My computer is about 5 years old already and it's showing. In an era where dual core was the entry-top computers processor it's plain outdated today. How often do you upgrade yours? Do you buy parts yourself or do you do a full upgrade if you have like a laptop pc?
How frequently one replaces their computer depends entirely on what they use it for. Gamers for example need to upgrade their computers every two years. For others like me who use their computers only for browsing the net, it can take slightly longer. I've had mine for 6 years and because it's still working fine, I don't intend to replace it any time soon.
Normally, I replace a computer when it dies, but I am strongly considering looking into a quad core laptop. I haven't decided whether I want to hurry up and buy it before Windows 10 or not.
I only buy laptop because of their mobility, and I upgrade mine once every 3-4 years. I do light gaming on them, but mostly use them for everyday surfing and work projects. I usually buy low to mid range computers. $300-600 range which I find will easily last 5+ years. Of course you don't get all the bells and whistles of a high end computer, but to each their own.
I dont really upgrade. I wait until it breaks down. LOLOL That's mostly because I have no income. Although thinking about it now, even if I did I would still wait for it to break down and get the next model. My laptop broke down a while ago and I miss it like crazy. It was awesome. For now, I'm using my partner's which isn't as cool and it also needs to be replaced. He usually keeps the software upgraded, but it's not like mine. I have been thinking though that if I could save up the money (after everything else that's more important) I would prefer to buy the parts to make my own to my own specifications.
I would say upgrading depends on two things. One, the type of computer you have and two, what you use it for. If you are using a laptop, upgrading can be hard especially if you bought one with maximum specs. Desktop computers on the other hand can be upgraded to meet your desired requirements. What you use the computer for will also determine how often you would want to do an upgrade. Personally, so long as a computer is working efficiently, I don't see the need to upgrade and if necessary, I prefer buying a new machine that will last for many years.
As a light gamer too i'm reaching the 5 year mark and it's still able to run what I play. I hate the fact that you have to trade performance for mobility in laptops when you have almost the same budget. If the prices for laptops was the same as desktop pc's, I would definitely get a laptop.
Since I love playing games I upgrade my pc every 2-3 years. Games just keep getting better and better when it gets to graphics.
Tournique, what are you using your computer for? A 5-year-old dual-core computer is -in general- good enough for a lightweight Linux distribution. These days you have a plethora of Linux distribution choices for re-infusing life into old computers; plenty are targeted to computers much older than yours. If you choose to try Linux on this hardware, may I suggest you to go visit DistroWatch's old computer section for getting in touch with current distros that may suit this purpose: Log In
I had a computer that lasted 10 years. It still works but I gave it up because of the end of support for Windows XP. I don't need a lot of power just to browse the internet and list things on eBay. I change computers when the old one dies.
I don't update my computer unless I need to. But having said that, I do most of my computering stuff on my laptop. And laptops are notorious for people not being able to upgrade them. You usually just have to buy a completely new laptop altogether, rather than updating the sound card or graphics card, or anything like that. I would have to get to the stage where none of the new updates were in sync with my operating system anymore. Like when they were releasing new Internet Explorers, and Windows XP was not compatible with it because it was too old.
Well it depends actually, I don't know about you but I for one don't have a specific time period or schedule of whether I should upgrade like "Oh it's been a year now, time to change the hard drive I guess". It would depend on the function of your computer. If your computer stops doing the work that it should do regardless of how old or new it is, then you should upgrade it.
I upgrade my computers or buy a new one altogether every few months. I try to upgrade parts, although I like replacing my laptop with a brand new one on a regular basis. My desktop receives new parts every couple months, though, because I constantly like changing the configuration for various tasks. I spend a lot of money on computer parts, let's put it that way.
The laptop I have now is going on 4 years old I believe and it has already broken down twice (the first time just 11 months after buying the damn thing) so I really should have replaced this one already. For me I think it has really depended on the brand. My HP laptop that I had before my current one lasted for 7 years but the screen had cracked so I stopped using it and got my current one. Yes I know I could have replaced the screen but I am severely visually impaired and I wasn't gonna pay Best Buy $400 to do it. I was eventually able to use HDMI to hook it up to my computer when I got a new HDTV, but I digress. This is my 3rd laptop in almost 9 years. The first (Compaq) lasted a little over a year and the hard drive fried. The second one (HP) had lasted 7 years but just recently stopped working and won't come on. My current one (Toshiba) lasted 11 months and broke down; sent it in for repair lasted another year and then my hard drive got erased, now that I have installed Ubuntu I have very little trouble out of it. I would say you can add if you get a bad batch from a good manufacturer to that list of when to upgrade.
The pc's here get replaced only when they are not working anymore or malfunctioning, and a simple reformat won't do the trick. The pc that I'm currently using now is still working perfectly fine since 2011, and I don't really play games anymore, so I'm content with using it.
I use mine for gaming mostly, or just 2-3 games if you can say so. Other than that, casual browsing, movies and music. Not that a good dual core cpu can keep up with today's features, but it lasted quite a while. Come to think about it, it's already going 6 years in.
I tend to hang onto my computer as long as possible. I actually had one that crashed on me even though the truth be told I only had that one for around three years, but my sister had it before me for almost five so I guess it had a good run. The one that replaced it I had for around fiver years, and then started having issues with it. One of the issues was having the Blue Screen of Death come up all the time. I finally decided to replace this one especially when I discovered that Windows XP its running system was becoming obsolete. So, I replaced it last year with a laptop with Windows 7 that I felt was necessary in order to get work online, since most people required this running system. But changing a laptop is never easy so I tend not to do this too often.
I use a desktop and I upgrade parts and software as and when it is needed. It's quite easy to do, especially if you watch a few YouTube tutorials first. I haven't had an all-new computer for around seven years.
The last time I did a major upgrade on my desktop was 2011. I fried my chip so I decided to upgrade everything. I do a lot of video and design work so I put in a six core chip, max out the memory, which at that time was 16gb ddr3, new video card, 1000w power supply, 2 - 22 inch ips monitors, the works. Since then I haven't really had to do much. I did add a 27 inch monitor, so I had to upgrade the video card so it could handle all three monitors. Recently I went to a full tower and put a couple of expansion cards in to accommodate 6 hard drives. So now it has become a 22tb beast.
I forgot to mention that it's always worth taking the access panel off your computer and giving it a thorough clean if you think it's working slower than it should. The amount of dust which can build up is phenomenal and can easily stop the fans from working efficiently.
