How to best decide when it's time to replace your PC, whether at home or at work, is always tricky. Spending on computers can make you more productive, but it's money you otherwise cannot spend, invest or save, and faster systems always await you in the future. What is clear is that the computer industry really wants you to buy, and the computer publishing industry does too. In ads as well as articles, the emphasis is always on the latest and greatest. Healthy spending has fueled the PC revolution, but it may not necessarily be healthy for your bottom line. Not everybody buys into the dictum that yesterday's technology is a liability. Being on the cutting edge, in fact, can make you bleed. New technology is and will always be buggier than the tried and true. Yet there are good reasons for spending on new computer hardware. It will let you run the latest software, which typically has more features and is easier to use than older programs, though this reason is less compelling than it used to be. In deciding whether or not to buy a new PC, the ultimate question you need to answer is this: Will the new system let you or those you work with work more efficiently, or in the case of home systems used for entertainment, play more pleasurably, and is the price worth it?