Computer help forum: when should you get a new computer?

If your computer is 5 years old, giving you problems and you like to have one around....now is the time. It's likely that upgrade parts for your unit are few and, unless free of charge, are not worth sinking money into. The upgrade will not bring you close to the performance of today's machines or optimally run newer OSs and aps. Computers are not "durable goods". Figure on 3 to 5 years between replacements even if they still work ok after that amount of time. Still, this largely depends on your need for or dependance on a good working PC. Again, my two cents only.

Sitting here with a four-year-old Windows ME laptop that I'm anxious to dump, I appreciate this response, but I'd like to take the original question in a slightly different direction.

Is there a time of year that is better than another for buying a computer? Used to be that new car models came out in September, so you could get a great deal at a clearance in August. Does a similar situation occur here, or does new technology roll out whenever it can?

You didn't mention what the computer model actually, no idea.

But, after 5-yrs, that's a long time for PC, thus either buy new from Dell, eMAchines, etc. or have a local shop build one or you build one from parts ordered. If you build or have one build, usually those same parts sources can supply what is called a "barebones" system, essentially a box with some minuim componets, but you add kybd, monitor, etc. to complete the system. Of course you can addd on to that. Any "OEM", like Dell, etc. if you order from them, make sure you research exactly what you can as they're mimuim systems can be jacked-up after an initial and wnd-up costly more than thier "come-on" price, so be sure. Check also any parts componets, like s/w or deals that maybe part of the overall package.

good luck -----Willy

There's not enough information to answer your question. I'd be inclined to ask:

1. What system do you currently own (clock speed, memory, bus architecture)? This will set the baseline for assessments.
2. What problems have you encountered or what is it that you'd like your PC to do that you think is beyond its current capabilities? Some of your problems might be solved by simple driver upgrades or a clean install.
3. How comfortable are you with getting into your CPU case and/or cleaning up your hard drive? If you don't mind spending a little time, you could optimize your system.

I've been tempted to dump my PII 400MHz, 512MB, 40GB, Radeon 9000 AGP system for something newer but it does everything that I demand of it: blog, edit photos, work from home, crunch numbers on big spreadsheets, print docs, watch DVDs, burn CDs, play strategic games, study languages, build websites, listen to or watch streaming media, manage my finances, et cetera. I recently did a clean re-install of Win98 with the latest drivers and the thing works just fine.

What's the only personal reason I can give today for wanting to replace it? Getting a desktop-replacement laptop would help reclaim some home office space. That's not a good enough reason for me to spend $2K for the fanciest laptop with all the bells and whistles.

There are many folks out there with legitimate needs for extra computing power; but there are many more folks out there who buy more PC than they use or need. Make your own honest assessment of what you need, and if your current PC is beyond salvaging with a very modest investment of funds and/or time.

If you're willing to spend the money then you'll see a huge difference in your Internet surfing with a DSL on any system.

For example, the slowest machine on my network is a P166, and since most of the time spent surfing is getting the stuff over the net, it's nearly as fast on most sites as my current machines. Only sites that use Flash, Java, or are really heavy on Javascript are slow on that machine.

After your first day on DSL you'll never want to go back to dial-up.

One suggestion: Spend the $30 or so to get a hardware firewall/router to put between the DSL and your computer. They're easy to install and provide vastly better protection than software firewalls.

Supafreak
If you took this computer to be fixed it would cost (on the face of it) more than it is worth.

If you value your time highly, then it might be worth mending it as you will need to spend time importing your data and configuring the machine as you would like it.

Otherwise get a new one.

Sometimes just a good clean up will due nicely. Back up all your files and then reinstall your OS with the updates. You can find the updates to your software at Microsoft windows update home page. A clean fresh install will fix a lot of the troubles you are having and save you money. Having your system upgraded may also be a good choice but only if you really need it. The speed and quality of systems on the market today are very mouth watering with prices that just seem to get better. It's a hard choice to make but remember, Newer does not mean better. Sometime a good overhaul will work just fine. I do mine twice a year and keep it updated on all the software I am using. If you like the 98 OS, then check to see if it is second edition. If not upgrade to it. More ram may help also. Depending on your needs, Make a choice from there.Thanks for letting me share.

For todays software I'm afraid you need windows xp.
If your computer will run xp without problems i.e. with enough ram and a proccesor above 1 Ghz. You sould be ok. I am running an old amd 1.8 Ghz with 500+ Mb of ram. If you plan to run games you need a decent graphics card. Nvidea seems to be the most common standard now. I am using a Nvidea gforce Mx 440 with 128 Mb ram. I am able to run all the games I need to.
I cannot say it will run all games though, but I have had no problems so far.
I hope this helps?

