One of the unmentioned joys of purchasing tech hardware is that you really have to be a news hound – or at least have a basic understanding of what's going on the tech market – lest you plunk down for a system or component that's about to become obsolete.
While it hasn't happened to us in recent memory, there are surely people out there who purchase an iPad 2 just prior to the announcement of the iPad 3; an older graphics card right before Nvidia unveils the GeForce GTX 680; a Sandy Bridge laptop before the release of Intel's Ivy Bridge lineup.
Stinks, huh?
However, one big-time manufacturer and one well-known boutique vendor are giving their customers a bit of a break for not keeping up with the latest tech news. Both Dell and Origin PC have announced that they're going to voluntarily upgrade certain laptop or desktop orders to Intel's latest chip – for customers that plunked down for a Sandy Bridge system just prior to Ivy Bridge hitting the market.
Even better, the upgrades are absolutely free.
"While there's a lot to be excited about with these new laptops, I've saved the best for last," wrote Dell's John Blain, on April 30, referencing updates to the company's Alienware M14x, M17x, and M18x laptops.
"Those who've ordered one of these three updated laptops and whose orders haven't shipped yet, we'll be upgrading your processors from second generation Intel Sandy Bridge processors to a comparably-priced third generation Ivy Bridge processor automatically!"
Boutique vendor Origin PC told HotHardware's Paul Lilly that the company also plans to automatically upgrade all desktops and laptops ordered prior to Ivy Bridge's launch – as long as those orders are still in the process of being fulfilled or built, we presume.
Nevertheless, the lesson remains: If you're on the verge of picking up a new piece of hardware, it behooves you to run a quick Web search to see if something better isn't coming out, say, within a week. Dell and Origin PC might be the good guys this time around, but there are plenty of companies who would be more than happy to ship you a second-generation piece of hardware for the price of the brand-new, killer part that replaces it a few days later.
For more tech tidbits from David Murphy, follow him on Facebook or Twitter (@thedavidmurphy).
