6-Month Rule

Before you add that new component to your configuration, look around on the Internet to see how long it's been out on the market. If it's 2 weeks old, the chances are that these three conditions apply to it:

1. The price is considerably higher than it will be in a few months.
2. The product has at least some annoying bugs, but possibly some huge flaws that will be fixed in a few months.
3. There is little information available about it except the "Wow, cool, look what's coming out" blurbs.

If you delay your purchase a few months, or buy something that has been on the market a little longer, your overall experience with the product will most likely be better. You'll save money, decrease hassle, and, if something does go wrong, have a wealth of information available on the subject.

The 6-month rule is pretty effective for hardware, but software (specifically, Windows operating systems) is a different issue. I like to wait at least a year after release before upgrading to the newest release of Windows (in this case, Vista). This gives Microsoft and other software companies a chance to iron out a majority of the bugs and let the 'known issues and fixes' resources thoroughly populate.

Back to the Buying Guide