I was a Computer Science major/Mathematics minor in college. My track was mostly programming so most of the basic stuff I had to learn on my own.
What made my "server" so expensive was lack of sense on my part. I decided I wanted a Pentium 4. Well, the Pentium 4 was relatively new back then; in fact, Pentium 4 motherboards only had RDRAM. Additionally, I bought everything retail. Now I know better and use sites like newegg.com.
While my server has definitely been the best computer I ever had, upgrading to Vista might be painful since I need to add more memory and RDRAM still is not cheap. I currently sit at 512MB which is enough for Windows 2000, but maybe not for Windows Vista. Every other component seemed to go down in price. I could just scrap using the P4 as the server, but I paid enough for it, I am going to make it useful for many, many years.
I will have to take a gander on pricewatch for computer components.
One thing I've learned in my years in computers is that if something is going to cost alot of money, only do it if its really necessary. In other words, unless you have a specific reason or purpose for installing Vista, wait until prices fall some more, or until you have a reason for needing to upgrade. And I've found that when it comes to computers, prices are constantly changing. What's new today is old tomorrow, and the price of computer components usually reflects that trend.
Indeed. The technology field is constantly changing. Top-of-the-line today, won't be so next month. Almost a year ago when I ordered everything for this PC, I got the best that was out there at the time,but today, my machine is considered pretty mediocre. Sure, it's good, but there are far better and faster things out there...