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Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC?

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On Tue, 3 May 2016, Peter Flass wrote:

> Andrew Gabriel <andrew@cucumber.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>> In article <b7e57958-7814-4742-affb-cdfd233ddda6@googlegroups.com>,
>> 	hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com writes:
>>> How long do people typically keep their personal PCs?  Do people
>>> replace it  because of obsolescence/lack of power, or because
>>> it is broken*?
>>
>> Personally, as my main workhorse...
>> 486DX2/66, 1990-1997 (and came out of retirement in 2000 as a firewall).
>> Pentium 120MHz, 1997-2004.
>> Pentium 120MHz fileserver and Athlon64 desktop 2004-2007.
>> Dual core Athlon64 2007-now. (over 9 years - replacement would pay
>> for itself in enhanced power management features in a few years)
>
> You beat me, I think my old Dell is around 15 - some type of pentium.  It's
> starting to drag a bit, and XP is going away (no longer supported by M$,
> Firefox, or Chrome).  Since I have a couple of newer systems I'm trying to
> move off the old one and scrap it.  It has a floppy disk drive, and right
> now I'm working on looking through all my old floppies and seeing if
> there's anything I need to keep.
>
>>
>> Other people I end up helping out tend to use systems for a few years,
>> the last of which they'll be struggling with poor performance, lack
>> of disk space, etc, due to loading to much rubbish on to the system,
>> and having no idea how to sort it out (Windows).
>> Easiest way for them is to go and buy a new system at that point.
>
> I decided some time ago that it isn't worth trying to upgrade an old
> system.  Adding a bigger or faster disk, for example, won't make up for a
> slow old CPU, lack of USB ports, limited memory, etc.  It's better, and
> usually cheaper, just to buy new.
>
For a long time, I was just dragging home fairly trailing edge computers, 
so all the computer books I found at used book sales either were "current" 
or in anticipation of me finding a more advanced old computer.

But then I jumped a bit, in 2001, and ever since I've tended to toss the 
oldest when something "new" comes in, well I mean generic IBM PC type 
computer.  The classic stuff, my KIM-1 and OSI SUperboard and some Radio 
Shack computers, they'll not be tossed, they are different enough to 
warrant keeping.

But I just got my first dual-core computer last month (though that 200MHz 
Pentium I got in mid-2001 to run Linux had a socket for a second CPU), in 
the form of two ten year old laptops.  Fairly decent specs, and small.

But I've been planning to splurge on something "better" for a couple of 
years, undecided about what refurbished computer to get.  A workstation 
would be nice, but the ones I've seen use old CPUs that are current hogs, 
a bit much for me, even though the price is right and lots of ram. But 
thinking of getting something better, that will clear out some junk. 
Anyway, I think there's a balance point.  I have spare SATA drives, but 
nothing to run them on yet.  But while it's tempting to stop fussing and 
just buy at Best Buy or something, that means less space for expansion, 
and maybe no more serial and parallel ports built in.  So refurbished or 
used means getting something decent but old enough that it includes such 
features.  I'd rather like a computer with PS/2 ports, since I have a 
trackball that only does PS/2.

   Michael

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Thread

Typical service life of residential and business PC? hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com - 2016-03-09 16:00 -0800
  Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? "Osmium" <r124c4u102@comcast.net> - 2016-03-09 19:07 -0600
  Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? "Sam Crean" <sg55443@gmail.com> - 2016-03-10 12:31 +1100
  Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? Stephen Sprunk <stephen@sprunk.org> - 2016-03-09 21:38 -0600
    Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> - 2016-03-10 04:13 +0000
  Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? timcaffrey420@gmail.com - 2016-03-09 19:58 -0800
  Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? Jon Elson <elson@pico-systems.com> - 2016-03-09 22:29 -0600
  Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? Dave Garland <dave.garland@wizinfo.com> - 2016-03-09 22:30 -0600
    Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> - 2016-03-10 02:07 -0400
  Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? Stan Barr <plan.b@bluesomatic.org> - 2016-03-10 08:20 +0000
    Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? Morten Reistad <first@last.name.invalid> - 2016-03-10 14:31 +0100
  Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? Bob Eager <news0006@eager.cx> - 2016-03-10 08:22 +0000
    Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? Stan Barr <plan.b@bluesomatic.org> - 2016-03-10 17:02 +0000
      Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? Walter Banks <walter@bytecraft.com> - 2016-03-10 14:10 -0500
      Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? Lawrence Statton NK1G <lawrence@senguio.mx> - 2016-03-10 14:43 -0600
        Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? Stan Barr <plan.b@bluesomatic.org> - 2016-03-11 08:14 +0000
  Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? Stephen Wolstenholme <steve@easynn.com> - 2016-03-10 09:21 +0000
  Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? Ahem A Rivet's Shot <steveo@eircom.net> - 2016-03-10 10:22 +0000
    Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? Morten Reistad <first@last.name.invalid> - 2016-03-10 15:19 +0100
  Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? Morten Reistad <first@last.name.invalid> - 2016-03-10 11:02 +0100
    Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? Peter Flass <peter_flass@yahoo.com> - 2016-03-10 06:30 -0700
  Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? Joe Makowiec <makowiec@invalid.invalid> - 2016-03-10 14:47 +0000
  Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? Mark Storkamp <mstorkamp@yahoo.com> - 2016-03-10 09:01 -0600
    Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? Jon Elson <elson@pico-systems.com> - 2016-03-11 21:49 -0600
  Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? Walter Banks <walter@bytecraft.com> - 2016-03-10 14:12 -0500
  Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? Jan van den Broek <fortytwo@xs4all.nl> - 2016-05-02 09:51 +0100
  Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? andrew@cucumber.demon.co.uk (Andrew Gabriel) - 2016-05-03 20:40 +0000
    Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? Peter Flass <peter_flass@yahoo.com> - 2016-05-03 17:40 -0400
      Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> - 2016-05-03 23:03 -0400
      Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) - 2016-05-04 12:54 +0000
        Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? Peter Flass <peter_flass@yahoo.com> - 2016-05-04 10:08 -0400
    Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? pechter@pechter.net (William Pechter) - 2016-05-04 20:36 +0000
  Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? jhhaynes@earthlink.net - 2016-05-03 19:53 -0700
    Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? Jon Elson <jmelson@wustl.edu> - 2016-05-04 14:42 -0500
    Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? "J. Clarke" <j.clarke.873638@gmail.com> - 2016-05-04 22:43 -0400
      Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> - 2016-05-05 08:37 +0000
        Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? Lawrence Statton NK1G <lawrence@senguio.mx> - 2016-05-05 13:26 -0500
          Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> - 2016-05-05 20:13 +0000
          Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? Morten Reistad <first@last.name.invalid> - 2016-05-06 14:09 +0200
            Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? mausg@mail.com - 2016-05-06 19:42 +0000
              Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? Morten Reistad <first@last.name.invalid> - 2016-05-07 02:42 +0200
        Re: Typical service life of residential and business PC? pechter@pechter.net (William Pechter) - 2016-05-09 22:53 +0000

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