I'm sure specing isn't a prim and proper word. But that is what I have been doing for the past 2-3 weeks. I don't impulse buy and I'm trying to teach that to my son. He'll kid me in a bookstore when I see something in hardback, "C'mon, let the credit card slip onto the counter." And he hates it when I make him find reviews, try demos of games, etc. But the one time he didn't, the game sucked and he regretted it.

Anyway, my desktop is 4 years old. I bought it in Nov 2002. It had 1/2 gig of ram and I've added the other 1/2 to get it to a full gig. I've also replaced the video card twice. It actually does most of what I want - if it were just for work, it would still be great. But, it didn't play Doom 3 nicely (great on Half Life 2 though) and it is starting to be beat down by Empire At War: Forces of Corruption.

My point is that 4 years is a long time and I could go longer. But the machine also pushes a lot of sound out at me. It is a Shuttle SS51G and the stock fans are too loud. You can replace the one in the PSU and it makes a large difference. However, I like my main boxes to be stable. I'll change out components, but I doubt Shuttle makes a replacement PSU which is quiet.

I'm not cheap, I'm frugal. I know that the new desktop will last me for 4 more years. I could probably squeak by for another year with what I have now. I know I'll get another couple years of service from my current desktop as a test machine.

I've gone through several phases of desire for what I want: apple notebook, micro-atx box, and a AMD monster. Through it all, I've used NewEgg.com as my shopping guide. It is great, it has multiple pictures for each product, it has great deals, it has user reviews, and it has a good RMA policy. With them, you'll get a picture of everything which comes in the box - which I haven't seen at many other sites. I actually stopped an order with another site because I couldn't tell if I was getting the same stuff as the equivalent NewEgg order.

Well time to order the new box. I'm shooting for quiet and somewhat expandable. I'd like more PCI slots, but I've gotten by for 4 years with only 1, and the new box should have 2. Whoa, too many options. I'll blog about putting it together, loading OSes on it, etc. It should be fun.