3 Best Reasons to Buy a New Computer

This is part two of a two part blog.  Now that you’ve read part one, the 3 Worst Reasons to Buy a New Computer, here are the best reasons to help you make an informed decision.

Reason 1: The Fix Costs More than Brand New

Anytime a repair will cost you more than the cost of a new system (over $400 for most PC’s), or even half of what you paid it’s time to consider a new computer.  Start by doing some research on the cost of a comparable new system to ensure a fix would not be more economical.   In my opinion, the only time it’s reasonable to pay over $400 for a repair would be to recover data from a failed hard drive, but I don’t really consider that a repair.  Also, always check a manufacturer’s website to ensure the product you own is still supported.  If you can’t tell from the website, then give them a call.  One telltale sign that a manufacturer is going to discontinue an item is when they no longer provide support for it.  That doesn’t just mean no tech support will be available when something goes wrong, it can also mean no or hard to find replacement parts if the item fails.   

Reason 2: New features or Functionality will Make You More Productive

This is one of the best reasons to purchase a new computer (combined with reason number three), after all, our computers are supposed to make our lives easier.  If your current system is a desktop but you’d like to flexibility of working remotely, it may be time to consider a laptop.  Or, if you’re sending a graduate off to college, you might want to consider sending them to school with a MAC rather than a PC as MACs can be better and more worry-free for students, in addition to being well-supported on college campuses.  The important thing is to make sure your new purchase will be a considerable “step up” in productivity for you and not a “lateral” move.

Reason 3: You’ve Outgrown Your Current Computer

This reason goes hand in hand with reason number two.  If you’ve run out of hard disk space trying to upgrade to the latest version of Windows or your system is running so slow you have time to take a walk around the block by the time it finishes booting up, then it may be time for a new system (assuming there’s not another “fixable” reason for the slowness). 

One final note, if and when you do purchase a new computer, don’t forget that there are others that could benefit from your old system.  Consider donating your old computer to a local charity or if it’s too old to repurpose, make sure you dispose of it properly thorugh a company that accepts ewaste.