Tips from the Techie
Timely how-to advice for keeping your systems running.

by John AndersEn, Owner, John AndersEn & Co LLC

When is it better to repair or upgrade your computer versus buy a new one? The age of the computer is the biggest element to take into consideration.

Due to the rapid improvements in technology, a computer can only expect to be non-obsolete over a 3 year period of time. Once a computer hits three years old, it is almost always a better value to replace it than to repair it. However, most people prefer to spend fewer dollars now on repairs than to bite the bullet and spend a lot of money on a new computer. At the one year age mark of your computer that is probably the better financial decision. At the two year age mark of your computer it is really a toss up as to whether or not you will see a return on your investment if you choose the repair path. At three years or older, you are practically throwing your money away to repair an old computer. Give it to your kids or someone in need and move ahead with buying a replacement!

When considering whether or not UPGRADING your computer, the financial factors are very similar to those above. Even so, putting money into an upgrade will typically only add only about one year's life into a computer. This applies to anything from extra harddrive space to more memory to a newer version of the operating system software. An upgrade only adds minimal life to your computer and must be viewed accordingly.

Here’s the BOTTOM LINE. Factor into your financial planning the need to eventually replace your computer. If you are using Windows 98, ME, or NT as the operating system, your computer may already be obsolete! Be prepared!