Making Your Computer Last, Configuring a Long-Haul Computer Box

In the days of old people would keep computers as long as 5 years or longer. However these days a new computer barely gets past 3 years before needing replacement – or so it seems.

You can easily get 5 years out of a computer if you buy it correctly the first time.

In fact, you most likely already own a computer that you can get a few more years out of.

The PC Itself

When buying a PC, the best option is to go “upper mid-range”.

If you buy low-end, this is not smart because PCs in this segment are designed to be throw-away, i.e. you have very limited methods of upgrading. Lower end boxes may only have a single RAM slot, not enough room to add in another hard drive, and so on.

If you buy high-end, you never truly get your money’s worth out of it. Sure, maybe you spent a cool $2000 (or more) for it, but what you paid for is wasted for what you could have upgraded for less.

Mid-range to upper mid-range is the sweet spot, so to speak. These are the boxes that have the most ability to be upgraded and last several years.

Your upgrade options fall under the following categories:

Case

Larger cases have room to fit in extra stuff. “Slim” cases, while nice for a smaller form factor, can be a nightmare to work with if you ever have to crack one open.

Video card

The video card should be just that, a card, and not integrated. This means the card can be removed and upgraded if need be.

Hard drive

You will inevitably run out of space and/or come to a point where the hard drive is going to fail, so you will need to either add one in or replace it eventually.

Processor

You should have a computer where the processor can be removed and upgraded to a better/faster one if need be. Computers with integrated “permanent” processors (such as laptops) are doomed to an early grave because that component cannot be removed.

Power Supply

The power supply, a.k.a the PSU, should be able to be easily removed and replaced if need be. Usually what happens with PSUs is that the fans stop working after a while and makes horrible screeching noises. In that situation the best thing to do is just replace the PSU outright. Fortunately it’s a simple job.

RAM

RAM hardly ever fails, so it’s not the failure of RAM you want to watch out for, it’s the physical slots you have to add RAM. You want to try to get a box that has a bare minimum of two RAM slots. The more you have, the better. But never have less than two.

Up next, we’ll discuss how to get a proper computer box whether buying or building and what to shop for.