Computing: Upgrade trap catches PC users
Upgrade Spiral ensnares another hapless PC user
By DWIGHT SILVERMAN
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
IF you've owned a computer for any length of time, you know all about the dreaded Upgrade Spiral.
It works like this:
You spot some piece of cool software you must have, or decide a hardware component in your PC needs beefing up.
You decide you're going to spend some cash on Item A, which seems a reasonable cost for the anticipated benefits.
You purchase Item A, take it home, go to install it and ...
You discover there's something about your computer that's, well, lacking . Item A won't work on your machine until something else is changed.
Item B is required.
Obviously, it would have been great to know about Item B before you shelled out the cash for Item A.
But as confusing and complex as the computing landscape can be, the need for Item B is not always obvious, even if you spend quality time with Google doing research before your initial purchase.
You have a choice.
You can either say "phooey!" early on and take Item A back. Or you can spend the extra money on Item B and just pray there's no Item C in your future.
The Upgrade Spiral can continue ad infinitum. I know more than one person who started out wanting to upgrade a low-cost software program and wound up replacing the entire computer — piece by piece.
And I experienced it just last weekend. I started out needing to test a new graphics card for a review and wound up having to replace my PC's power supply — but not before I drove all over town looking for an inexpensive, elusive $5 part that would have prevented the more costly purchase.
Video card maker nVidia has started selling its next-generation line of cards, the GeForce 7800 series. Back in July, the company released the 7800 GTX, which can sell for more than $600. Earlier this month, the 7800 GT was released, which is more affordable — if you consider $450-$500 affordable for a high-end graphics card.
It had been a while since I looked at an nVidia gaming card, so I requested one to try. It arrived last week, and I was looking forward to a weekend of putting it through its paces.
The GeForce 7800 GT is a PCI Express graphics card, and like a lot of high-end cards, it requires its own power connection. However, nVidia sent this card in bare-bones fashion — no installation information, no drivers, no reviewer's guide. I glanced at the layout of the card and didn't see an obvious place to plug in power, so I presumed it didn't need one.
Yes, I was bad. I didn't do my research, which is often a contributing factor to the Upgrade Spiral.
Popped in the card, fired up the computer — and immediately got a warning that the card wasn't getting enough power. Now, I did the right thing and hopped on the Web and was told at nVidia's support site that, yes, this card does require a power connection — but not the familiar, flat, four-pin molex plug. Instead, it needs a square, six-pin plug used by PCI Express cards.
But my power supply, which I bought a couple of years ago, predates PCI Express, and didn't have this connector. I would have to buy an adapter, which went from the four-pin molex to the six-pin PCI-e plug.
I don't live far from MicroCenter in Houston, so I toodled over there. No luck.
CompUSA? Nope.
Fry's didn't have it either, which was astounding. Now I knew I was in trouble.
I tried RadioShack — no joy. A salesman working in the store recommended Electronic Parts Outlet on Fondren near Richmond. This tiny store is like the hardware stores of old, but the "hardware" is quite different. Although it carried every other computer part there is, it didn't have this adapter.
I went back home, pulled out the GeForce 7800 GT and put back my current card, an ATI Radeon X700. When I did, I discovered something.
The adapter I had to buy requires not one, but two molex plugs. But as I looked inside my PC, I saw I didn't have two molexes to spare. That would have meant buying yet another kind of adapter, which splits one molex plug into two. It dawned on me that, as much power as the nVidia card appears to draw, that might not be wise.
I could simplify all this, and probably do myself some good in the future, by upgrading my power supply. I discovered MicroCenter had a good deal on a quality model that has PCI Express support, Thermaltake's 430-watt TR2, for $40. I toodled back to MicroCenter, bought the TR2 and installed it.
The card worked like a charm, and it's very impressive. I'll offer a full review in a few weeks.
I'm happy now, but indeed, I was fully caught up in the Upgrade Spiral.
The specifics of my case are somewhat unusual. Had I been a customer who bought this card from an nVidia partner — nVidia develops the technology, which others then market — the adapters would have been included in the boxes. But even if I'd had the adapter to start with, I might have wound up needing the new power supply anyway, because of the card's electrical demands.
That means my $450-$500 card would have cost an additional $40.
Sometimes, the Spiral is inescapable.
