How Long Should A Computer Last?

My computer is a Dell, which I purchased in May, 2002. Since then, it has had only one major problem, an adware virus in 2008, which cost about $200 for a tech to fix.

Since then, kurch told me to do a special adware cleanout each week, which is supposed to remove adware/spyware, etc. Now, I'm wondering if the processing fan may be going on my computer. I had gotten a message about such, some weeks back. Last night, my computer stopped making the "fan" noise. Yet, there is still air coming out of the back of the tower, and the computer does not feel hot. My friend said he isnt sure if the processing fan is going or not.

I'm probably going to have to get a laptop anyway. My question is, though: How long should a computer last? Is eight years with only two problems during the life of the computer considered good, or should it last 10-15 years? If anyone with computer knowledge, would have insight, or feedback, about my question, it would be appreciated. Thanks.

Mitch

i seriously hate dell cause they charge you so much for such shit software and hardware. I think you should get at least a few years out of your machine before you need to upgrade.

Thanks, Aphxa. I appreciate it.

Mitch

Mitch,

Your computer should last for as long as either the hardware remains in working order (meaning you don't have a sound or video card burn out... it does happen... you just buy one and plug it in 🙂) OR the technology becomes outdated and too slow. I built the box I'm using right now... total frankenstein, random parts that I hand selected because I wanted to make a hot rod of a computer... that was probably about 3 years ago? Maybe? I'm running a 3.2 GHz pentium IV, if that tells you anything...

ANYWAYS, I am no stranger to viruses. I'm a little bit of a warez pirate... not nearly as much as I used to be, but it does happen. All I do is I keep my shit backed up (burn what I want to keep to DVD's or a separate drive devoid of Operating system files) and when it happens... usually once every year... I just bite the bullet and waste an hour formatting my drive and reinstalling windows. Maybe you should do that if your adware problem persists? Are you running XP or win2k?

If you purchased your dell in 2002, congratulations sir... you have successfully used a computer longer than I ever will I'm not even sure how old the technology is in there! Maybe you're running a Pentium 3 (?)... Anyway, I think it's remarkable that you've had a PC for 8 years with only two minor problems... Eventually, I think you should upgrade and enjoy another, faster PC for hopefully another 8 years to come 🙂

Ok, as to your processor fan... There are typically two or three different fans in an ATX or micro ATX tower... some like mine, have a few more...

Ok, there's usually one on the back of the power supply... it will be right next to where the power cable plugs into the back of the PC

There's usually what's called a case fan, which pushes hot air out of the case and sucks cool air in through the little holes on the side of the computer... it keeps your boards from overheating..

And then there's the processor fan, which sits on top of a heatsink, which is fused to the top of your processor with a heat conducting thermal paste. The purpose of this fan is to keep your processor from overheating and frying itself.

I am inclined to believe, from personal experience, that if you are having a malfunction with your processor cooling fan, your computer will randomly start shutting off, once the processor overheats. One time, when I first got my upgraded fan... i didn't have enough thermal paste between the processor and the heatsink/fan... and I couldn't for the life of me figure out why the damned thing would just cut out in the middle of a program with no explanation... Then I found out it was overheating... so I had to take it back apart and spackle that sucker with more paste.

So if your computer isn't acting funky or anything, I wouldn't worry about it just yet. Is it in any way possible that you have confused the noise of a fan with the noise of a running hard drive or CD drive? If you want to check to see if your processor fan is working, however, you can simply open up the case and look... it's not going to hurt anything.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask 🙂

I just bought a new one, and asked this question. Alot depends on how much you spend, better quality costing more. A decent pc should last 5 or more years, outdated programs notwithstanding.

Smuggy, thanks for the info. No, my computer isnt acting funky. It seems fine.

Part of the reason I havent bought a computer, is that it wasnt in my budget. I'm likely going to be moving to NJ in the next month, at first temporarially, and then permanently. I'm likely going to purchase a laptop to use while I'm there, until I pack all my stuff and move. At that point, I'll see what kind of shape my desktop is in, before deciding to get rid of it, or just keep it as an extra computer.

Shark, my desktop cost over $1000, with all the parts. It also has a CD player, and DVD player. If I buy a new laptop soon, I dont know how much that is going to cost. I'm going to need it, though, since I'm not moving my belongings to NJ until sometime in 2011. I need a computer while I'm staying there, or I'll go nuts, lol.

Thanks guys, I appreciate the feedback.

Mitch

Mitchell said:

Smuggy, thanks for the info. No, my computer isnt acting funky. It seems fine.

Part of the reason I havent bought a computer, is that it wasnt in my budget. I'm likely going to be moving to NJ in the next month, at first temporarially, and then permanently. I'm likely going to purchase a laptop to use while I'm there, until I pack all my stuff and move. At that point, I'll see what kind of shape my desktop is in, before deciding to get rid of it, or just keep it as an extra computer.

Shark, my desktop cost over $1000, with all the parts. It also has a CD player, and DVD player. If I buy a new laptop soon, I dont know how much that is going to cost. I'm going to need it, though, since I'm not moving my belongings to NJ until sometime in 2011. I need a computer while I'm staying there, or I'll go nuts, lol.

Thanks guys, I appreciate the feedback.

Mitch

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I'd keep the desktop as a backup, no MATTER what. Recently I got a virus on my laptop that wouldn't let me open internet programs. So the only choice I had was to go online with my old, old desktop and find a solution. If it ever does come to needing to get rid of it, do a wipe on it and donate it to a library or church. (Just make sure the wipe is sufficient so credit card numbers can't be pulled off.)

