Hardware, or lack of it blues

I'm having the itch to build another proper system - hardware prices are pretty sensible, and its been about 3 years since i built BB. My mom basically barred me from spending money on computer hardware cause she's a luddite who thinks we need to go back to the stone age or something and live like noble savages she thinks i'm addicted to computers and they will will eat my soul.

If i were to though, there would be a few significant differences from what i built a few years ago. Graphics cards are way better for one, and since i'm a little bit of an audiophile now, i'd probably throw in a decent sound card (the current xonars have a good headphone amp built in, and that seems the way to go). I'd definately go for 4gb or more ram, and a 64 bit OS. Dual hard drives make sense to me, since data/system/app seperation is awesome - though unlike BB, where i went for a reasonably sized stand alone drive, and a later large addon, i'd go for a small SSD drive (the intel x25M is what i'm thinking of at the moment) for system and a larger external drive for data and bulkier files. ). I don't game a lot, so a decent middle of the line video card is good enough for me, no crossfire or any such shiny crap needed.

OSwise, windows 7 is good enough for general usage, and since it'd be a general usage desktop, i might not install linux on it.

I wonder if its addiction of you never actually get your fix....

I've been struck with the urge to mess around with hardware i occationally get. Main box is 'good enough', its only about 4 years old, and has had no major failures or flaws (hell, its been running 24/7 with no changes in hardware due to hardware failure). Generally, *ideally* 5 years is how long a system should stay relevant.

On the other side, its the only gaming worthy rig at home and my dad has the tendancy of kicking me off when he needs it (Its not that my brother and i pitched in and got it, Its cause he was like 'why do we need another computer?' - the computer we had had the past few years dropped dead soon after - when i was away). I also *miss* working with new hardware, the whole pricing out, planning, deciding what fits best in our budget. I miss being elbow deep in computers, and the thrill of the first boot.

I suppose one reason i wanted the CR 48 was this, other than the whole concept being cool, i figured it'd keep my mind off the whole new system itch. Of course i can't, there's either no space (but i live in a storage room! with racks of boxes of my mom's stuff everywhere!) or no money (i get an 'allowance'. Money's worth the same no matter what i spend it on).

I suppose being 27 and stuck with the parents is part of it, but i have other friends who're older, still studying, and well, get a much looser leash than i do.