Are there any major advances in computers coming by the end of the year, Pentium 5's or something like that? Should I wait a few months before buying a new machine? (If this is the wrong place/site for this type of question, tell me and I'll delete it.) Thanks!

I don't know about this year. Intel has come out with PCI Express motherboards already. I think next year Microsoft is going to release Longhorn OS and Intel will come out with dual core packages. ZD Net: Longhorn to arrive in 2005

Actually, the time to purchase a new computer is now since Intel just released those new CPUs. There was an article on PC World about that but I couldn't seem to find it. But don't expect any major leaps by the end of the year. http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,117176,00.asp Tosh Hida

Ask yourself these simple questions. Will what I buy today do what I need it to do now and continue to do so for it's practical lifespan? Is it upgradable to meet possible future needs that you can forsee? If the answer is Yes then buy now. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him to fish and you feed him for life.

If you really want to buy a computer with the most advancement in computer technology, don't buy one. Computer technology changes every day, making whatever we have obsolete. Hence, I'd follow Richard59's advice above. i_XpUser

No matter when you buy a computer, it will be old technology tomorrow. That's why I usually get equipment at least one step behind the latest whiz bang hardware. Saves a lot of money and you really don't gain that much by getting the latest. The computer magazines always push the very latest technology because that's their job--it gives them something new to write about.