It really depends on the use of your computer. If you use photoshop, Game or other intense operations. You would see a big improvemant with a upgrade. 5 years you are talking PentIII 600 and windows 98SE . I have just made the upgrade step, but maybe should have waited until next year. as they say your newest build will be out of date in 6 Months or less we are being bombarded with new technology often. I can upgrade my pent 4 northwood but the new sockets out soon will stop that. I am a lot better off then I was with my 5 year old. So make the plunge and it should still preform for 5 more years. If you wait for technology to stop you will never get a new computer....

I am a do it yourselfer who customizes the machine for specific tasks. I prefer taking older computers and fixing them up to run latest programs. I have upgraded my computer from win 95 to win xp. I like win xp. It does the job i need. Please let me know if you are in the same shape I am in.

Can you upgrade RAM ? And can you upgrade to Win XP ?

You mention that your old one is 'giving you trouble'..that's pretty general. I'd suggest you first run scandisk (one of the window's utilities: program>accessories>system tools as i recall. Assuming all logical partitions pass this test (if they don't, fix them with the pgm), then run defragment (in the same group of programs. This should speed up booting and pgm execution considerably if u haven't done it for a while. I defrag every month to 6 weeks. If you have Norton utilities, run system check.. fix any problems. That should get you to reasonable operation for your existing system. Still too slow?? everything is relative. A guy i know makes a living teaching new employees at businesses in West Virginia and Ohio how to use DoS based pgms like DB2. Also teaches DoS 5.0 usage. Yep..some companies there are still running DoS. They are running 486's. Company pres has a Pent 1. "Why should we buy new software -we'll never outgrow this?" is company approach - it's a family owned hardware distributor..(sells stuff to hardware stores). They seem to get along fine with 486s. So.. consider what you need and what new toys you want. As the auto speed shop people say: "Speed is expensive, how fast do you want to go?"

Without looking at your computer to determine whether the problems are hardware or software it is difficult to advise you. I build, repair, and upgrade computers as a retirement business. As the other posts have indicated whether to get a new computer depends greatly on what you plan to do with it. I recently replaced my main computer because video software and hardware required XP and USB 2.0. I have a variety of spare machines here ranging from a Pentium 120 MHZ to Pentium 550MHz. The 120Mz machine is fine for email, word processing, and internet surfing with a high speed connection (I have broadband cable). Performance is specialty of mine. Here is a list of things I do to improve performance (not necessarily in order of importance):
1) remove all unused programs - alternatively backup important data, reformat the disk, and reinstall the operating system (this also gives you a fresh new windows registry)
2) remove as many items as possible from the task tray and startup folder
3) Defragment the hard drive (use the free Diskeeper Lite)
4) replace the hard drive with a 7200rpm unit with an 8MB cache, 3 year warranty. I recommend replacing a hard drive after 3 years of use. Check that DMA is enabled for the device.
5) check for spyware (Adaware & Spybot)
6) check for viruses - can do with free online virus software.
7) add memory. For older system bring them to at least 64MB for Windows 9x.
8) Pre-initialize the swap file to 2.5 times memory. Windows 9x does a terrible job of managing the swap file and it soon becomes fragmented.
9) Put the internet cache files on their own hard drive or partition to isolate fragmentation. Fragmentation is not as big an issue with newer systems.
10) I also do a bunch of registry tweaks for broadband users.
11) For Window NT, 2000, and XP machines, disable unneeded services. For the single machine at home, there are a whole bunch you don't need.

I also recommend to people wanting to replace their machine to consider a custom built machine built by someone local rather than a pre-packaged machine. This is particularly true if you already have software media licenses. Microsoft and others would prefer you to discard not just your hardware but all you software licenses as well. This is such a waste. Some arguments for a custom machine:
a) All components are industry standard, i.e. non-proprietary. Dell and others have a history of using proprietary parts (system boards, power supplies)
b) Machine is tailored to the needs of the customer enormous choice over component quality as well as selection of components. Wide selection of cases is available. Packaged systems use the least expensive/minimal quality parts on the market
c) Highly upgradeable, built for expansion - expansion is limited in packaged systems; power supplies are usually the bare minimum for the shipped system.
d) Support from someone local - have you tried using some of the recent off-shore support lately?
e) no shipping charges
f) Generally last longer than package systems failing components can be easily replaced