HoustonChronicle.com - Computing: Upgrade trap catches PC users
By DWIGHT SILVERMAN
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
IF you've owned a computer for any length of time, you know all about the dreaded Upgrade Spiral.
It works like this:
You spot some piece of cool software you must have, or decide a hardware component in your PC needs beefing up.
You decide you're going to spend some cash on Item A, which seems a reasonable cost for the anticipated benefits.
You purchase Item A, take it home, go to install it and ...
You discover there's something about your computer that's, well, lacking . Item A won't work on your machine until something else is changed.
Item B is required.
Obviously, it would have been great to know about Item B before you shelled out the cash for Item A.
But as confusing and complex as the computing landscape can be, the need for Item B is not always obvious, even if you spend quality time with Google doing research before your initial purchase.
You have a choice.
You can either say "phooey!" early on and take Item A back. Or you can spend the extra money on Item B and just pray there's no Item C in your future.
The Upgrade Spiral can continue ad infinitum. I know more than one person who started out wanting to upgrade a low-cost software program and wound up replacing the entire computer — piece by piece.
And I experienced it just last weekend. I started out needing to test a new graphics card for a review and wound up having to replace my PC's power supply — but not before I drove all over town looking for an inexpensive, elusive $5 part that would have prevented the more costly purchase.
Video card maker nVidia has started selling its next-generation line of cards, the GeForce 7800 series. Back in July, the company released the 7800 GTX, which can sell for more than $600. Earlier this month, the 7800 GT was released, which is more affordable — if you consider $450-$500 affordable for a high-end graphics card.
It had been a while since I looked at an nVidia gaming card, so I requested one to try. It arrived last week, and I was looking forward to a weekend of putting it through its paces.
The GeForce 7800 GT is a PCI Express graphics card, and like a lot of high-end cards, it requires its own power connection. However, nVidia sent this card in bare-bones fashion — no installation information, no drivers, no reviewer's guide. I glanced at the layout of the card and didn't see an obvious place to plug in power, so I presumed it didn't need one.
Yes, I was bad. I didn't do my research, which is often a contributing factor to the Upgrade Spiral.
Popped in the card, fired up the computer — and immediately got a warning that the card wasn't getting enough power. Now, I did the right thing and hopped on the Web and was told at nVidia's support site that, yes, this card does require a power connection — but not the familiar, flat, four-pin molex plug. Instead, it needs a square, six-pin plug used by PCI Express cards.
But my power supply, which I bought a couple of years ago, predates PCI Express, and didn't have this connector. I would have to buy an adapter, which went from the four-pin molex to the six-pin PCI-e plug.
I don't live far from MicroCenter in Houston, so I toodled over there. No luck.
CompUSA? Nope.
Fry's didn't have it either, which was astounding. Now I knew I was in trouble.
I tried RadioShack — no joy. A salesman working in the store recommended Electronic Parts Outlet on Fondren near Richmond. This tiny store is like the hardware stores of old, but the "hardware" is quite different. Although it carried every other computer part there is, it didn't have this adapter.
I went back home, pulled out the GeForce 7800 GT and put back my current card, an ATI Radeon X700. When I did, I discovered something.
The adapter I had to buy requires not one, but two molex plugs. But as I looked inside my PC, I saw I didn't have two molexes to spare. That would have meant buying yet another kind of adapter, which splits one molex plug into two. It dawned on me that, as much power as the nVidia card appears to draw, that might not be wise.
I could simplify all this, and probably do myself some good in the future, by upgrading my power supply. I discovered MicroCenter had a good deal on a quality model that has PCI Express support, Thermaltake's 430-watt TR2, for $40. I toodled back to MicroCenter, bought the TR2 and installed it.
The card worked like a charm, and it's very impressive. I'll offer a full review in a few weeks.
I'm happy now, but indeed, I was fully caught up in the Upgrade Spiral.
The specifics of my case are somewhat unusual. Had I been a customer who bought this card from an nVidia partner — nVidia develops the technology, which others then market — the adapters would have been included in the boxes. But even if I'd had the adapter to start with, I might have wound up needing the new power supply anyway, because of the card's electrical demands.
That means my $450-$500 card would have cost an additional $40.
Sometimes, the Spiral is inescapable.
HoustonChronicle.com - Computing: Upgrade trap catches PC users
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