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Pamay B.: I find, that after a few years of using a laptop, the motherboard fries, something overheats, or something happens to make it useless (I use my laptops a lot). As a result, I have a “laptop graveyard.” I am noticing that my current laptop is overheating and forsee another laptop death in my near future. Would it make sense to try to repair an old one – if it is the matter of replacing a faulty motherboard or hard drive? Or is it better to buy a new one entirely (and if so which do you recommend)? What is the most cost effective choice? |
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Answer: Great Question!!! When it comes to computers Moore’s law rules! According to Moore’s, the number of transistors on a chip roughly doubles every 2 years. Based on this, if you were to purchase a computer today, in 2 years a computer for the same price will most likely be able to process 2x the amount of data in the same amount of time. Given this, an unused computer that is 2 years old in my opinion would be worth half the price. So $1000 computer today would be $500 in 2 years. You indicated that your computer is not unused, in fact heavily used. Therefore, I would remove another 20-30% for heavy usage brining that $1000 laptop to about $400-$350 after 2 years. In this case, if the repair is more than $350 would not do the repair.
I do not recommend one brand over another. Consumer Reports however do have their recommendations. The only advise I would add to their ratings is this. Buy computers based on your needs. Match your needs to the computer specifications. Good Luck! |
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I used to spend a lot of money on computer repair. But that’s because I am so old (and so cutting edge) that I bought one of the very first personal computers ever made. It was an IBM and it cost nearly $8,000. It weighed a ton and had SINGLE DISC DRIVE. I think the registration number was 004 or something like that.
When your computer costs thousands, it’s hard to just throw it away. And even though the cost has come down steadily over the years, you have a mindset that is hard to break. But in the last couple of years I have finally broken down and just stopped doing expensive repairs. Now, if the repair is over a couple of hundred dollars, I just give it up. It’s hard, though…..
Kay in Hawaii