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Upgrade or Buy A New PC?

If you are wondering whether your PC is worth upgrading or not, here is how to decide.

The personal computer industry has been growing by leaps and bounds. Depending on how quickly a manufacturer produces a new, it is still is fast enough to say the computer you purchased a year ago is practically obsolete. But, it does not necessarily mean it needs replacing - it really depends on what your personal and/or business computer needs require.

Before running out and purchasing the latest and greatest model with unrealistic expectations that it will solve all of your problems, it is probably a good idea to make a list of exactly what is wrong with your current hardware. In other words, what is it that is bothering you about your PC. Is it too slow? Are you going to be adding additional peripherals such as, digital camera, digital music player, scanner, printer, etc. If you are adding new hardware to an older PC, there is a good chance they will not work without adding upgrade device cards - even then they may run extremely slow. Generally speaking, at the time of manufacturing your PC was built to handle the latest peripheral devices, adding modern devices may create incompatibility issues.

You may also want to consider the possibility that your existing PC no longer meets your needs. When you first purchased your existing PC you may have just used it for word processing and checking e-mails. But, now you are a more advanced user browsing the Internet for research, shopping and online information, digital imaging and streaming media. You might also want to consider the possibility that your existing PC does meet your needs. On the other hand, if most of your time is still spent sending e-mail and surfing the web and tracking small household tasks and money management, then you probably do not need a PC with all the bells and whistles. Instead, just cleaning up your existing system and adding more memory would do the trick. 

How Old Is Too Old?

The first, and best measurement indicator is the age of your computer. If your computer is less than two years old, there generally no immediate need to upgrade. If it is not performing like it use to, there may be other software related issues that can be easily remedy. The biggest culprit is Spyware and not performing regular maintenance (disk clean up, disk defrag, etc.). It is like running your car and never changing the oil; eventually, it will not operate, but it does not mean the car has no value. Instead, just backup your data and use the manufacturer's recovery disk to bring it back to factory condition. However, if more speed and data are a concern, your system maybe a good candidate for upgrading memory, hard drives and faster speed device cards. If your computer is three years and older, it may be too old to take advantage of the latest technology available or it may not be cost effective to upgrade.

In general, it is not recommended to upgrade the processor. The total cost of ownership is not worth the investment. In some cases, specific upgrades simply are not available. If you purchased your PC from a local computer shop, chance are you will have difficulty finding compatible hardware to upgrade. If you purchased a name brand PC (Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Gateway, etc.) you can visit their web site or call technical support to find out if upgrades are available. However, be aware, often hardware components may be considered proprietary, and that means additional costs. Depending on what your needs are, older computers may be more of a hassle and expensive to upgrade in components then it is worth it - it is not economically feasible.

When to Buy New

If you do some research before upgrading, you may find the components you are needing are expensive and not worth the upgrade investment. In addition, some applications and new digital gadgets require the faster computers - processor, memory, hard drive (size and speed), etc. Of course, you could probably get by with your three year old plus computer, but it will be slow, and often frustrating. The prices of new computers are relatively inexpensive considering the time and cost of overhauling an older unit. It is important to consider your computer needs today and project out for the next two years. If you think you want to use your system for digital imaging, music and data storage; then purchasing new is a viable option.

When deciding if you should purchase new or not, consider the following factors:

• How valuable is your time? If you don't mind waiting for slow processing, and long downloads and search times, then your old system may be just fine (some websites may simply timeout if the download is too large).

• Are your computer needs growing. Aside from just wanting the latest bells and whistles, you may be spending more time on your computer. Thus, your needs now require more speed and power.

• Total cost of ownership (TCO) - Upgrades usually have more problems then just a few necessary upgrades. You may have to make compromises on what you can and cannot do with the system. A new system just gives you less to worry about, and the TCO is reduced for a system older than two years.

• New computer prices - you can purchase total computer systems for under $1000.00 with a flat panel monitor.

• Charitable deduction - you can donate your computer to your local school, church, or donation centers receiving a tax deduction. Churches will give your system to a family in need to just learn basic computer skills. Elementary schools will use computers to teach students required computer skills. Donating is beneficial in a number of ways.

Melanie Brown, BSC, MBA-TM, DM

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