How long will a comptuer generally last before it dies?

I think I have owned this laptop for at least 3 years (how do I find out when it was built?), so yes I have had issues and in the past I have done 3 total recoveries. Seems to be pretty stable now, but I was wondering what sort of things will usually go first in a computer? Would it be the hard drive or the processor? Any warnings, like noises or freezing up, blue screens?

I can't afford another computer right now, but when I can, would like to buy new, and NOT have Vista OS on it. I prefer laptops.

PC's are very different to laptops, especially in component failure.

In general, most consumer grade laptops (the majority of them) fail after two years, some sooner, some longer. All this modern environmental garbage, means that laptops are built with flimsy plastic nowadays unless you pay through the nose for a business grade laptop, which is marginally better.

Often the plastics fail, hard drives die (because they put in cheap god awful junk like hitachi deathstars :p) and they overheat due to flimsy fans and not being cleaned out regularly. Batteries often fail within warranty and arent covered by warranties.

I just suggest cleaning it gently when it's off, hoovering out the vents and trying to be careful with it. The ram or hdd may die at some point, but those are easy to replace.

It's no coincidence that the longest warranty you can get for most laptops is 3 years. Of course there are expectations (I have a G4 PowerBook from 2005 that still works except for a slightly weak battery), but the typical life expectancy of a high quality laptop is about 3-4 years.

With desktops it's very different. With proper maintenance, they can last pretty much forever. Remember, hardware components (except hard drives to some degree) don't actually "deteriorate". They can fail, but a CPU doesn't get slower over time. The perceived slowness is mostly because of poorly written software that doesn't clean up after itself.

How do you feel about this laptop for only $450 at BestBuy? Please I want all the responses I can can.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+15....&skuId=5539393

In general, most consumer grade laptops (the majority of them) will run for five + years if you treat em well.

pretty good specs for the money, crappy screen though just like most budget laptops, decent but not great build quality, not an awful machine or anything but not exciting in any way either

From my experience, the backlight is usually the first to go on a laptop. The screens they use are extremely low end in most consumer notebooks. The processors will last 20+ years as will all the semiconductor products such as the motherboard and RAM. Mechanical devices and SSDs will go out over time, however a nice HDD should last 10+ years while a typical SSD can last a comparable length of time before losing too much speed.

The number one cause of people upgrading to a new laptop (so I've heard from an IT administrator at SCAD) is battery life. Once the battery no longer holds a charge (3-4 years), that causes people to upgrade. A new battery can run upwards of 150 dollars. Most 3-4 year old laptops are not worth putting that kind of money into, unless its a Mac.

Thanks everyone for your input. Can someone please tell me why I am not getting any email notifications when someone replies to my threads I start here?

Go to user cp > edit options > on default subscription mode a bit of the way down choose one option from all the options of instant to weekly. You can change quite a few settings there.

My current laptop is a little over 2 years old. I can't believe how poorly some people treat their stuff and laptops are no different. Then they wonder why it is junk after 2 years. I have shoes that are 20+ years old because I take care of them. I have found desktops out live their usefulness long before they wear out. I have Pentium I's that still work fine but are so hopeless slow I have long retired them.

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Originally Posted by wh666-666

Go to user cp > edit options > on default subscription mode a bit of the way down choose one option from all the options of instant to weekly. You can change quite a few settings there.

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Hi again :)

OK, so I changed the default setting to weekly, and I changed my email addy to NOT one of the four problem ones. So I wonder if I will get a notification now? Talk to me, lol and since it's set to weekly, maybe I won't get the notification from a week from now?

Other than that, thanks for all your input everyone. Hey does anyone know of a good techie forum that I can talk about digital cameras? I need to download drivers or software for my old Canon camera, it's called Zoom Browser which worked great before but now when I plug it in my computer it won't my camera or launch the Zoom Browser. Long story, but know which forum I can use? Thanks!

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Originally Posted by drdoom

My current laptop is a little over 2 years old. I can't believe how poorly some people treat their stuff and laptops are no different. Then they wonder why it is junk after 2 years. I have shoes that are 20+ years old because I take care of them. I have found desktops out live their usefulness long before they wear out. I have Pentium I's that still work fine but are so hopeless slow I have long retired them.

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I can agree with that. I was using an HP 16in desktop replacement notebook before I got my MacBook Pro. I used it for 4 years and it still looks brand new and runs very fast. I upgraded to Windows 7 recently with it and reinstalled the OS every year and a half or so. Never had any trouble at all. I have, however, had notebooks crap out on me even with very delicate care. I had an ASUS go bad within 2 years, won't POST. My mom had a Fujitsu die on her and she is good on them as well. She is still using a Toshiba from 2005 and it looks Mint!

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Originally Posted by linsjean

Hi again :)

OK, so I changed the default setting to weekly, and I changed my email addy to NOT one of the four problem ones. So I wonder if I will get a notification now? Talk to me, lol and since it's set to weekly, maybe I won't get the notification from a week from now?

Other than that, thanks for all your input everyone. Hey does anyone know of a good techie forum that I can talk about digital cameras? I need to download drivers or software for my old Canon camera, it's called Zoom Browser which worked great before but now when I plug it in my computer it won't my camera or launch the Zoom Browser. Long story, but know which forum I can use? Thanks!

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For a top of the line forum for digital cameras go here:

http://www.dpreview.com

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Originally Posted by Timman_24

From my experience, the backlight is usually the first to go on a laptop. The screens they use are extremely low end in most consumer notebooks. The processors will last 20+ years as will all the semiconductor products such as the motherboard and RAM. Mechanical devices and SSDs will go out over time, however a nice HDD should last 10+ years while a typical SSD can last a comparable length of time before losing too much speed.

The number one cause of people upgrading to a new laptop (so I've heard from an IT administrator at SCAD) is battery life. Once the battery no longer holds a charge (3-4 years), that causes people to upgrade. A new battery can run upwards of 150 dollars. Most 3-4 year old laptops are not worth putting that kind of money into, unless its a Mac.

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Thank you, I wanted to know something like that.

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Originally Posted by richardginn

For a top of the line forum for digital cameras go here:

http://www.dpreview.com

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Thanks a bunch Richard :)

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Originally Posted by Steve R Jones

In general, most consumer grade laptops (the majority of them) will run for five + years if you treat em well.

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I agree, I have never seen a computer so cheaply made that I would only expect it to last a couple years.

Be thankful consumer grade on your side of the pond is much better then.