The first and foremost question which comes to mind while buying any laptop is, How long do laptops last? Whether we plan for a consumer laptop, business laptop, or a gaming one, the first concern is always life.
Usually, the laptops we buy have different life as per price, specifications, and their use. We all want our favorite laptops to last more and love to stick to them. So, let’s continue to explore laptop life factors.
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Average Laptop Life
When we talk about average laptop life, how long do laptops last? It is neither fixed nor can be. It is just an estimate by researchers. Researchers found that laptops in the price range under $700 last 2-3 years. Those in the price range between $700 and $1000 last 3-5 years. Laptops with a price range over $1000 last around 5-7 years.
Apart from this, there is a cap on this price-to-life equation. Researchers say if we go beyond $1500 laptops. The maximum life range does not increase with the increase in its value.
Some laptops are even beyond $3000. Few cost up to $5000 or $6000. But the life of those also is the same as that of a $1500 laptop.
Laptop Life Depends On
There are certain things on which a laptop’s life depends. The life of laptops does not depend on any single factor. Several factors are affecting a laptop’s life.
Type of Laptop
The very first thing which matters is what is the type of laptop. Laptops have three main types based on their use.
Consumer Laptops
These are laptops made for general purpose use and usually for the home purposes like simple software and basic functionality. These types of laptops have the lowest life span among these types. These are laptops with fewer hardware specifications as they are low-cost.
Business Laptops
These are laptops made for business purposes to enhance productivity and efficiency on software and company-specific tools. These types of laptops have comparatively more life span than consumer laptops but less than gaming ones. These are laptops with a medium configuration specially developed for business and having security at its best. These costs are moderate and are often available with a good warranty.
Gaming Laptops
These are laptops made for gaming purposes or high-end use. Video editing, 3d works, and even the heaviest and dedicated software can run on these. These laptops have the maximum life span among these types. These laptops come with the best specification available with the best hardware specifications as they cost heavily.
Type of Use
The second biggest factor life of any laptop depends on is how extensively and carefully it is used. For example, if you use a business laptop only for videos and entertainment, it will last long. But if you play 4k or 3d on it, this pressurizes the hardware and software and lowers the life.
Similarly, if you do just business work like excel, word, presentations, and a few simple software on a gaming laptop, it will last very long. But if you use it for gaming, especially high-end ones, it will lower its overall life.
Few More Factors
There are several other small but essential factors that decide how long do laptops last?. We usually do not care, think much about them. But for a long-lasting life, it needs care. These few small but critical factors are
Battery
We always have a myth that the battery has nothing to do with its life. But in reality, it has a direct impact. When the battery is low else battery life is about to end, it affects the laptop performance. In such a case, the laptop prevents working as efficiently as it does. Also, sometimes faulty battery results in destabilizing of laptop processes leading to lags and other such problems.
Heat Dissipation
It is the most important factor among these, the amount of heat generated by laptops. The more heat it produces, the slower it will work and will turn off automatically above a specific temperature to protect itself. Heat also degrades its overall life by giving extra pressure on hardware and software to control heat.
Cooling Fan
We all this mistake usually, we buy a laptop and keep using it forever. We do no cleaning, no dust removal, nothing. When the fan accumulates dirt, the fan starts to work slower and throws less heat outside. It lowers down performance and life.
Now, another big question which comes to mind is, how to decide or understand, that laptop is about to end. We are not talking about a broken screen, black screen, or short circuit.
We are talking concerning our use. The first thing is if a laptop is still working for whatever purpose you need it, it still has life. When it fails to do the necessary work, it is gone, even if you had bought it just six months ago.
Excessive heat, fairly loud cooling fan noise, crashing of programs, and frequent turning off are the main indications that your laptop is about to end and needs a replacement.
Tips: While buying a new laptop, try picking a new specification laptop with the latest possible generation of processors, coupled with maximum RAM, and go for SSD as a storage option.
These things will maximize their life and its good use for a long time and stop worrying about how long do laptops last?
Also, buy a cooling pad if possible and use it in a cool room.