Should You Repair Or Replace Your Computer?

imageGeelong Computer Doctors Blog

26 Aug 2014

Should You Repair Or Replace Your Computer?

This is a common question that we get asked these days, and there is generally no right or wrong answer. Here are a few things you should consider when making your decision.

The Age Of The Computer

Generally speaking the older a computer gets, the less it is worth. Once a computer reaches about 4-5 years of age, they are nearly impossible to sell as they no longer are seen to have any commercial value. For more serious faults such as motherboard failures, these are generally not considered economical to repair. However, more minor issues such as RAM faults, graphics card problems and all software issues are generally worth repairing. It is always an inconvenience to move to a new computer, so saving the hassle of moving your data over can be worth the repair cost.

Laptop Or Desktop?

Laptop computers generally have a higher resale value and may be worth spending a bit of money on them to repair. Software issues are usually worth repairing so long as all the parts continue to operate how they should. Generally speaking, if you have a laptop with a damaged part over 3 years of age, you are better off looking at a new computer due to the high cost of custom parts. Desktop computers on the other hand all use generic parts, so the cost to repair them is much lower.

Hardware or Software?

If the problem is hardware based (meaning that a part has failed), the cost of repair can be more expensive. It can also be a warning sign that other parts may fail at some time in the future. However, software issues (such as viruses, internet connection issues etc) can happen on any computer of any age, and they are often more likely to be repaired as they do not require any extra parts leading to cheaper repair bills.

The Initial Purchase Price

The printer industry is a great example of when it is better to replace a device instead of repairing it. These days you can purchase a brand new multifunction printer device for around $50. Sure, the ink may cost a bit to refill, but it doesn’t make sense to spend a lot of money repairing printers unless they are very expensive high end business devices. This is the same with computers. If you spent several thousand dollars on a new computer just a few years ago, you may find it worth the repair cost to continue using it. However, if you bought a budget laptop that has a few years under its belt, it may be time to look to backup your data and move to a new computer.

At Geelong Computer Doctors, we know that the number one concern for most of our customers is the data on their hard drive. If your computer is not economical to repair for any reason, we always take the time to make sure we backup your data (even from broken machines) and transfer that onto either an external hard drive or new computer for you. You do not need to get your old computer repaired just to recover your data, and our technicians are always happy to help set up a new computer if you decide to opt for that instead. This includes things like transfering your photos and documents, movies, music and email data files. We can even copy over your saved data from your favourite games (if your program allows it). To speak to a member of our staff about what options you have for your computer, give us a call on (03) 5215 1111.

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