{"id":907,"date":"2021-11-27T07:13:43","date_gmt":"2021-11-26T19:13:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iconit.co.nz\/?p=907"},"modified":"2021-11-27T07:59:01","modified_gmt":"2021-11-26T19:59:01","slug":"how-often-should-i-replace-my-laptop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iconit.co.nz\/index.php\/2021\/11\/27\/how-often-should-i-replace-my-laptop\/","title":{"rendered":"How often should I replace my laptop?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
This question, \u201cHow often should I replace my laptop?\u201d, is very common. People seem to have different views on the answer, and often that answer is based on hearsay or something someone once told the person, and it\u2019s stuck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The thing with laptops is that by their very nature, they are a portable device and are often used as one. There\u2019s always that one person in the office who never takes their laptop away from their desk, and since it\u2019s plugged into a docking station, the laptop still looks new many years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But that person is generally the exception, especially in times of COVID and working from home (WFH).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For most of us, it\u2019s hauling the laptop from meeting to meeting, then home in the car. It might get taken out of your bag in the evening for a few pieces of work, then back in the bag. The next day it\u2019s to the office again, out of the bag, and repeat the process. Laptops can and generally do have a hard life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, when is a good time to replace your laptop? In the old days of hard disks (the storage device) with moving parts, most companies stuck to a 3-year replacement program. From that point on, it\u2019s been a bit of a roller coaster, as eventually solid-state hard disks arrived and became mainstream. A solid-state hard disk holds all your data and programs but has no moving parts and so is much faster, and far more reliable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some companies saw this as an opportunity to extend the life of laptops out to 4 or even 5 years, and this was a realistic way of reducing laptop replacement costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But then, more people started to work from home, even pre-COVID. Come COVID and so many more people working from home, and along with that more wear and tear. In a circle-of-life moment, most organisations that Icon IT deals with are back to a 3-year replacement cycle, with some on 4 years. Either is fine, and it\u2019s all down to your budgets and each individual user\u2019s requirements; how often they travel and how hard their laptop is treated on a day-to-day basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n