How long the system lasts is up to the person. Running out of money is a great way to not have the itch to upgrade as are other priorities in one's life taking precedence in terms of budget (house, kids, etc.).
I think the toughest situation is if your system components are not terribly expensive. It seems that every few months some new component is hailed as the next giant killer with a massive amount of hype and one can't help but wonder if this time, it'll actually be as good as claimed and take the system to a whole new level of performance for a very reasonable price.
I'm at the point that not only am I no longer looking to change my system but I'm kind of relieved that I got to where I wanted to get to performance wise. Spending 12 years putting together a system and ending up at double the original budget will take the allure out of any delusions that further upgrades are a good idea.
I think the toughest situation is if your system components are not terribly expensive. It seems that every few months some new component is hailed as the next giant killer with a massive amount of hype and one can't help but wonder if this time, it'll actually be as good as claimed and take the system to a whole new level of performance for a very reasonable price.
I'm at the point that not only am I no longer looking to change my system but I'm kind of relieved that I got to where I wanted to get to performance wise. Spending 12 years putting together a system and ending up at double the original budget will take the allure out of any delusions that further upgrades are a good idea.