Lifespan of a Computer?


If you want a laptop with good quality I would recommend a Thinkpad, or a Panasonic Tough book (if you have the money)
 
It's relatively easy to diagnose a computer that has gone tits up if you have spare hardware to swap around.


CPU's seem to be the most reliable of all components. I have only ever seen one CPU go bad, and it wasn't even mine but I diagnosed it. Hard drives seem to be the most susceptible to being screwed up (part of this is from being jarred), following up with video cards, motherboards, power supplies and RAM.


I was transporting one of my computers around one day and was trying to get out the front door with it. The door was about to shut so I reached for it with one arm, but my other arm couldn't keep the computer case stabilized and it dropped and hit the floor a mere one foot. The hard drives were butchered and never worked again.


Of course this will vary from person to person.


In my experience the most problematic thing to diagnose is a bad power supply. And when a power supply goes out (or rather, in this scenario, dying but still powering up), it can take the RAM and other components along with it which makes it initially look like a different problem than what it truly is. Really a pain in the ass.


Another laptop vote goes for Toshiba. My wife got a Core 2 Duo based Satellite several years ago and that damn thing is on 24/7 and hasn't skipped a beat.
 
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I've never had a computer die except for one's that were having problems from the get go. I've had HD fail, but never had any other computer part fail after it is a few years old. I've ruined parts before, before the heat shield/spreader what ever it is was over the CPU dies I've cracked a few putting the cooler on but now they have that hunk of metal over them so that is pretty much impossible. I have capacitors go bad also, but the motherboards that had that problem had problems from the get go.


Also, I've never had a console or handheld die on me, ever. On my Nomad the contrast wheel broke and I could have fixed it but never did.


Consider this, 99.9% of why people THINK computers break: they use MS windows. A new version comes out, the aging computer won't run it, MS stops supporting the version it does have, and it repeatedly crashes. I get old 'broken' computer all the time that I just install Linux on and they work fine, lots faster then they were with windows. Also, if you don't use windows and don't play high end games computers can last for 20 years. Computers that have PCI slots can still be used with broadband internetnet, just get a PCI Ethernet card. I mean seriously, it is in MS's best interest if your 'computer' breaks and you have to buy a new one to pay for their new shiny OS, and they make sure that their new shiny OS won't run on the computer you have now.


Saying that I'm in the upgrade cycle because I encode video and like the smell of a new motherboard. However, all my old PCs are donated to families that can't afford a PC so I don't feel so bad about the upgrade cycle.


EDIT: Oh, I've had the magic smoke escape from a few power supplies also, but those too are easily replaceable.
 
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Another laptop vote goes for Toshiba. My wife got a Core 2 Duo based Satellite several years ago and that damn thing is on 24/7 and hasn't skipped a beat.
My friend got a cheap Satellite something like 2 or 3 years ago now, it's the one with the broken screen, dead USB ports, and was completely unable to boot for a week because apparently it hates him.


His mom projects some kind of EMP field that breaks electronics.


The moral of the story is, don't trust anecdotal evidence. But if you do, I have a Dell that only broke during its warranty and now works fine, my mom has two that work fine, and my brother's Dell worked okay until the screen / screen cable gradually gave out from too much opening and closing, when it was like 6 years old. It probably still runs.
 
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My friend got a cheap Satellite something like 2 or 3 years ago now, it's the one with the broken screen, dead USB ports, and was completely unable to boot for a week because apparently it hates him.


His mom projects some kind of EMP field that breaks electronics.


The moral of the story is, don't trust anecdotal evidence. But if you do, I have a Dell that only broke during its warranty and now works fine, my mom has two that work fine, and my brother's Dell worked okay until the screen / screen cable gradually gave out from too much opening and closing, when it was like 6 years old. It probably still runs.

I currently have a Pentium II 400 (Asus P2B) powered on since the middle of 1998, only a few power outages and upgrading hard drives have stopped it for a short periods of time. Since back then the processor alone cost me $1100 dollars, I need to get my moneys worth out of it.
 
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A couple years ago I found out that computers in fact have a set lifespan. This includes the Pandora and video game consoles. What if I fall in love with my Pandora as I did my Gameboy and my Gamegear? What happens when the CPU or other chips die? Is there a way to repair them or video game consoles for that matter?
Depends on how many are sold and what your budget is.


I'd assume, that apart from some kind of mishap it'll usually be something mechanic that dies first. Hinge, LCD cable, nubs, keyboards and buttons are obvious candidates (plus battery, of course). So if the pandora team offers components at some time in the future, stock up on a few of those. Or just wait and pick up a used unit or two in a couple of years.


On the other hand - while I still miss my Psion S3 (where I actually bought a second one), and the Zodiac (works, but no touchscreen is kinda bad on that one), now I'm waiting for the pandora to arrive. So usually there'll be something new anyway if the system keeps working for long enough.


All in all, electronics are rather long-lived if run within specs (except maybe certain components like capacitors), even mobile: My 1989 Atari Portfolio still works. On the other end of the scale, the sun3/260, which is about as old as the Portfolio, does run too (but uses lots of power).


Of course I have no idea how stuff produced today will fare in 20 years time...
 
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