As we discussed in the first blog post often early Millennials are considered the “Upgrade Generation.” Technology quickly advanced during our youth and young adult hood. It was and is still the case that new models of computers, tablets, and phones come out every year like clockwork. But despite that usually the tech we are replacing works fine. W are programmed to give into the hype and upgrade our devices every 18 to 24 months in the case of smart phones. So how often do we really need to upgrade to a newer computer? Moores Law states that the number of transistors on an integrated circuit will double every year, exponentially making computers faster indefinitely. However, it seems that this trend is starting to slow and level off. We are not seeing monumental leaps in technology from model year to model year. Rather we are getting more features added, better screens, better software, less headphone jacks and computer ports. We as consumers get caught up in this idea that we need the latest and greatest and that what we have just simply will not work for us any longer. I am guilty of it myself. The realization of the fallacy struck me a couple years ago. My sister in law needed a laptop for her final year of high school. Having no budget, going out and buying the newly introduced MacBook was not an option. Fortunately my wife still had her 2007 Core 2 Duo MacBook stashed away in a dusty cover of a closet. I plugged in the now 10 year old computer and it booted up perfectly fine. I checked the specs for max RAM capabilities with Apple and found I could double the RAM to a whopping 4GB (No thats not a lot by todays standard, more on that later). The battery was a bit tired but still held a charge. Plugged in, cleaned up, new RAM, and the most current operating system it could run the old MacBook was back in business. This old computer made for a great netbook. It would surf the web (limited number of tabs), write in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and even and most importantly play Netflix. I was pretty impressed. It served her though her final year of school and eventually she got the MacBook. I am writing this blog on my 2013 MacBook Pro Retina 13 inch. I have debated upgrading it every time a new model comes out but to what end. It does everything I ask of it and does it well despite being 5 years old which is like a million tech years to kids now. Like I said my computer does everything I need it to do and it can still receive crucial security updates. So when should you replace your computer if as you now know the older ones work just fine? You’re computer needs to efficiently run the applications and programs that you rely upon. If you are a video editor and render 4k video for example you will probably need a new computer every 2 years at the most. If you are a college student watching Netflix and typing in Word or Pages then you should be good for all 4-6 years of undergrad and maybe even grad school. Macs in particular have a program called Activity Monitor. You can use this program to gauge how well your computer is handling its tasks. Older MacBooks can be upgraded with new Ram and Solid State Hard Drives, newer models are stuck as you bought them. Probably more importantly you need to be running supported software, for both applications and your operating system. According to HIPAA guidelines for security reasons operating systems should be no older than two generations. Keeping your computer up to date with security firmware will help prevent unwanted access to your files and personal information. That 2007 MacBook would not be a good device to do banking on for example as it has no protection against newer security threats. To wrap this all up, at this point in time the only reason to upgrade to a newer model computer is if you want more performance, your machine is too old to do what you need it to, or if it is broken. Other than that its okay to use what you have. Computers are still relatively expensive. The longer you keep your computer the great your Return On Investment becomes. Thanks for sticking through another long winded blog. Let us know what you are using and how old it is? We’d love to hear from you.
2 Comments
Jason Vaden
5/18/2018 06:18:39 pm
I use a desktop as my cpu. My current tower is 3 yrs old. I’m running an I7 processor with 32gbs of ram. An nvidia 1080 card (the TI version was an additional $250 and I wasn’t spending that lol). I am running a Samsung 34” uw monitor and a 27” benq gaming monitor as my second monitor. I just upgrade parts as needed every couple years but I’m hoping my current setup can run video games for the next five years.
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Tyler
5/18/2018 06:27:17 pm
That’s an awesome set up! What are you doing with it? Gaming?
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AuthorI am an everyday person who has a passion for technology. I am not a technology guru but rather a everyday user of technology. #techwithtyler is focused on technology that is used by everyday non tech people. I hope to pass along my knowledge to help you better live with and through todays technology. Archives
April 2020
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