Are you looking to buy a new PC but unsure whether it’s the right time? I completely understand you as I used to ask the same question. Everything has its own lifetime, as so your favourite computer. As technologies develop, your old loving PC can soon be outdated and ultimately, need to be replaced. So stop scratching your head wondering if you need to upgrade your machine as in this article, I’m going to guide you through 5 primary signs you need to consider if it’s the right time.
1. You can’t install or run the latest software
New software versions are continuously released to meet the demand of the market. After years of using your computer, you might find yourself in a situation where this new software can’t just be installed on your PC.
Especially if you’re a gamer, where the industry is rapidly changing, no matter how good your system is, soon you will have to upgrade it.
The reason behind this sign is the fact that your system is not capable of supporting the latest version. It could be the hardware, software or both.
So what to do here.
Case 1: Hardware problem
If it’s a hardware problem, unless your PC is custom-built, you might need to replace it with an entirely new computer. This is because changing a few outdated components, for example, a RAM might cause a conflict to your whole system – as the hardware can’t get along with each other and the software.
Case 2: Software problem
If your hardware is capable of supporting the new software, which in this case is generally an OS, then you may not have to buy the new PC. Simply an upgrade should be enough.
Case 3: Both
Well, I hope you have already guessed it right, if this is the case, you definitely have to buy a new system unless it’s a custom-built computer.
2. Your computer becomes slow and laggy
Slowness can be difficult to deal with as there is a whole bunch of reasons why your PC is slow. Whatever the reason is, they all have one thing in common, i.e. age.
By the way, just to make things clear here, slow and laggy don’t mean slower than your friend’s system. Everyone has different hardware and software specs that determine the speed of the PC.
Slowness here means “much slower” than its usual operating time. In fact, if you could finish making a cup of coffee before your PC boot up, that’s a definite sign of slowness.
So the longer you have been using your computer, the more likely it’s going to be laggy. You may want to identify the root cause or causes of this (which doesn’t guarantee will solve the issue), but I’m sure you can save lots of time by simply buying a new one.
3. Need regular fixing
Are you frustrated in constantly hiring a computer repair service to fix your PC? Sometimes, you may even find yourself repairing more than using it.
If that’s the case, then it’s definitely a sign to replace your system. You might be wondering, “I will just get to the root cause of this, and fix it once and for all”.
Well, I wouldn’t suggest you do that. This is because if the computer constantly needs to be fixed, the root cause will always be more than one. Also, it simply means that your PC has hit its lifespan. No matter how many root cause you find and fix, the new one will just appear.
So instead of spending money on fixing it constantly, buying a new one should be a better option.
4. Your PC is making strange sounds
Over time, a PC becomes louder than it was at the start.
There are sounds everywhere. Turn it on and you hear the strange click sound. That’s the sign of hard drive failure.
Then another sound while using it or running heavy application/software. That’s the loud sound produced by an ageing fan. These are just two examples. I’m sure you must have heard many of something similar.
Just like a car engine, a loud noise is often a bad sign. It’s just the starting of the end. So better not waste your time on a dying machine, and move on to the new one.
5. Running out of space
If you run a task manager and see that 90% of your RAM is in use, 80% of CPU resources are being utilized, and a tiny bit of hard disk space is left, then that’s a clear sign that you’re running out of space.
Every hardware has its limit and capacity. After using them for some time, you may find them filling in fast, even though you feel like you are not using them, let’s say you didn’t open any application but your memory is about to be full.
You can buy yourself a little more time by adding some extra external hardware, let’s say a hard disk, but eventually, you will have to manage more resources, which means only one thing – upgrade to the new one.
Conclusion
That’s all for the 5 warning signs that tell you that you need to buy a new PC.
Some of the issues can be fixed by upgrading or replacing some specific components like battery, RAM, hard disk, etc. But this will only prolong the time.
Don’t forget to take into consideration the time and cost you need to spend on something which will eventually need to be replaced, sooner or later. So why not get it done once and for all, by getting yourself a newly updated system. Hope you have enjoyed it. Let me know in the comment if you’re facing any of the above signs on your PC.
