do you buy a new pc often?

[mamamia88]

i was just wondering when i was running windows it seemed like buying a new pc every 3 or 4 years was a no brainer because it would slow down significantly. but now that i'm running ubuntu on my 3 year old laptop i feel like i won't need a new pc for a long time.

[Svensk023]

I am in the same boat as you are. I find that computers running Linux and Mac tend to last longer. Computers with windows are suceptible to:

-Viruses
-Viruses
-...More Viruses
-Spy- Ad- Malware
-Viloent tantrums from users, which are not limited to throwing the tower out of a window.
-A pleathra of filesystem errors.
-Plus Vista requires 1Gb RAM to run... ew

[Wiebelhaus]

Not until I choose to for personal reasons not because of hardware or performance issues.

Feels like freedom doesn't it? Freedom to choose and to act by your own accord.

[pwnst*r]

i build a new one no later than 3 years from the last. it's fun mostly.

[mamamia88]

i build a new one no later than 3 years from the last. it's fun mostly.

what do you do with the old ones?

[RiceMonster]

I'm buying a new computer next month, just because I want one. No other reason.


-Viruses
-Viruses
-...More Viruses
-Spy- Ad- Malware

These warrant buying a new computer? Just reformat if you have a bad virus problem (which you shouldn't if you don't do stupid things).

[OutOfReach]

I have had only 3 PC's (one of them being a laptop) in the last 9 years. I don't plan on building/buying another computer until maybe 2013.

[kk0sse54]

My computer is from 2005, with a recent addition of some more RAM, I don't think I'll be getting rid of it for a while :)

[Mateo]

Average about one per year. Bought a new desktop and new notebook last year so I'm good for a while. Usually I buy a new computer and put ubuntu on my old one. right now ubuntu's on my old toshiba lappy. I'll probably get a macbook later this year or early next. i wish there was a killer pre-installed ubuntu laptop for less than $1500, I'd get one.

[collinp]

My current computer is 10 years old. That basically explains how often I buy a new one.

[RichardLinx]

Mine is approaching the five year mark and as much as I'd like a new computer it's not a must have, if my computer begins to lack in peformance with heavy distros like Ubuntu and openSUSE I'll just move to a lighter distro or change to a lighter DE.

[Don1500]

Ditto. But I do it not only for the fun but I NEVER like anything the makers put in, starting with Windows.
I had only one "Store Bought" computer, an HP. That tower did go out the window!
Now I'm running an 3.5 ghz Asus motherboard, dual core, with a 750 watt powere supply, 4gig, into a diamond radion hd2600 pci with a Samsung 23" HD screen and over 500 gig of HD space.

[-grubby]

I got a new one in February. I was running various older ones for years before that.

[Ericyzfr1]

I don't buy one very often, I bought this laptop in 05 (XP) and installed Linux on 06. I am thinking of replacing it next year, but I do not know with what.

[pwnst*r]

what do you do with the old ones?

give them to friends or family. depending on the rig, sometimes it'll be my new server.

[Dr Small]

I don't buy computers (unless they are previously owned). I build computers. But I don't need new ones very often. Just when the other one dies or gets ZAPPED. ;)

[Bölvaður]

whow I always thought of my computer as new. But when I come to think of it.. it is about 2 and a half year old.

I will not buy a new desktop computer for the next 5 years (for my self), but I am in a need of a new laptop, as the old one is 5 year old.

[abn91c]

my dell dimension 2400(windows xp) and inspiron 1000 are both from 2004 have just upgraded the Ram on both, Im getting a DVD burner for the 2400, will finally upgrade the video card next month, might uograde it to vista. The laptop has only Kubuntu 8.10 and it works great, only upgrade is the RAM to 1.25gigs

[RandomJoe]

I buy new computers in "bursts". I'll go a long time (sometimes many years) with the same ones, largely because my primary interests are elsewhere and they do what I need at the time.

Then I'll roll back around to computers as a primary hobby, or there'll be some Great New Thing that significantly improves performance in some way, and I'll go back into buying mode. Might just be one new machine, might be a small fleet!

Most recently, I have bought a couple of Atom-based units. One is a mini-ITX style "car computer" (hooked to an off-grid solar system) and one is an Eee PC. Both were bought primarily for low-power performance although I am quite impressed with how the Atom performs speed-wise too. Certainly no C2D but not too shabby.

Prior to that was my self-built Core 2 Duo mega-system. That was Dec 2006, it's still handles my needs with ease, don't see replacing it for a LONG time.

I'm still using a couple of old Dell Latitudes - circa 2002? No need for a new laptop anytime soon either. They are still just fine too. A couple of batteries have died, but I managed to get a few spares at the time (everything was surplus from my then-employer) so still have decent battery life.

Edit: All of them run Linux, too. Haven't had Windows as a primary OS here since roughly 1998! (I do run Win2K occasionally in a VM.)

[James_Lochhead]

As often as possible.

I bought one in 2005 and two last year (laptop and netbook). I seriously don't know why I bought the laptop though... desktop is much better for Ubuntu and I would rather not drag a 17" laptop to lectures (hence the netbook").

[lswest]

I only replaced a PC once after 7/8 years (it had one major repair in those few years) when it was running XP and Ubuntu in dual-boot, after which I built a new PC for myself since I had the money and wanted a much more powerful PC. Honestly, I don't think I needed to really replace it at that time, my mom still uses that PC and it still runs fine (either OS). My laptop will likely be replaced sooner (running on about 2 years since I bought it) since the battery and charger are being worn and are starting to fail, along with the hard drive, and the replacements will likely cost more than a netbook (which is all I need really). Battery: 60-70€, charger: 30-50€, hdd (larger than the current one) 320GB: 70-80€, totalling at about 160-200€, so I could just pay another ~100€ on top to get an entirely new and much more portable laptop (granted, the specs are lower, but I really don't need quite as much power). For the moment I'm basically broke, so nothing is going to be replaced.

