Yeah that's right. Don't get one. READ ON!
Here is the 5-0:
2004 is the year of unparalleled technological advancement in the hardware sector:
1)Power. The big processor manufacturers are beefing their bitchez (CPUs) up like crazy. It seems all the new processors are going to require new boards that haven't hit the mainstream yet. The heat is ON! (literally) The new Intel chip consumes around 40% more power than it's predecessor. WTF?! Imagine overclocking THAT mutha****er up 8O ! Extreme cooling anyone? The same goes for the next-gen graphics cards. I'd say anything below 400W by the end of 04 is technological suiscide!
2)PCI Express! It's amazing!...and also physically non-compatible with today's PCI and AGP cards
![Sad :(](./images/smilies/icon_sad.gif)
3)Serial ATA. Much more powerful than it's now-ugly-sister parallel. But at least it's out now and supported by most of the latest mobos.
4)BTX (Balanced Technology eXtended)! Goodbye ATX. This new form factor allows for greater cooling and looks inexplicably kewl. see for yourself: http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.html?i=1876&p=2
5)DDR2! the fastest RAM available is PC4400 or DDR550. DDR2, if released en masse today would start at PC4500 and encompass faster speeds. Read more @ http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.html?i=2003.
All this means that by the time you get your new mobo and are fresh out of bucks, the latest hardware will be incompatible with your system thus requiring you to dish out more bucks just to keep up. You'll miss out on all the fun.
"But that happens all the time in the computer industry anyway" you say. Nope. Phenomenons like PCI express and DDR2 are once in a decade type developments. Just watch this space.
I say: wait till around end-year. Yeh it's worth it homees. If you want to pimp up your system now, then just go for the cheapest upgrade or stick to upgrading you PSU since it will be compatible with BTX. (anything like 450W and below then you're the frikin circus
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
phew that was long.
![Confused :?](./images/smilies/icon_confused.gif)
Comments/corrections anyone?!