So I work at a small MSP/computer reseller so here are some things you might not know about computer shopping
We expect laptops to have a lifespan of 3 years. Based on wear and tear and getting bashed around and opened and closed three years is a good baseline estimate of how long you can realistically expect a laptop to function really well. That doesn’t mean it’s going to fail in exactly three years (I’ve got functional laptops from 2005, 2012, and my current main laptop was purchased in 2015) but the likelihood of failure increases a lot after three years.
(this is part of the reason that I’m exceptionally leery of spending $2000 on a macbook air or whatever; there’s a reasonable possibility that in 3 years that laptop is going to break, so why not get a $600 laptop that will have the same functionality and expected lifespan?)
Things that fail on laptops after three years and how to fix them:
Hard drives - at around 3 years you’ll probably want to install a new hard drive because the wear and tear of constantly spinning is eventually just gonna kill it; an SSD will probably last longer but if an SSD fails there’s absolutely no chance of recovering data from it. Basically replace your hard drive at three years and and keep backups regardless of how old your drive is.
USB ports/power jacks - these fail because people plug things into them and pull things out of them and the actual component gets loosened from the perpetual use and isn’t making good contact with the motherboard. The solution to this is to be very gentle with your power jack (don’t yank the cable out, try to use it sparingly) and if you use a lot of USB devices to get a USB hub. (if you leave the hub plugged in while the device is stationary and only plug peripherals into the hub this will extend the life of the port) Never transport your laptop with the power cable plugged in or the USB ports full. Reparing a broken power jack or USB port involves removing the motherboard and resoldering the jack; it is MUCH more expensive than you think it will be.
Bezels/hinges - Plastic breaks. The only thing you can do to make these things last longer is to be gentle with your computer and avoid twisting the hinges or putting extra pressure on them. This is, again, something that will be more expensive for a shop to repair than you think it will because it’s going to involve totally disassembling the computer.
Keyboards - you may start losing keys at around 3 years. There’s no way to replace a single key, you have to replace the whole keyboard which involves, again, disassembling the whole computer. If you lose a key and can’t afford to replace a keyboard use an external keyboard; you can also use a USB external keyboard BEFORE you lose keys to minimize wear on your device.
Batteries - at around 3-5 years most laptop batteries will stop holding a charge and will need to be replaced. So I want you to make a pact with me, because I’m tired of tech companies fucking us over. REFUSE TO BUY LAPTOPS WITH BATTERIES THAT AREN’T USER-REPLACEABLE. It should take thirty seconds to replace a battery: flip the computer over, unlock the old battery, pop in the new one. If you have to disassemble your laptop to replace your battery you are getting screwed.
RAM - Your computer might start to seem a bit slow at about 3 years because it probably had a reasonable amount of RAM when you bought it but now programs use more resources so you’ll have to add more RAM to keep up. When you’re shopping for a laptop it’s great if there are two slots for RAM on the motherboard so you can easily add more later, but the MOST IMPORTANT THING about adding RAM is that you can’t do it if it’s soldered to the motherboard. RAM soldered to the motherboard is the same as batteries buried in the case. It’s not actually that helpful and it makes it much more difficult to repair your computer down the line.
Pretty much all of that is true of desktops as well, we just expect them to last about 5-7 years because they’re not getting knocked around as much. Fans fail more on desktops, in my experience, but that may be because heat stress problem on laptops isn’t from fan failure but from people blocking the vents (don’t use your laptop on a soft surface like a blanket or a pillow, it blocks the vents)
Also, when you’re buying a laptop look at the cost of extending the warranty to 3 years and adding drop protection - the drop protection is a REALLY good investment if you’re rough on hardware or have kids or pets that spend a lot of time around your computer.
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