Most people are now wondering if they should replace their laptops due to the new advanced technology every day. No one wants to be using a laptop that does not give the same quality as other laptops in the market.
But what if your old laptop is working just fine? Should you replace it anyway? Well, the most common indications that you need a new laptop are if your laptop becoming unresponsive and sluggish, it also might not be able to run games and programs as it used to before.
Laptops’ lifespan is around five years. But most laptops work just fine even after the five-year point with a few simple tweaks. Unfortunately, even if you bought a great laptop five years ago, it probably can not run the latest software and games or stream high-resolution videos.
And just like some laptops can work properly after their lifespan ends, some other laptops can live even less than five years if it was initially cheap or made of bad pieces. Additionally, any accident might happen and make you unwillingly change your laptop.
Should You Upgrade Your Laptop or Replace It?
When it comes to upgrading your laptop, the main parts that you upgrade are the SSD card and RAM, which is quite simple if the laptop already has empty slots from the factory. However, some other things are hard and expensive to change, such as the CPU.
Even if you upgrade your laptop, you might not be getting a huge boost. For instance, if you have 4GB of RAM and add another 4GB, you still won’t be making a huge difference because nowadays, having 16GB of RAM is the new norm.
The older the laptop model, the harder it is to upgrade it. Therefore, you need to ask yourself two questions before deciding; is replacing the laptop costs much more than just upgrading it? And if that upgrade will efficiently fix the problem you have been having?
If your answer to one or both of those questions is “No”, then you should consider replacing your laptop for sure.
How Long Do Laptops Last?
Generally, your laptop should be working fine for up to three years, and some other high-end laptops can keep going for five years.
Even though this lifespan might sound too short for a laptop, the continuous technology updates will not be functioning properly on your laptop if your operating system got too old, forcing you to get a new laptop.
Indications That You Need to Replace Your Laptop
one of the ways to determine whether you need to change or replace your laptop or not is to keep an eye out for the signs below; if you notice too many of those signs, it is time to get a new laptop!
1. Lagging
The first sign you will notice in your laptop as it gets older is that it gets laggy, which could be very annoying to many people. Sometimes, there are reasons for this lag, such as a recently installed app using up your RAM or a virus.
Therefore, if you see your laptop lagging a lot, this means that your laptop cannot catch up with the programs installed on it anymore. You might also want to consider upgrading your CPU and RAM as this is a cheaper method to improve your laptop’s performance.
2. OS Issues
Sometimes, your OS starts coming up with errors and trouble signs such as a blue screen if you are using Windows or recent updates not going through as the laptop cannot perform them anymore.
The OS issues could mean one of the two things, either your OS is out of date, and you need a new one, which can be easily done by reinstalling it. Or the issue in the OS has to do with the laptop’s old age, which means that blue screens will keep on coming up even after a new install.
If you have reinstalled the operating system and still keep on getting blue screens, this is the time to consider replacing your laptop.
3. Battery Issues
One of the major issues people face with their old laptops is that their batteries do not last as long as they used to. Some of them are drained out only after 30 minutes of use, which is an indication of an old laptop.
If your laptop works fine apart from the battery’s short life, then it might be a lot cheaper to only replace your battery and not the whole laptop.
4. Limited Storage Space
A few years ago, having 128 GB or 64 GB of storage seemed to be more than enough, but nowadays, mobile phones offer even more storage. Therefore, you might consider replacing your laptop with a newer version with bigger storage space.
You can get more storage by buying an external drive. However, those are temporary fixes, and you will eventually need to replace the laptop.
5. Laptop Overheating
One of the other signs of a laptop’s old age is overheating or the fact that the fan is on most of the time. Overheating is one of the worst things that can happen to your computer and can drastically reduce the lifespan of your laptop.
This might happen due to the dust accumulating inside. Try to clean it up, and if the issue still persists, it is time to purchase a new laptop.
6. Display Problems
With constant use of our laptops, they take a lot of beating, and the screen is usually the first part that breaks down. This can go anywhere between annoying pixels on the screen and a screen that just doesn’t work at all.
Even though you can replace the screen, you still can’t expect a great laptop performance anymore. So, the better option is to replace the laptop altogether.
Every laptop user should know that their laptop is not going to work forever and that all laptops have limited lifespans, which can be extended with a few tweaks, but not forever.
Of course, you can keep on upgrading parts of your laptop, but that will only be a temporary fix that might last you two more years after the end of the laptop’s lifespan. Therefore, it is better to consider replacing the laptop.
