How long can a PC last?

[instantk]

My PC is about to complete 7 years and now I am worried about its life... How long can a PC last at max? I used it heavily earlier..but from past 2 years since i bought a windows phone, my PC usage has gradually declined..

Can I continue to use a pc for as long as i want by simply replacing parts that go bad with time?

 

[Japser]

A PC is the sum of its parts, so as long as you switch out bad parts/parts that are causing trouble, I guess you can go on forever.

 

[tgp]

Can I continue to use a pc for as long as i want by simply replacing parts that go bad with time?

Yes you can. However, a couple different issues may arise:

1. The cost of repairs will be higher than the value of the computer.
2. You will encounter compatibility issues.

Eventually the motherboard will probably go out. We've found from experience that when a motherboard on an old computer dies, repair is not a viable option due to the cost.

 

[abhishake620]

I have a 8 year old pc which runs win 10 as fast as my year old laptop ..... Give it a good clean inside CPU(use a blower) from time to time and It will last a life time ... Or till it goes bad due to something .... Reinstall windows every other year for optimum performance....

 

[KarmaEcrivain94]

Yes you can. However, a couple different issues may arise:

1. The cost of repairs will be higher than the value of the computer.
2. You will encounter compatibility issues.

Eventually the motherboard will probably go out. We've found from experience that when a motherboard on an old computer dies, repair is not a viable option due to the cost.

False. I replaced the motherboard on my pc after a bios update fail (thanks hp) as well as a new CPU and GPU, and it still cost me less than a new PC, I had to phone Microsoft to get Windows re-activates, but seeing as I was able to keep my RAM, case, HDD, and power supply, I only spent 400?

 

[tgp]

False. I replaced the motherboard on my pc after a bios update fail (thanks hp) as well as a new CPU and GPU, and it still cost me less than a new PC, I had to phone Microsoft to get Windows re-activates, but seeing as I was able to keep my RAM, case, HDD, and power supply, I only spent 400€

Good job; one example and you make a liar out of me! :angel: How old was your computer? You have at least a fairly decent one to be worth 400€/$450 USD used, old enough to need a motherboard replaced but yet not covered under the manufacturer's warranty.

Of course it doesn't apply to 100% of the cases, but generally speaking it is not worth it to replace a motherboard on an old computer. It also depends on the availability (and hence the cost) of the replacement motherboard and if you can do the work yourself.

 

[instantk]

Yes you can. However, a couple different issues may arise:

1. The cost of repairs will be higher than the value of the computer.
2. You will encounter compatibility issues.

Eventually the motherboard will probably go out. We've found from experience that when a motherboard on an old computer dies, repair is not a viable option due to the cost.

Ya.eventually would buy a new one...no doubt..
I have kept my pc in a good condition and i am kind of attached to it!

 

[KarmaEcrivain94]

Good job; one example and you make a liar out of me! :angel: How old was your computer? You have at least a fairly decent one to be worth 400?/$450 USD used, old enough to need a motherboard replaced but yet not covered under the manufacturer's warranty.

Of course it doesn't apply to 100% of the cases, but generally speaking it is not worth it to replace a motherboard on an old computer. It also depends on the availability (and hence the cost) of the replacement motherboard and if you can do the work yourself.

Not worth it to replace, but worth an upgrade. I went from a crummy OEM motherboard to a pretty decent Asus Z97M-E.
In my logic (which, surely, is not everyone's, and I'm perfectly ok with that ), when a part of your computer fails, it's not only time to replace it, but to also upgrade it. In which case, it is cheaper to change just the part, than to upgrade your entire PC.

Oh, and I meant 400? for the new motherboard, cpu, and gpu, which is cheaper than if I had bought a new PC with equal specs.

 

[tgp]

Not worth it to replace, but worth an upgrade. I went from a crummy OEM motherboard to a pretty decent Asus Z97M-E.
In my logic (which, surely, is not everyone's, and I'm perfectly ok with that ), when a part of your computer fails, it's not only time to replace it, but to also upgrade it. In which case, it is cheaper to change just the part, than to upgrade your entire PC.

Oh, and I meant 400€ for the new motherboard, cpu, and gpu, which is cheaper than if I had bought a new PC with equal specs.

