[Techtalk] Philosophical question: CPU/memory/disk cheaper than efficiency?

[Kelly Jones]

And now, a philosophical question:

If I have a program that runs slowly (or hogs so much CPU/memory/disk
that it slows other processes to a crawl), is it cheaper to:

 % Work to re-code the program to be more efficient and use less resources?

 % Increase the amount of CPU/memory/disk I have, or buy another
 machine just to run this program?

Someone told me this was a no-brainer, and that it was a generally
accepted fact that computer CPU/memory/disk was much cheaper than
programmer time. True?

Have there been studies done on this? Articles written?

-- 
We're just a Bunch Of Regular Guys, a collective group that's trying
to understand and assimilate technology. We feel that resistance to
new ideas and technology is unwise and ultimately futile.