Should I Buy a New Computer?

I am asked this question all the time. The simple answer is No.

Does your computer do everything you need it to do? Is it holding you back in some way? Most of the time, the things about your computer that keep you from enjoying it are that is has slowed down, or it crashes often, or has in some way become unreliable. Most of the time.

Almost any computer sold within the last 3-5 years has more than enough performance to keep the average consumer happy. But, people tend to think that the computer itself, the hardware, has somehow degraded over the course of their ownership. Most of the time, this is not the case. Most of the time, what is making it unreliable is malware infesting your computer, serious file fragmentation on the hard drive, or other hard drive file system errors. This can usually be cleaned up, and your speed and reliability restored. Compared to these problems, hardware issues are relatively uncommon.

If you hire someone to do this job for you, the cost will be a fraction of the cost of a new machine. At this point, if you run your two favorite security programs every week, your computer will stay cleaner longer, helping you to avoid the cost of a professional to clean it up for you.

Some people need the highest performance in a computer, so upgrading more often is definitely reasonable for them. Others have held onto their computer for so long that they can’t get updated software for it, which is also a good reason to upgrade. Some people just want a new computer, and no reasoning will dissuade them. Nothing wrong with that either.

So, should you buy a new computer?

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