Sounds like it was worth it in your case. I work in IT, and we do PC repair. We have to figure in our cost, markup, and labor. It is then very seldom worth it to replace a motherboard.

 

[fatclue_98]

Just to echo some of the suggestions so far, a good cleaning every six months to the internals can do wonders for any PC or laptop. Dust gets drawn in by the cooling fans and disperse it to every corner of a PC's innards. The fan motor itself will draw more current and subsequently produce higher temperatures and need to run longer. It becomes a vicious cycle and will shorten the life of the CPU and the HDD considerably. A $5 can of compressed air at Radio Shack can pay off big time in the long run. Never use a portable air compressor because you will introduce water and moisture into your system causing serious grief in short order.

 

[xandros9]

We have older PC's still chugging so it'll last a long time. The question was whether the specifications would stack up. These days, hardware capable of running Vista should be good to go for the most part. (save for some unsupported XP-era hardware) Relatively old parts can be cheaper too depending.

 

[AndyCalling]

You can replace parts indefinitely if you want, I do. Eventually you do hit a philosophical barrier though. Think of Trigger's broom in the sitcom 'Only fools and horses'. Whilst getting an award from the council for making do with the same broom for 10 years, the street sweeper commented that it had needed only 15 replacement heads and 3 replacement handles in that time.

By Trigger logic I've had my PC for decades. It still runs the latest stuff.

 

[tgp]

Never use a portable air compressor because you will introduce water and moisture into your system causing serious grief in short order.

And to add to this, never use a vacuum (unless it is specifically designed for this purpose). It is by far the least messy way to do the job, but the suction can produce static, which can harm your computer.

An alternative to a can of compressed air is a compressor built for this job, such as this one from Amazon

 

[fatclue_98]

These days, hardware capable of running Vista should be good to go for the most part. (save for some unsupported XP-era hardware)

Throwing some shade on my 2003 HP TC1100? The original Tablet PC and still going strong on W7. If I could only get Nvidia drivers to work, it runs 8.1 beautimously with every single feature working. Even Windows 10 ran flawlessly on it except for the missing display driver not allowing me to put it to sleep.

 

[xandros9]

Throwing some shade on my 2003 HP TC1100? The original Tablet PC and still going strong on W7. If I could only get Nvidia drivers to work, it runs 8.1 beautimously with every single feature working. Even Windows 10 ran flawlessly on it except for the missing display driver not allowing me to put it to sleep.

I was actually thinking of that fellow who was complaining that 10 didn't support his 7-era hardware. Which turned out to be from the time of XP.

 

[Laura Knotek]

And to add to this, never use a vacuum (unless it is specifically designed for this purpose). It is by far the least messy way to do the job, but the suction can produce static, which can harm your computer.

An alternative to a can of compressed air is a compressor built for this job, such as this one from Amazon

I have this one which is made by the same company.

 

[Yazen]

Yes you can. However, a couple different issues may arise:

1. The cost of repairs will be higher than the value of the computer.
2. You will encounter compatibility issues.

Eventually the motherboard will probably go out. We've found from experience that when a motherboard on an old computer dies, repair is not a viable option due to the cost.

Used motherboards are $20

 

[heickelrrx]

I got old computer. When i see what inside I found that it has Intel pentium 4, asus P5G41T M LX board 1GB RAM and 120 PATA disk.

Since I have spare money so I buy used Intel Core 2Quad Q9400, 2x Veagance Black 4GB RAM, 1 new Seagate SATA 1TB disk , Zotac GTX 750 Ti + new PSU. Now it's running windows 7 and ready for upgrade to 10

Not mention I play some games here. Hmm Civilization 5 and Dota 2.

Do some research about what inside your PC. Some part may still be able to used

 

[tgp]

I have this one which is made by the same company.

View attachment 109058

We have one of those too at work. We found that it doesn't do as good of a job at cleaning as a blower. It is much cleaner though! :smile:

 

[Yazen]

My PC is about to complete 7 years and now I am worried about its life... How long can a PC last at max? I used it heavily earlier..but from past 2 years since i bought a windows phone, my PC usage has gradually declined..

Can I continue to use a pc for as long as i want by simply replacing parts that go bad with time?

Yes. You should probably keep your personal files backed on OneDrive