First off – what is buygrade time? Buygrade time is where you must decide whether you should buy a new computer, or upgrade your existing computer. It happens to everyone.

How do you know when it’s time?

If you meet one or more of the above scenarios – you are now in Buygrade time! The next question is – should you buy a new PC, or upgrade your current system?

Buying New vs. Upgrading

When should you buy a new computer? If the computer is 5 years or older – and it meets any of the additional scenarios above – you should buy a new computer. At this point – you’ll generally get technology that is 2 -3 generations newer than what your current PC supports.

Repairs can be costly, or they may be inexpensive. A qualified computer professional should be consulted for an estimate of the repair. Armed with this information – you are now in a position to determine if you should repair the system, or purchase a new one. More often than not, the repair can also be an upgrade at the same time. From experience, a suitable replacement component of higher capacity/speed is available at a reasonable cost. The cost of a new PC should be weighed against the cost of the repair/upgrade. You should consider what your goals or requirements for the computer for the next few years are – do you need e mail and internet access only? Do you need a highly reliable system for work? High end workstations are required for any body working with graphics & video/photo editing. With the same repair – each one of these situations would have a different outcome. It may make sense to just repair the computer for e mail & internet access, but for the work situation you may want to upgrade the memory to offer some better performance. For the graphics designer, you would probably want to purchase a higher end PC.

The newest version of your word processor just came out. You downloaded too many MP3’s & digital pictures, and now your computer does not have enough hard drive space to install the software. Maybe you can go grab a cup of coffee, catch up on the weekend gossip with your co-workers, and refill your coffee before your computer is done booting up. This is a sign that your computer is too slow. Should you upgrade the computer, or buy a new one?

Age should be considered again. If the computer is 4 years old – do you really want to repair/upgrade the machine if you were planning on replacing it in a year anyways? It might make more sense to push the new PC purchase up a year instead. If its only 3 years old, it may make more sense to upgrade. One item most people overlook when upgrading a PC – is the reliability of the rest of the hardware. Yes, you may have upgrade the RAM, Processor, and installed a second hard drive – but the power supply, motherboard, and other internal components in the machine are still 3 years old at this point. Did you really save money by upgrading instead of buying a new computer? Your 3 year old power supply is still as likely to fail as any other 3 year old power supply – so you may end up spending MORE money overall than if you purchased a brand new PC in the first place. Everyone’s scenario is different, and all of these items should be evaluated fully before making your decision when it comes to Buygrade time.

For assistance with determining whether you should repair/upgrade, or purchase new, your local qualified computer professional should be able to offer assistance and point you in the right direction for Buygrade time. Businesses may want to consult with their accountant or finance department in conjunction with their computer professional in order to determine the best investment based on the above scenarios.