How to Decide Whether to Replace or Repair a Computer

New computers have become so inexpensive that people often believe replacing a computer has better value than repairing it. However, new computer prices are low partly due to cuts in build quality, parts quality, and included hardware. Repairing a good computer by spending up to 10 to 20 percent of its original cost is a better value than a new machine, unless you will receive a significant speed and performance increase.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Computers

1. Find out if the repair is covered by manufacturer's warranty or an extended service agreement.

2. Get a free estimate, if repair shops in your area will provide one. If not, find out the hourly labor charge.

3. Expect to pay $60 to $80 per hour for labor in U.S. cities, with a 1-hour minimum charge, and twice as much for on-site repair.

4. Find out how long a repair will be warranted. Most shops warrant repairs for 60 to 90 days.

5. Expect a hard drive and a power supply to last 3 to 6 years, expect the life of other mechanical drives to vary depending on usage, and expect electronics to last many years.

6. Remember that one third of computers are repaired each year.

7. Repair your computer if the repair costs less than $200, and the machine's performance and functionality are completely satisfactory.

8. Replace your computer if you are willing to buy a computer that is better in every way, or if you need a repair that costs more than $500.

9. Buy a new machine if you have a 486 PC or 86040 Macintosh or older. If you are reading this by mid-2000, buy a new machine if your CPU is less than 100 MHz.

10. Choose a new machine if you are using Windows 3.1.1 or older.

11. Get a new machine if your current computer lacks specific functionality that you want or need.

12. Expect a new computer to come with at least a 1-year limited warranty.

Tips & Warnings

• Do not have your computer repaired with refurbished parts.
• Repair your computer if the power supply, hard drive and CD drive have already been replaced.
• Replace your computer if you will need to rent or lease one for several weeks while yours is being serviced or awaiting parts. (Renting a computer can be exorbitantly expensive.) Understand that computer manufacturers can be slow to send proprietary parts, or may no longer stock them.
• If you diagnose the problem yourself, remember that replacing the part you believe is malfunctioning may not solve the problem.

[theperfectfit]

on 1/8/2009 I am on my fourth computer. The first one eventually did not meet my needs. The second one eventually blew the hard drive and I lost everything. The third was purchased quickly to replace the other one and it did not meet my needs. The one that I have now I had built four years ago. I run three printers off of it. I not only have a backup battery, I also use an Acronis backup to protect my daily work. One friend of mine lost a hard drive for her business. She spent $1400 to get her data back. Backup, backup, backup!

[velnetworks]

on 10/17/2008 Really cool one and worth it ...kudos to all the posts..

[ashiflett]

on 10/12/2008 Great article loaded with a lot of useful information!

on 11/22/2005 This is late 2005, technology is advancing at great speeds as are prices declining for newer systems and upgrades. RAM (Random Access Memory), also known as just plain memory, upgrading is a pretty cost effective way to speed up your PC. If you are hearing load noises coming form your PC you probably need to take the side panel off and find out what is making the racket. If it's your hard drive and your PC is running Windows ME (Millennium Edition) or older it's time to upgrade your system. A basic system that you would use to surf the net, check e-mail, write papers, and play simple games (nothing like Half Life or Halo) shouldn't cost you more than $300-$400 (Tower Only, including taxes, shipping, etc.). That should get you a system with Windows XP Home, around a 2GHz CPU (processor), 256MHz DDR (Double Data rate) RAM (for a little boast in performance make it 512MB), around a 20 or 40GB Hard Drive (there really is a small price difference in the two), 350 watt Power supply, a decent motherboard (If you want quality try making sure you get a DFI, MSI, ASUS or Abit motherboard), CD Burner with DVD playing capabilities (not a DVD Burner, add about $40 for that feature), and a standard ATX mid tower case with a floppy and a couple of extra USB ports. If you're having software problems due to Spyware and Viruses and your system is as new as this system mentioned or newer then make it easy on yourself when you take your system in for repair and request for a data backup, format and reinstall of your operating system. Also make sure you have all of your systems software and driver disks handy for re-installation. Most repair shops will re-install these for a small fee, and the driver disks help them configure your hardware. After that make sure you install some anti virus software, Spyware software, and a good spam and pop up blocker. All of these things are available for free online. Just read some reviews and pay attention to which ones are downloaded the most those are usually the better ones. One last thing, be sure to update all your protection software before doing any surfing. Also make sure you download all the current security updates for your operating system. These will protect you from most of the current security threats floating around out there in cyber space.

on 11/22/2005 If you have a Model T, probably it is better to restore it into a classic. But, if you have a 486 or lower PC the best option is to junk it. This is because it will be hard to find replacement parts for repair. Most will be used parts or low quality. Also, if you can make it perform 100%, you still will not be able to run the latest softwares available because of the processor speed.