When is upgrading your existing PC a more practical option than buying a new one? In most instances I have heard of, upgrading costs just a little less than purchasing a new one.
It really depends on what the needs are and if you can do the upgrade yourself. For example, if you are just wanting to increase speed and know how to add memory, that would definately be be cheaper than purchasing a whole new computer. But if you have a really old machine and are wanting to use it to play newer games on it, you may want to just buy a newer machine. By the time you did all of the upgrades on an old machine, you will probably have been better off to just buy a new one.
I have to concur with dissn_it because it really depends on many factors: what your uses are, how much you're willing to spend, what the marketplace is like, etc. My computer itself is decent, but it's definitely behind compared to what's out there right now, especially the hard drive, functions and features. However, this computer is nearly five years old and has served me well!
I think it depends on what shape your computer is in, and how much the upgrading costs. If you can purchase a new computer for around the same price as the upgrade, then it's kinda pointless just to upgrade.
Most of the people that I know of who upgrade their computers have custom builds. Parts are usually quite cheap compared to the markup that manufacturers put on ready made PCs, so it is a very viable option. In addition, each part lasts for a few years, so upgrades would be staggered, thus hitting your wallet much less than buying a new computer, and you can always resell the part later for a few bucks.
