to open the thing up.
In both cases, the bragged upon features are essentially useless to the owner 95+% of the time. But people still buy SUVs and sporty cars in DROVES.
If you are running FCP3, doing audio engineeering, or doing tons of high-end Photoshop rendering work, a powerful computer might lead to productivity increases. Then yearly upgrades are probably a must, as the money you spend on the latest system is actually recouped in increased productivity.
Most of us, however, tap the full strength of our CPUs rarely, and having durable hardware with a stable OS is far more important than a slightly faster system. Heck, I am typing this on my G3/400 Pismo which is my sole computer, and while I will someday do the NewerTech G4/500 upgrade, I am not "suffering" the way it is. I don't know what a "snappy" OS is, but I do know that OS X 10.1.5 seems to be every bit as fast as OS9 was/is, just as stable, and now utterly crash-proof.
I am in a band and my bass player (who engineers our material) wants to get a Mac. I have told him that he should get two: a 12.1 iBook now (best computing value on the planet right now, $ per feature, IMHO) and wait a year for a new tower once the new chips come out. 90% of everything he'll ever do will be easily done by the iBook (WP, web, email, finance, database/spreadsheet, etc., plus it's portable) and the heavy lifting of recording, mixing and mastering up to 48 tracks of 24bit/96khz audio (complete with lots of plug-ins) can be done by the next generation of Macs. The only reason I would ever suggest he wait is that current Macs don't have the raw power to run MOTU's DP @24/96 for 48 tracks w/plug-ins.
But that is a case of actually using close to 100% of system resources to accomplish the task for which you bought the thing. Once he acquires the system, he won't need a new one for years--if EVER. Once your system can do everything you ask it to, reliably, you don't NEED a new computer--EVER.
This discussion is rarely about "need," however. It's about gear lust.
EDIT: Oh, and if your primary system draw is from some GAME (insert your favorite title here), why not just get a dedicated gaming system instead of making your computer a toy?
