how often do you replace your laptop?
 

Mine is about 3y now, and its struggling running recent software.

Time for a change? Or am I just being dpoiled? ;-)

You're just being spoiled. Make sure it has the latest & greatest updates for stuff that's running all the time (Windows, Flash, AV, etc.). Make sure to uninstall software you aren't using anymore.

If it seems a little sluggish, you may want to consider an OS reinstall (though that can be pretty painful, even if you have the original recovery disk). Another option to look at is perhaps upgrading RAM, or upgrading from a rotating disk to SSD.

Depending on the specs. My laptop is 2.5years old and is still going good. I haven't reinstalled the OS (yet) but all my software is up to date. Only thing I may replace is my battery as its at 15% wear, but I may hold off till it gets to 20%

This what I've been thinking about doing for the past few months. Keep putting it off because of the "pain" involved. :)

4-5 years? I replace when it dies on me.

If it doesn't already have one, get an SSD. And maybe some more memory.

Then re-install the OS (regardless of whether you got an SSD or not).

And you won't know that you don't have a new computer!!

how often do you replace your laptop?
 

my lappy is a sony vaio x, 128ssd, 2gb ram, atom z530 1.6ghz

dont think I coulf upgrade much in there

I've managed to avoid the whole OS reinstallation issue by keeping it relatively "pure," installing only basic office productivity software in the host OS and all of my development environments, VPN clients, testing tools, etc. in virtual machines. Not only does it keep the laptop running well, it makes migrating to a new model a breeze. All of my VMs get copied over and I'm pretty much ready to go.

Z530 is 6yrs old http://ark.intel.com/products/35463/...Hz-533-MHz-FSB And the machine itself appeared to come out in late 2009.

At the time, it looks like the specs put it at a high end netbook/low end laptop.

Still, I'm not sure what recent software (other than games) would be straining the CPU. Lots of multitasking?

It is pretty much an old netbook. If you look at the cpu benchmark on z530, it is listed at 281. My 4 years old i7 laptop is benchmarked at 5800+. The newer 8" tablets with atom process are mostly over 1000 in cpu benchmark.

So yeah I think it is time for you to buy a new one. You could turn your old netbook into some kind of media device for the TV. That's what my bother did with his old netbook.. install XBMC on it an connected it to the TV. It was fast enough to stream 720p videos.

Not a benchmark/index/score chaser on hardware - somebody out there always managed to get a better/faster mouse trap. For my needs, as long as I'm satisfied with the OS, which is mostly Win7 Pro/Ultimate and updated with the latest drivers/patch & Apps to run on, and there's at least 2 or 3 GB of memory and a good HDD, I'm good. Mod'd the Media Bay on 5 years old Dell Latitude with SSD card for a little extra boost, keeping the "junkware" out & clean, and it's fine for a while. Only the Intel wireless card got replaced (G to N)

As for replacing it, not planning to happen - got another (older & light) Dell Latitude running Linux Mint for "play" at home (optional - docking station for desktop use and 22" HDTV for multimedia :D) Both Dells had its OEM batteries and 1 set of DIY hinges replaced.

It helps as the HDD were partitioned so it's easy to reinstall the OS & to run a full backup overnight to external drive first - only time consuming when not viewed as a weekend project while "grounded".

Almost forgot, 2 years old 11.6" Sony Viao, optimized for travel with (downgraded from Win8.x to W7U 64 bit, upgraded 8GB memory & 750 HDD re-partitioned (SSD upgrade planned) w. USB 3.0 & HDMI out, etc. A faster notebook will only yield marginal gains as it's not for gaming & graphics, and perfect when sitting in Y without an upgrade.

My Toshiba satellite (i5, 6gb ram) is about 5 years old ...I would love to keep it if I could figure out why it is just shutting down intermittently.

My research suggests that the fan needs cleaning. Will get that done if it is under $100 to hang on to this laptop.

Buy a can of compressed air, unscrew the access panels on the bottom of your laptop (keep track of all of the screws), find the fan, and blow the compressed air at it. I would recommend doing this outside.

I would change my laptop every two years religiously, but I've been hanging on to this Lenovo ThinkPad for three years. Really don't want to get rid of it. Battery is dead, rubber parts have fallen off, but it still runs smooth as silk (and can handle Fallout 3 and Bioshock Infinite :cool:).

I used to replace them every 2-3 years but now that the tech is pretty stable I usually keep them until they die. My previous MBP lasted 4 years and my current one is just under three. Unless something happens to it I figure a 2GHz quad i7 with 16GB RAM should last me quite awhile. Once 1TB SSDs drop a bit more I'll probably replace the internal drive with one.