As our PC’s or Macs begin to experience technical issues such as slow performance, crashes or overheating, it can be very tempting to use this as an excuse to jump online and start shopping for a new device.
It is the age of information after all, and the average price of a computer has decreased considerably in the last 10 years. So, going ‘out with the old and on with the new’ can be a quick solution to the issue at hand. Before the decision is made, there are a few things you should consider first:
- Personalisation
Are you a productive business owner? If you are someone who has everything set up and customized on your device, buying a new computer, and then wasting time on its setup and configuration could be very consuming of your time and decrease productivity overall.
You may require the assistance of an IT professional as a result, for the setting up and configuration of programs, networks and VPNs etc. Weighing up the time, costs, and assistance required may very well mean that a simple repair job could be the smarter option.
- Cost to replace or cost to repair?
The obvious other consideration is the comparison in costs between your two options here; When you consider all things involved in the purchase, such as hardware upgrades, shipping costs and any tax charges, at times, replacing that cracked screen or processor could end up a money saving choice.
What you should consider also, is that the cost of replacing parts has also considerably decreased in recent times. Perhaps replacing the whole thing may not be the best pick in the end. If you do decide to buy new; would considering computer repairs for your old rig increase its sale price? You bet it does. Fix it up and sell it off!
- What condition is your computer in?
It is recommended on average, depending on the quality of your purchase of course, to replace your device every 5-7 years! If your damaged computer is erring on the young side of things, sometimes a simple fix is all it needs.
If performance is an issue, a simple RAM upgrade or a switch from an older HDD to an SSD may be all you need. If you are facing performance issues, your computer could be compromised by a virus or malware that has gone undetected by your antivirus software. In this case, a reinstallation of your operating system can remedy this and many other issues in fact.
Ultimately, everyone’s situations differ, for instance, if the device belongs to a somewhat heavy-handed adolescent battling online mathematics tuition, perhaps a repair should be considered. Usually a repair will be much cheaper than purchasing a brand-new quality device. However, if the quoted cost for the repair begins to lean towards the cost for that replacement, in any case, it would be wiser to go with the purchase of a new device.