It sounds to me like as compared to your typical computer upgrade cycle, you are getting far more life out of one computer than you used to get out of two or more. That sounds capital smart to me, and the lack of a sense of "slowing down" seems to be a visceral benefit that actually outweighs the price discussion entirely.
Right?
Rocketman
Well, in his defense...we don't know exactly what he paid for the Pro (maybe he got upgrades/options on it) nor do we know what he had for computers in the past (and were they Macs or pcs and what were the specs?) nor do we know what he was using the old computers for as well as the Pro (diehard video editing or simply websurfing)...nor do we know a lot of other questions.
Me? I have a Mini that I bought new in August 2007 right after the refresh...I rarely use it but it runs ok performance wise...the same performance as 2+ years ago for things like web surfing and iPhoto. But I've ALWAYS had a tendency to buy new Windows PCs every 3-5 years. Not because they suck or break or are slow, but it is VERY affordable to buy a new $550 box (no monitor needed for me) every 3-5 years that come with options/performance that outweighs me taking the time/money/effort of simply upgrading my old box...AND... I am also not the average PC user...most PC users I know hold onto their boxes for 5-8 years...yes, that is not a typo. I'm more of a technologist who is always looking for the performance gains and technology improvements (like eSata, faster buses, faster ram speeds, etc.) rather than most personal computers (mac and pc alike) who just want the box to work as long as possible without spending any more money....I do a lot of audio work (and some video) as well which always benefits from faster technology as the years go by.
Contrary to belief, people buy new/replacement machines (mac and pc) all the time for
dozens of reasons...and I would bet that one of the top reasons (albeit they wait longer than me) is they feel the old machine is just...well...old...buying a new one is going to be cutting edge, come with a warranty, have a new OS that has new features, etc. etc. They then take the old computer and give it to the kids or make it a 2nd computer (a lot more these days thanks to LCD monitors making everything nice and small). I'm actually in the process of helping a co-worker buy a new Windows box after his 7-year old one finally died (actually just the drive but he wants something entirely new and obviously much more recent technology). My last 3 Windows pcs were purchased for $600 each without a monitor which totals $1800...all total, the 3 pcs gave me just over 10 years of use. All 3 were of course not bleeding edge but the most recent included: Intel Quad chip, 3gig ram, 500GB SATA drive, 1 dvd/cd drive, ATI video card, 6 USB ports, 1 Firewire. For $600 and my usage, that's a great performance/price ratio. So 10 years ago, I don't think it would have been wise for me to plunk down $2500+ for a super high end PC because a)technology would have changed significantly in 10 years on many fronts and b)I would have spent about $700 more for the super duper computer.
Again, everyone uses a machine differently...and thus thinks differently about how often to replace. People also have budgets.
-Eric
