Solved Why is my computer "old" ?

[goedelite]

Recently, I was told that I have an old computer. I bought my Dell Inspiron 660s in June, 2013. I paid then $350. plus tax. When I make such a large purchase, I expect it to be as functional now as for the tasks I performed three years ago. Happily, that seems to be the case so far. My last computer served me well for almost eight years. For its last few years, the OS was Windows XP. Finally, the motherboard failed. Nothing lasts forever. I shall be disappointed if my Dell does not serve me equally well. I have better things to do with my money than buy a computer every three years!

 

[bigmck]

You don't list what the CPU is. It is probably an Intel i3 or i5. If that is correct, you PC is not out of date. It is three years old and not as fast as newer ones but it is still a good functioning computer.

 

[Layback Bear]

From post #1

Recently, I was told that I have an old computer.

Who told you that and what was their reasoning for that statement?

Is their something you are asking your computer to do that it can't do?

 

[AddRAM]

Your PC is 3 years old, some might consider that old and some might not, some of us here change parts yearly and sometimes in as little as 6 months.

But we are freaks, and this is our hobby

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi and welcome to SevenForums,
Yep got to love those mini towers
Have an Acer about the same but tweaked just a tad after having it for 6 years
I agree there is something wrong with us
http://www.sevenforums.com/pc-custo...52-modifing-old-desktop-machine-new-case.html

Keep it clean inside and you never know how long it will last

 

[OvenMaster]

I sympathize with goedelite. I remember reading an article on a computer website a while back that opined that a 3 year old computer was old, and a 5 year old computer was considered an obsolete museum piece. Compared to 10-15 years ago, computers today just aren't evolving as fast. Now it's just incremental improvements.

Marketing hype is everything. Just gotta have the very latest or you're not cool or hip or whatever the kids say today.

 

[AddRAM]

I have a 2007 Gateway GT5404 Vista PC running W10 just fine, I maxed everything out and put 10 on a ssd, and it boots up within 10 seconds.

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Yea machines now days are pretty much considered disposable like cell phones
To be recycled every year or 2

 

[TechnoMage2016]

Au contraire Mon Fraire!

My own hobby, now that I've retired from full time computer service, is finding old PC's that nobody wants anymore and refurbishing them and giving them away to needy souls. Right now, I have 18 computers, in house. I just gave away a Toshiba laptop, built in 2005, running Windows 8.1 pro. It's a good performer.

I have several more desktops that I will probably never dispose of. My oldest is one that I built for myself back in ~2000. Yup, that was 16 years ago. This past summer I tore it down and repainted the basic frame, and then refinished the case. Today it's running Windows 7 Ultimate and doing a great job.
Oh, I did replace the motherboard back somewhere around 2006.

Three years old? It's not even broke in yet. But any computer can get a real performance boost by maxing out the RAM and replacing the old spinner (Hard Drive) with a new SSD. (Solid State Hard Drive) And in the case of a desktop PC, the Video Card can be upgraded too.

Cheers Mate!
TechnoMage

 

[Layback Bear]

As long as my computers do the things I want them to do, they are not to old.

The system in my specs build was started 11/1/2013; I don't think I will be tossing it out any time soon.

 

[strollin]

I don't consider a computer purchased 3 years ago as "old", anymore than I consider $350 a "large" purchase.

I know we all have different economic situations but in the world of computers, $350 is not a large purchase. I paid $2500 for my first computer back in 1984 as well as $500 for my first 20MB hard drive in 1986. I'm sure there are many people on this forum that paid more than $350 for the video card they have in their system. Rather than look at how much something cost outright, it may make more sense to look at how much it cost you monthly. So far, your system is 36 months old, doing the math, $350/36=$9.72/month cost. If you get an additional 36 months out of it, the cost will drop to $350/72=$4.86/month.

Regardless of what it cost, as long as it can still do the job you bought it for, it will never be too old.

 

[bigmck]

I don't consider a computer purchased 3 years ago as "old", anymore than I consider $350 a "large" purchase.

I know we all have different economic situations but in the world of computers, $350 is not a large purchase. I paid $2500 for my first computer back in 1984 as well as $500 for my first 20MB hard drive in 1986.

Those systems in the 80's cost like they were made of gold. I recall when HDD's finally got below a "dollar a MB", it was a big deal. The first PC I had built was a 386SX with a 16 meghz cpu and was $1300.

 

[genetics73]

As long as ... do the things I want them to do, they are not to old... I don't think I will be tossing it out any time soon.

These are the exact words I said to my wife.

 

[cornemuse]

Someone who pedals 'new' computers sez they're old,
Someone who pedals 'new' software sez they're old,
Someone with an 'old' computer that does what they want, & does it well, sez, "So what?"

-c-

 

[FerchogtX]

Well... my desktop dates from 2006, you can see specs in my profile. Works like a charm, mom is happy and can do all the stuff she wants with it, it even runs Photoshop CS6 64 bit without problems; Firefox runs smootly (e10s enabled) and multimedia is smooth too.

My laptop is 2009ish, more or less, runs Photoshop CS6 64 Bit, Office 2016 64 bit, Firefox with e10s, Chrome, all HTML5 is hardware accelerated and I really don't have problems with anything, I've got even OpenGL games and engines that run smooth with no lag.

Whoever says my systems are old, wants either to drain money from my pocket, or is a big troll. Yes, newer systems are faster, but my current updated software runs, I don't need a new system, just until developers decide it's time to raise system requirements just for the sake of doing so...