let me put it this way....nothing lasts forever, every time I upgrade my computer I replace everything, this way I know that there is not a chance for something to fail because I am being cheap....I start saving for a new system as soon as I uprade the old one, this way I have 3-4 years to save up for it...5 dollars here 10 dollars there helps, before you know it you will have 2 to 3 k easy