I Bought Too Much Computer
I admit—I overdid it.
After owning my laptop for over six years, I started chomping at the bit to buy myself a new one.
Not because I needed one, but because I wanted one. And I felt I deserved it because, well, look how long I’ve kept this old, crappy laptop. And you know what? I would actually use it for more than just basic things like email, Internetting and so on.
I felt like I deserved a new one. I had a classic case of the gimmies.
Which is fine, because I did A LOT of work to try and keep it around for another year or two. I spent hours on end trying to tweak and fix every little problem it had.
My wife was like, “You’re STILL on the computer? What happened now?”
Then, right as I thought I was getting close to solving the whole problem…the computer flat out died on me.
POOF.
Just like that, I didn’t have to make any excuses to buy a new one, I had earned it.
My Mistake
But instead of being smart and frugal about it, I was reckless.
I zeroed in on the wrong thing. Instead of looking at how I was using my old laptop, I concentrated on what I could do on a new one. And an old habit came back to bite me in the ass: gaming.
I used to be a big gamer back in the day, but I hadn’t played in years (it’s tough on an old, decrepit laptop). But the thought of buying a shiny new machine with a Quad Core processor and a pimped out video card was just too much.
Now, in my defense, I did do the buying part right. I did my homework, saved for the machine ahead of time, and waited until a got a great deal. I ended up paying around $1,000 for a machine that retailed at over $1,200. And I got it shipped for free.
So I did get a good deal, but now I was buying more than I could chew. Or more than I should’ve chewed, anyway.
Sure, I played the game (Fallout 3, which is actually pretty sweet) right when I got it, but then I played less and less.
Why? I was busy with my life. You know, doing all the stuff I was doing before I bought the game. There just wasn’t any room for any kind of consistent gaming. It was like the Wii fiasco all over again.
Now I have this sweet machine (which I don’t regret at all, mind you—she’s my baby) that can run any game under the sun. And guess what I use it for?
Writing blog posts, checking email, and surfing the ‘net.
What has two thumbs and feels kind of like a chump?
This guy.
Image by Vision Valley Photography
September 10th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
I look at it as a computer is a 5 year investment. That’s why I bought my Mac when I did because my old one was 5 years old, so slow, full of virus and could barely run. I am happy with my purchase, I believe you will be as well even if you spent a little bit more.
September 15th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
Nice purchase! I’m having the same dillema having just spent $1,300 after tax for a Macbook Pro. I’ve got another 7 days until I need to return it.
It’s just so much money, esp when my current one works. The current one is just 4 years old and slow. WE’ll see.
Craig, i like your 5 year investment viewpoint.
October 6th, 2009 at 1:14 am
Naw… you’re not a chump. Honestly it’s hard to get a decent laptop for very cheap. $1000 is reasonable. Especially when you consider how long you keep them. The higher end the laptop the longer it’ll last in terms of keeping current. You don’t need a ton of power to run the stuff you’re talking about, but Vista for example needs a lot of power just to run itself, I suspect Windows 7 will be the same and so will the MAC and Linux OS systems. Also, even though you don’t NEED that massive power, it does help out with your other activities potentially increasing your speed (probably has a stronger net card than others because of online gaming etc.) and productivity.