Laptop is good for 5 years only

Discussion in 'Laptop General Discussion' started by Corzhens, Oct 9, 2016.

  1. Corzhens

    Corzhens

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    I was talking with our boss yesterday about the laptops issued to us by our office. Mine is more than 2 years old and I was hinting of getting a new model just for the experience. But my boss said that our company considers the laptop to have a life span of 5 years which means we can request for a replacement only when our laptop reaches that age. I thought all along that computers have a life of 3 years only in terms of being up to date and after 3 years it is considered obsolete. But I guess I was wrong.
     
    Corzhens, Oct 9, 2016
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  2. Corzhens

    something back

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    Most of the problems arise from laptops being unable to run
    newer programs.


    If you purchase a powerful computer from the start then it should run
    for years and years well beyond 5 YEARS.

    Fluff and dust is the major problems, along with the drying out of the thermo paste
    cooling to both the cpu and gpu.

    Also people consider laptops are coming to their life's end when they have to reset it at every boot up. This is the motherboard battery requiring replacement and not it's life's end.

    I have sold ex powerful laptops 5 years old to friends and they are still working 8 and more years
    on. All I did is replace the motherboard battery and give the insides a very good clean out.
     
    something back, Oct 9, 2016
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  3. Corzhens

    Fuzyon

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    I came to the conclusion that a new laptop bought for around $1k will be more than enough for 5 years, the hardware will not be up to date obviously but it will still hold up. Newer games will not run on the maximum settings but you should have no problem browsing the internet even on a 5-year old laptop, I always make sure to buy a laptop that has upgradable RAM. That helps the processing power.
     
    Fuzyon, Oct 9, 2016
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  4. Corzhens

    vinaya

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    That's not true. I have used my last laptop for 7 years. I had to give up that laptop not because it was completely dead, but because some parts needed replacement such as keyboard, DVD drive, battery and had heating problem. Despite these problems it still worked.
     
    vinaya, Oct 10, 2016
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  5. Corzhens

    Aree Wongwanlee

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    @Corzhens , I think your boss is talking from a financial viewpoint and not from a technical viewpoint. Financially it makes sense to use a laptop for as long as it will work. Five years is a fair working life for a laptop. Technically, a laptop can get obsoleted after one year. To buy a new laptop every year would be expensive unless the manufacturers come up with some sort of throwaway model which is cheap enough to replace every year.
     
    Aree Wongwanlee, Oct 10, 2016
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  6. Corzhens

    Vash

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    Unless you have a good reason to upgrade, (for example: The current computer does not work well for the current tasks, or it is problematic), your boss won't upgrade your laptops too frequently.

    On the other hand, how long a laptop will be "good" is different from laptop to laptop. My last Dell Vostro 1500 lasted me 7 years before the screen suddenly would not turn on. It still worked fine before it suddenly died. Some laptops might not last nearly as long, while others might last much longer.

    If it is your own money, you can upgrade as often as you wish. Since it is your company money, your boss has to think if it is totally necessary for the good of productivity. If you simply just want to try out something new, it can't be a good reason.
     
    Vash, Oct 10, 2016
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  7. Corzhens

    Novelangel

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    Well, to be perfectly honest... computers are generally obsolete by the time they are purchased in the first place. There are always newer, fancier models being manufactured and designed, including upgraded versions of the one you bought, even if it's barely out of the carton. But replacing a laptop merely because it's five years old seems expensive and wasteful to me. I would wait until the unit shows definite signs of failure first, or at least until it begins to slow down noticeably. The data can be backed up on an external hard drive, and should be right from the very beginning... just in case, so nothing is ever lost in situations where the unit fails.
     
    Novelangel, Oct 14, 2016
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  8. Corzhens

    remnant

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    It all boils down to maintenance issues. If you update your software and hardware individually in different times, your device can run perpetually. For instance, you can increase its speed by replacing the hard driven with a solid state drive. And at 5 years when its due for replaceament, you will even miss the older gadget due to the adjustments you have made to make it adaptable to your unique user profile.
     
    remnant, Oct 14, 2016
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  9. Corzhens

    acerme2

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    In our office, a laptop generally lasts more than five years and the employees use them as long as they can. I think laptops last longer when they are more or less fixed on a desk that is why those handling administrative and in-office work are likely to enjoy their use for a long time. The sales department, however, gets a laptop assignment every two years because these units are more frequently used outside of the office when they make their pitch. At the end of two years, the sales employee can either buy the unit at depreciated value for personal use or turn them over to the admin department for issuance and use of office employees. That is what the company does to gradually replace the desktops.
     
    acerme2, Oct 14, 2016
    #9
  10. Corzhens

    Krissttina Isobe

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    I just bought a new laptop only an i3 Dell on sale at the end of the year type sale at Office Depot. I love it! It's huge and I feel comfortable. I was wondering how long laptops last. I love this 15 'incher! I always go incognito on chrome so I got to set the flash, image...to always allow, but it's worth it.
     
    Krissttina Isobe, Jun 15, 2017
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  11. Corzhens

    Twinflower

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    I came to the conclusion that a new laptop bought for around $1k will be more than enough for 5 years, the hardware will not be up to date obviously but it will still hold up
     
    Twinflower, Feb 28, 2018
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  12. Corzhens

    OldPhil

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    My Toshiba is 6+ years old the only thing that had to be replaced was the battery, I did put an SSD in which made a tremendous difference. Most brands are pretty decent, and will last quite awhile with a little care. The biggest thing is with any LT is to keep a can of compressed air around and blow it out every few months. I did mine the other day temp before was 152f after was 112f, 152 is well under max but I feel the biggest killer with all machines is heat.
     
    OldPhil, Feb 28, 2018
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  13. Corzhens

    clambake508

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    I consider a computer to be a 5 year decision. That's my "break even" mentally. If it lasts longer than that, I come out ahead, if it lasts shorter than that, I'm a little disappointed. I don't trust laptop batteries for much longer than that, especially if it gets plenty of use.
     
    clambake508, Mar 15, 2018
    #13
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