How often do you get a new computer - Page 3

I put off new comps as much as I can, usually that means skipping every other major step.
My past comps were a 286, a 486, 550 MHz win 98, 1.88 GHz XP, then my mom needed a modern comp so I gave that XP to her and got a new one a bit early- dual 2 GHz vista with a gamer PS and a geforce 8800 GTX. Yay for modern games. My next PC will likely be a 16 GHz, lol.
That way I never ran into too much of obsolescence problems.

Still using CRT screens while those newfangled ones get perfected.

On an iPad there is an audio cue that gives you a "click" noise and a visual cue. I have these switched off on mine because I don't need them. Some other touchscreen devices have haptic technology that gives you a slight vibration response when your finger hits the screen. I don't understand why myself, but some people just can't get used to a touchscreen and I've heard Apple is currently working on a technology that actually makes the touchscreen key feel like it is pushing down as you touch it, so it feels just like a regular keyboard.

I bought an HP and used it till it died. Then I built my next one and used it till it died. Now I have an Imac and a Macbook Pro. Fell to the dark side, lol.

I tend to use them until they break, or until I want a game that it's not good enough for.

Since I play quite a few games, and use my laptop to death in daily life, they tend to only last 2 to 3 years. For example, at the moment I run World of Warcraft, the Sims 3, Star Wars the Old Republic and old school Warcraft 2 on my laptop.

I'm proud to say that I only ever upgrade my computer every six years or so... and I mean my primary computer that sits on my desktop.

Yup, sounds like what the accounting department would do. Generally recognized accounting principles allow for various amounts of time to depreciate various assets. After that many years, you declare their value on your balance sheet as zero, or for some equipment, they have some residual value even when fully depreciated. In the US, most industrial equipment is 0 dollars on your balance sheet after 7 years. Your car or truck is 0 dollars after 7 years. Your computer is 0 dollars after 4 years. As I'm sure y'all know, many physical assets, such as land, do not depreciate. And of course as you know the value of financial assets such as stock in another company, depends on the value of the stock; it goes up and down. But computers are generally categorized as "office equipment" and are depreciated over 4 years.

I think it would drive me nuts. I can't even get used to my netbook, whose keyboard is slightly smaller than standard, and whose keys are shaped just slightly differently. I can type 70 wpm on a good keyboard. 60 on a typical shoot keyboard - the only kind you can buy today. And about 25 of the netbook.

I voted every 4-6 years. I just got a new computer this spring; the very first pre-built tower I have EVER bought. It is NOT a "name brand" however and is pretty much a custom build I would have done myself. I have always built my own computers for years and years; since my very first computer in 1998. This time I just got lazy! The new computer will last me many years. I usually replace parts as they fail but after TWO motherboard deaths, I opted for totally new this time. I still may get a mb for the dead computer as the parts I have are not THAT old... maybe 4 years or so and would be fine for most tasks. The grandkid's tower is an older Dell that I acquired from someone who wanted it repaired and never came back for it. It must be 6 years old or more and still works fine for the things they do. I have an older iBook that is really too slow for much other than email so pretty much worthless but I loved that little laptop! I also have an older Dell laptop that handles basic internet tasks fine. I really would like something more modern but can't afford it and really don't have that much need for a laptop anyway.

I think we had our first "family" computer for about eight years, and the "family" computer we have now is about four years old.

I have had my laptop for three years, and I plan on keeping it until it doesn't work anymore.
 

I just bought a new laptop,

 

an asus x54c 15" 2,2Ghz  8G ram for 320 pounds, small and nothing amazing but i needed something smaller and more practical than my giants, and the price is fair for the quality.

I have had a little Asus netbook for about three years now, and I've had no trouble with it. It is not my main computer, but it travels easily. I have linux on it.

Have fun with your new toy!

I like to use Linux, so when I bought my last computer I had it custom built so I wouldn't have to pay for Windows, even if I wasn't going to use it.

 

When you build custom you can choose better parts that a computer company might not use to keep the overall cost of the system down.    That is what I did and my system has been going strong for 9 years.   I will probably replace it next spring when it is 10 years old.

 

The only parts I had fail were the diskette reader ( feel free to LOL ), the DVD drive and a few keyboards.     I replaced the original bulky monitor with one of the "new" thin monitors when they came out.    I spent about $900 on it.

 

I've read all sorts of nasty stories about what throwing computers out does to the environment and how "recycling" computers means that some starving child in the 3rd world pulls it apart for valuable metals while getting poisoned.   I feel good about hanging onto it for so long.

 

When I bought I got an extremely powerful chip, bus and loads of RAM.   Since I don't play video games, I never felt any lack of performance..........one of the reasons I kept it so long.   It just works.

This laptop is like 6yr old now a Dell studio 15..its not my desktop though because it doesn't hold a charge and I'm not buying a new battery because If 

I move it around to much the screen goes black :D! I'll probably buy a new laptop 2 or 3 years.

I think I mentioned in an earlier post that a friend of mine is on the faculty at Vanderbilt University, and Vandy gives them a voucher to buy a new computer every four years. I had another conversation with him and found out a few more details. One is that when the computer is bought, Vandy retains the title/ownership of the computer. Also, when a professor retires, Vandy insists that the professor turns in the computer. Apparently, the reason for this is that the Vandy IT department was receiving too many requests from retired faculty to repair or service these older computers. So Vandy insists that they be turned in and presumably be recycled or destroyed. (I just found this policy to be a bit surprising.)