Thanks, Lily. I probably will use the desktop as a backup. I understand what you said about credit card numbers. I will wipe them off. I use cards to pay for things on Amazon sometimes.

Mitch

BlackestLily said:

I'd keep the desktop as a backup, no MATTER what. Recently I got a virus on my laptop that wouldn't let me open internet programs. So the only choice I had was to go online with my old, old desktop and find a solution. If it ever does come to needing to get rid of it, do a wipe on it and donate it to a library or church. (Just make sure the wipe is sufficient so credit card numbers can't be pulled off.)

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I concur... It's always a good to have a backup.

Chrisums, thank you for your description. I appreciate it.

My level of computer repair skills is nil. I call someone to do it if I have a problem, lol.

I will do what you say: I'm not going to just toss a working machine. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I do have to get a laptop when I hopefully move to NJ in Oct. However, when I move my furniture out of this apartment next April, I'll just keep this machine for as long as it works, and get a smaller computer table. I have a big desk which the computer sits on now, that I'm probably going to have to get rid of, because the place I'm going to be living it, will probably be a fraction of the size of this one.

I appreciate your insight, and thank you again.

Mitch

I work in the IT field.

The useful life of a computer in a business environment depends on the type of computer - a desktop can go 3-5 years, whereas a laptop, which is subject to far more wear and tear can go about 2 years.

For home use, I'd say if you got 5 years out of a machine you're doing good. It really all depends on what you use the computer for. I am a pretty big gamer, so I have to upgrade my gaming PC fairly frequently. On the other hand, I have laptops that I use for surfing (the game machine has no antivirus or firewall on it. It plays games, and that's all I ever use it for so the AV is not necessary) and doing work I have made last for 3 years so far and going well.

One of the keys to keeping a machine running longer is regular maintenance. Kurch's advice to you is sound. Virus and malware sweeps on a regular basis is good.

I personally rebuild my machines every so often so keep Windows running well, since by its design it tends to accumulate crap.

Five years is about the maximum amount of time you can expect to keep a computer before it becomes so outdated it's next to useless.

Thanks for the detailed explanation, Coke. I do a cleanout every week called Super Anti Spyware, which takes about an hour a week. It removes all the adware and spyware.

My virus checker is Avast. I had that installed by a tech in Feb 2008, after my computer had the adware virus that froze the machine. Avast checks for viruses, and finds, and removes them, every time the computer goes into screen saver. If it does a clean scan, the virus checker screen remains blue. If it does find something, the virus checker screen turns red, and then I push the mouse to get it out of screensaver, and it removes the virus.

Wow. I'd have to upgrade a laptop every two years. That can get expensive. I know one can get a good laptop for a few hundred. I'll keep this desktop for as long as it lasts, and, when I do move, I'll get the laptop, and if the desktop does go, I'll just keep the laptop, and not bother having a desktop.

Thanks, Coke, and Lorie, the info is appreciated.

Mitch

You don't have to buy a new laptop every 2 years. If you don't take it with you a lot, you can get away with it lasting a good 3-4. Problem is because everything is integrated, if one thing in it breaks the thing is pretty much a paperweight, whereas desktops tend to be more modular. You trade off portability for repairability.

Really, you have to decide what you want the computer to do for you, then budget accordingly. There's a galaxy's worth of difference between a machine that can check mail, surf the web and write out stuff in Word, than a 3D Studio rendering workstation.

Thanks, Coke. I'm glad I wouldnt have to buy a new laptop every 2-3 years. Such could get expensive.

I'm visualizing any computer would do for me just what this one does. I want to be able to post on Ebay so I can work, post other pictures online of other products I might have for work, e-mail friends, and surf to TMF, and the foot websites I belong to.

Hopefully I can do all that. Eventually I may get one laptop for work, and one for personal use, but for right now, I'm going to keep this one until it dies, and just get the one laptop.

Thanks again for the info, Coke, it is appreciated.

Mitch

Then you would be best served with a medium-end laptop. Nothing too fancy, but nothing too basic either, since you want the machine to do a wide variety of tasks.

Good luck.

I agree with Cokecan. Just make sure you don't buy a "new" machine that has been sitting around in storage for a long time. You could for instance get computers with Vista installed long after Windows 7 was released, and it's not that long ago I saw one in a shop.

Thanks for the advice, Japp. I'll keep your advice in mind when looking for the new laptop.

Mitch

AphxA said:

i seriously hate dell cause they charge you so much for such shit software and hardware. I think you should get at least a few years out of your machine before you need to upgrade.

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A cousin has a Dell laptop which she's used as her workhorse machine for the last 5 years apparently no major issues apart from the odd virus or spyware incident. I myself have an old Dell Pentium IV desktop which I bought used and fairly cheap. I put a new (old) hard drive into it as well as a little more new-old RAM, reinstalled Windoze and Ubuntu Linux (dual-boot system) and it's been running like a top ever since. Dell did have issues with a similar model, bum capacitors on their motherboards, which were due to their supplier laming out and to the ubiquitous practice among PC manufacturers of pinching pennies. (The advantage to building or rebuilding a system yourself is that you don't end up with all the crapware which B**t B*y or other such ugly mall stores stick you with.)

Now, as for HP...how a top-shelf computer component and electronic test gear manufacturer whose products were once highly sought after could all of a sudden end up slinging such dreck once it went into the mass-market computer business, I dunno!