Computer consultants build entire careers around advising businesses when to upgrade their hardware. Should you go with the latest and greatest, or stick with tried and true? As with all business decisions, it comes down to a question of cost vs. benefit. But quantifying the costs and benefits of hardware can be difficult. Here are some factors to consider when you are agonizing over whether upgrade.

The Hidden Costs of Upgrading

The price tag of your new system isn't the only cost: There is also the time, energy, and money to migrate your information to your new equipment. And heaven forefend something should go wrong during the migration. Can you put a price tag on all your company's data?

If you are thinking of upgrading just so you can have the latest gear loaded with all the bells and whistles, stop. Unless you have a solid business case for upgrading, your money will be better spent elsewhere.

Stopgap Measures

If it's bells and whistles you want, maybe you can add them yourself. Adding RAM, or random access memory, which is the memory that allows your computer to perform its tasks, is a great way to speed up your system, and it's really simple, even for technophobes. Most RAM retailers, such as Crucial and TigerDirect have online configuration calculators to tell you exactly which RAM your system needs. Once you get the right RAM, it's just a case of opening your computer case and snapping it in place.