So I am going to rehash an entry I entered ten years or so ago: Reusing Office Computers. This practice not only makes sense in the office, it makes sense at home. Online gamers who need the most cutting–edge system every ten months can offset the cost of their hobby by repurposing their equipment for lower-end tasks. They can use this equipment for their own use or sell (or for extra enviro–conscious points donate) their used equipment to those who are satisfied with last–year's technology (i.e., the vast majority of us). You can use last–year's model computer quite well for running your word processor or spreadsheet programs, organizing digital photo/video albums with light touch–up, updating your family tree or other small database application, or accessing the Internet. If you do not install new programs, this computer should serve you for five years or longer. Just remember when you do purchase new software to check the minimum requirements chart to ensure your computer is up to par with their software's needs. With a little customization of your system, you can keep your computer for many years to come. Graphic–intense applications require a great deal of memory in the computer, and may require separate memory for the video card. If you work with large photo/video albums, you may want to add another hard drive, or a removable hard drive for additional storage. (It is best to keep these files on a separate hard drive from your operating system and core applications. If your operating system crashes, you don't want to risk losing your photos, videos, or other "work" files. Back–up your work files regularly!) For surfing the Internet, your main concern is a fast Ethernet card, fast modem (broadband is much faster than dial–up but you will need to have broadband service from your Internet service provider), and maybe a router if you have several computers connecting to the Internet.