Buy or repair a computer: how to choose

From ArticleWorld

Engineers are proud of what they build, but they have a word of theirs: everything breaks, and computers are no exception. We all get attached to computers when we spend a lot of time with them, and completely changing your computer may seem like a hassle for many other reasons. However, when it breaks so seriously that it needs big repairs, you should also consider buying a new one.

If you are having difficulties making up your mind, the following should be helpful.

What to put in balance

1. How old is your computer? This goes beyond the actual performance: you may not need much, but repairing a computer when you cannot find the spare parts will be a serious problem in the end. Not having the components you need readily available in shops means that it will take a while to find them, and also that may eventually be quite expensive.
2. Try to estimate the final cost and also look at what needs fixing. If you need to replace a motherboard, for example, and the CPU is also showing signs of being "tired", it would be a good moment for an upgrade, since you will need to get a new motherboard anyway.
3. Consider the lifetime of your investment. If you were planning to buy a new computer soon, it may be worth it to hurry things a bit, especially if you can still get some money by selling the components that still work in the current one.
4. Consider the lifetime of your components. If you will be replacing damaged components with second-hand components (maybe because you cannot find them readily available in shop anymore), you can expect them to break in some time.
5. Consider the repairing time and computer renting services. If you will have to rent a computer for a lot of time, this may cost you almost as much as a new, low-entry computer, or even more.

Notes

There are some cases when replacing a computer would be quite about the only option. If you are still running Windows 95 on a 3.2 GB hard drive and doing serious work, it is time for a change.