When to Upgrade your Hardware

This can be a tough question. If you’re like me and seeing all the new and different things that come out nearly every day, you have to exercise EXTREME vigilance in controlling your ability to click your mouse over the “buy now” button. There are legitimate reasons to upgrade your hardware, not just because you want to, although that is why I have subscribed to every once and a while. That being said, if you are looking for a reason to upgrade your tech, I have a few that you may want to consider to get the latest gadget.

1) Your current tech breaks – I have to start with the easiest way to know if you need to upgrade your tech. This can be easy to spot. If the thing you’re using doesn’t work anymore, it might be broken. I say “might” because there are circumstances where a device isn’t working but isn’t broken. If it needs charging, if the batteries need to be replaced, or a Bluetooth connection has been lost are great examples of this. I’m talking about the kind of thing if there are major cracks in a screen, bits fall off or are broken off, or if connectors are broken beyond repair and cannot be replaced. If something is legitimately broken, and you need it, upgrading it is a no brainer.

2) What you are working with is old – This is something that is more geared towards the main devices (like computers, phones and tablets), less so for the ancillary devices like Keyboards, mice and monitors. There are a couple of reasons why age can be a limiting factor in your computer’s life cycle. First of all, when you purchase a piece of technology, the hardware aspect of the technology itself is not easily upgradable. Physical upgrades are possible but can be costly or require more work than you’re probably willing to put into it. The second reason that Older hardware needs to be replaced is that the infrastructure and software around your piece of technology (the internet, mainly) are continuously upgrading itself. The software that your hardware was designed for initially may not be in use in a few years. Think about it like this, if the programs you’re running when you buy your computer only require 1 GB of your hard drive when you buy it, then you can run those programs if you have at least 1Gb of RAM on your hard drive. If your programs get updates and then require 5GB of RAM on your hard drive, and you only have 2 GB total… you won’t be able to use your computer properly. These upgrades and changes that happen around your computer are the reasons why age is a significant factor in your decision to upgrade your hardware.

3) The other ones look cooler – Yeah, I know this isn’t a great reason to upgrade your hardware, but what can I say? Every once and a while, there will be certain things that come to your attention that seem like a good thing to get. One of the first Mac’s that I purchased was a Mac book air. It worked great; frankly (as of this posting), it still does. A couple of years after I bought my computer, the Mac Book Pro came out. It was fancier, more powerful and had some cooler features than my laptop. I was drawn in, and so I bought one. It was a great purchase, and I used the Pro until it got worn down a few years after that. Upgrading for the cooler toys can be worth it, but I would advise not doing it all the time. That would get expensive.

Upgrading your hardware can be tricky. If you get drawn in by every new thing, it could mean that you’re continually buying new stuff. What you need to consider is creating a schedule (even if it’s flexible) that will let you know when you need to upgrade your tech. I tend to purchase a new computer around every four years and a new phone every two or three. giving myself this general timeline makes it so that while the new stuff is coming out nearly constantly, I’m not tempted to go out and buy everything that looks cool. `

How often do you upgrade your tech?

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