When To Buy A New PC

Buying a new computer can be a very tough decision; it used to be both a financial decision, as well as data loss. Now, with computers costing under $500 for most people (including a monitor), one of the little addressed issues is data loss. You cannot underestimate what people will put up with to protect their itunes collection, or downloaded videos. There are several reasons to buy a new computer, the first and most obvious of which being when you currently do not have a computer - nothing to upgrade right? Alright, now that we knocked out the easiest situation, the second most obvious is if you experienced some sort of damage to your computer rendering it unusable - if you take your computer in somewhere, and they tell you it is beyond repair or simply too expensive.

Nowadays, very few repairs are worth making (from a cost perspective,at least) from a home user’s standpoint. Often times, a simple hardware repair is going to at least cost you $135+, and with new computers costing little more than double that, it can be a tough decision to make. Often, it depends on how old the computer is. You might not have much to gain if it's only 6 months old.

Now that we have taken a look at some situations that we cannot control, lets look at ones we can.

If Your Needs Change:
For example, if you get a new job and your old computer cannot run the needed software. Or, if perhaps when you bought your computer you didn’t play games, and now for some reason you got into hardcore gaming. Peoples needs change very often, and when most people buy computers, a good salesperson will match you with something that fits your needs. If you don’t play games, it's unlikely that you'll have a top notch gaming machine sitting on your desk. Unfortunately, people change, needs change, and so while your computing needs.

Its Just Time:
It's been a few years, and old faithful just isn’t as faithful anymore. You're lacking features you really want and, quite honestly, you are in a position to afford a new computer. Spending the money on a new computer is a lot easier when you can write a check or pay cash. Every couple of years, when most people will need to replace their computers, we think the term for that is built in obsolesance. Eventually, new operating systems come out; for example, when 64bit operating systems were released, you couldn’t just upgrade one thing - you needed a whole new computer if you wanted to utilize it.  Technology changes over time, and every now and again you're going to need a new computer. For most people, that’s just a fact of life.

Reality Check:
One thing this lesson doesn’t take into account so far is the reality of your check book. Obviously, if financial contraints mean you should repair your computer, or if you really cannot afford it, then use your better judgment. Sometimes it's better to wait. Even if you can convince yourself it's better to buy new, always take a look at things logically - don’t put yourself out if you honestly cannot afford it at that time.

Buying a new computer can be a very exciting and very scary thing. It'ss important to do your research, and really assess your needs. Be honest with yourself, and try and really determine what your needs are, and what they might be in a year or so. Try if you can to buy a little ahead - there is usually a sweet spot with computers where you can get the most value, and that's usually hardware one step below the top of the line. Don’t buy the bargin basement model, and try to avoid buying top of the line for the sake of it - of course, if you need it, that’s a different story.

If you have any questions at all, shoot on over to our forum and ask away.

Thanks so much for joining us in Lesson 18: When to Buy a New PC. Please submit any and all

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