To answer your question, if you are willing to spend some time to tweak XP, you can go without upgrade for at least 4 years, and with Linux I think you could easily go without upgrades for 8-10 years (depending on what you do with it).

[lisati]

I am in the same boat as you are. I find that computers running Linux and Mac tend to last longer. Computers with windows are suceptible to:

-Viruses
-Viruses
-...More Viruses
-Spy- Ad- Malware
-Viloent tantrums from users, which are not limited to throwing the tower out of a window.
-A pleathra of filesystem errors.
-Plus Vista requires 1Gb RAM to run... ew

huh? Two things where we might differ:
1) I've only ever been bothered by the effects of one virus, and that slipped through the net because I was careless.
2) Although I've got 2Gb ram in my Vista machine, I could probably manage to get it to run with 1Gb. (Mental note to self: do research to see if extra RAM installed in Vista laptop will work in non-vista laptop without breaking anything)

My oldest x86 machine is pushing 10 years old, my newest laptop I got in November '08. On average, a new machine every 3 years, but NOT because of deficiencies (real or imagined) with Windows.

[RazVayne]

if money => laptop / else => no laptop
Time between purchases?Infinity and beyond...(I am notoriously broke)

[pwnst*r]

I am in the same boat as you are. I find that computers running Linux and Mac tend to last longer. Computers with windows are suceptible to:

-Viruses
-Viruses
-...More Viruses
-Spy- Ad- Malware
-Viloent tantrums from users, which are not limited to throwing the tower out of a window.
-A pleathra of filesystem errors.
-Plus Vista requires 1Gb RAM to run... ew

1GB of RAM is a problem nowadays?

[gn2]

First time I had a PC with 1gb RAM I paid £120 for the RAM.

You can get 1gb of RAM for £12 now.

How times change.

I buy new computers or upgrade components when I need to.

[billgoldberg]

i was just wondering when i was running windows it seemed like buying a new pc every 3 or 4 years was a no brainer because it would slow down significantly. but now that i'm running ubuntu on my 3 year old laptop i feel like i won't need a new pc for a long time.

I've recently been updating my desktop pc, as I plan to use it as my main server when I buy a new pc later this year (more ram, making it more silent, upgrading from 250gb hdd to multiple 320gb ones, ...).

I'm sure I could keep it running smoothly using Ubuntu for a few more years, but I like to at least somewhat stay up to date with my hardware config.

This dual core machine I use now will be replace by an i7 one.

[red_Marvin]

I'm a mixed bag on this subject, I am extremely cautious when it comes to buing expensive things, as an example, my current laptop--now beginning its third year--I bought after 1-1.5 years of weighing benefits of laptop vs desktop, brand A vs B et cetera. On the other hand I am very interested in electronics and computing, maybe not computers in general as they are very alike nowdays.

The sum is that I have an affinity to acquire old hardware that is going to be thrown away.

[geekygirl]

I tend to want latest and greatest and after a few weeks of researching and deliberating I usually just buy the wanted upgrade/new laptop/whatever.

Desktop gets updated approx every 6 months (unless something else catches my fancy prior to that..lol)

And my laptops, sheesh, I spent way too much on laptops last year going from an Asus A8JS to an EeePC 900, to the EeePC 1000H, then a Vostro 1310 and my most recent buy the Sony Vaio TT - that was in a 12 month period.

Computers are my hobby/Uni/interest so I have no issue spending my cash on them ;) (besides I have friends who happily spend a few thousand on an LV handbag but scoff at the thought of a $500 GPU...lol)

[aeiah]

i bought a netbook recently because it serves a different purpose to my desktop pc, that's connected to a 32" hdtv. i wont be buying another desktop until mine sets on fire or something. i think my desktop one is coming up for 4 years old now. i can see myself buying another computer of some description in the next couple of years but it'll be for geeky reasons and not because i think my old ones are slow.

i suspect ill buy my next one because i want a fileserver that runs on 6 watts of power or something.

[Skripka]

"Buy a new PC"? No.


Update my tower? Yes. Every 6-8 months something goes out and something new comes in.

My recent treat for myself was an AM2/3 PhenomII 720, and new mainboard....which thanks to some BIOS tinkering-I unlocked the 4th core-and now have a 3.7gHz quad core desktop--the upgrade from dual core cost me about $200. I'll be happy with this setup for probably another 12 months or so ;)

[MN Noob]

Lets see, my Mac I got May 2006. My netbook I got for Christmas 08. Does my P3 for 20$ count? Other than that, I probably won't be buying a new computer for a long time. My Mac runs the same it has since the day I got it, fast and elegant.(haven't reinstalled 10.4 ever) I probably will have to get a new one for my wife in a year or two, but I am hoping installing 8.10 will extend that out another year or two. My P3 will probably need replacing also; I was thinking of getting an eee box to replace it.

[lukjad]

i was just wondering when i was running windows it seemed like buying a new pc every 3 or 4 years was a no brainer because it would slow down significantly. but now that i'm running ubuntu on my 3 year old laptop i feel like i won't need a new pc for a long time.
I have a ten year old PC. So... I guess I buy one every ten years.