Computer Repair & Replacement Statistics
Information Based on Personal Experience
and guided by Statistical Principles
The approximate lifespan of an office
administrative computer (purchased new) is 4.5 years, give or take about a half
of a year.
The lifetime of a cluster of new computers
could be viewed as a statistical "bell curve" (left).
Based on normal statistical averages, your
budget should expect that:
- Approximately 3% of your new computers will need replacement or parts replaced within 3.5 years.
- An additional 13% will likely need replacement or replacement parts within 4 years.
- Within 4.5 years a total of half of your computers will probably need replacement or repairs.
- After 4.5 years the computers will begin to become obsolete and will become more likely to fail or slow down significantly. The recommended action is to replace, rather than repair machines after the 4.5 year mark.
- By 5 years an additional 34% (Now totaling 84%) of your machines will fail, slow down or become obsolete.
- By 5.5 years a total of 95% will need replacement.
- Within 6.5 years you can expect to have replaced most or all of your machines.
Interesting Points
- Desktop computers
are tending to become cheaper with each passing year. Although you probably
wouldn't describe the price reduction as "significant", it is
measurable enough to slightly affect the bottom line. If one could determine
the rate of price decline for a pc, they could factor this in to budget
projections.
-
The lifetime of a PC can be extended
with occasional "cleaning". Having a repair person remove the dust
every 3 to 6 months is helpful. An additional consideration is to have an air
filtration machine present in smaller rooms with expensive and important
computer hardware (especially in smaller, enclosed rooms)
-
Laptop computers have been
comparatively steady in price. We are not likely to see a significant reduction
in laptop prices in the next 5 years. Laptops have a shorter lifespan, due to
heat issues. Their life can be extended a good amount with proper care.
-
Many users are not aware of how a
laptop should be properly handled. (For example, if you have a laptop running
on a bedspread, it traps heat in causing wear and tear on the components,
slowing performance and leading to eventual permanent damage.) Although it
would seem obvious to some, a little bit of education could go a long way when
it comes to the health of a computer.
- The statistics cover an unchanging set of computers. If computers were purchased in batches only, this would be a very accurate measurement. As they are often repaired or replaced as they are needed, only a handful of computers are purchased at a time, creating some disconnection between the math and the reality.
