newbie rpm - tarball question

[Kirby Clements <kpc floweb net>]

I am having worries over whether or not to install a newer tarball of 
software, versus having the older rpm already installed. Does anyone 
know the best way to do this, where rpm and the machine itself are not 
'broken' in regard to who thinks what is installed where. The 
preference is to install the gzipped tarball into /usr/local/src/blah - 
while the older rpm package stays installed, Or, should I just 
uninstall the rpm after the newer source has been installed and is 
verified to be functioning?

Kirby