How long do you expect a computer to last for business use? What I am talking about is a regular office computer, running accounting software, MSOffice, general office programs?

It just seems I'm replacing computers MUCH sooner than I normally do lately.

Thanks,
-David

This would depend on several factors, such as quality of the PC components, whether or not regular routine maintenance is performed, what programs you're using for antivirus, anti-spyware, etc.

I'm still using my 1st PC that I bought in 1996. It still has W98SE and works like a charm. Mind you, it is no longer my main PC due to it's speed limitations, etc, but it is still a great unit to back everything up to, etc.

I have changed my main PC a few times due to major malfuncions (mother board, etc) and ith the cost nowadays, it's less expensive than major repairs or major upgrades.

I was thinking of upgrading to Vista, but after hearing the horrow stories, I'll stay with XP.

The Laptop that I just bought, I had insisted on XP & got it.

For what reasons have you been changing so often?

Dave

I recommend that my network clients rotate PC's/Servers out on a 3 year basis minimum. We usually try to rotate a few out each year. That way it is not such a large capitol expense all at once.

The hardware should last at least 10 years but if you keep updating the software then the pc will need it also. My business pc is 10 years old and running 98SE and has software that won't run on newer machines. The other pc gets changed about every 3 years that has XP and current software. I am currently trying to adapt my business records from Foxpro to Access so that I can replace the older one.

10 years! Wow I don't know much of anything that will last that long!

Jeff I have some Nortel PBXs from 1983 that I originally installed that are still running today. Some of them have DOS voice mails from 1992 era still running on them. The key is maintain and don't do the "suggested updates".

Do the regular hardware maintenance (As in dust removal) and it can easily add 2+ years to the system.

I recommend to customers every 3-4 years they should upgrade. At the least, new hard drive and fans. They take the most physical abuse.

I think you summed it up there Dave.

I've had quite a few hardware failures in the last 6 months. I maintain about 45 PCs and 5 servers.

What we typically do is 3-5 years on the servers, and then purchase a new one and rotate the others down.

PCs we are upgrading 1-2 a quarter, probably average of 6 a year. So that would mean my oldest PCs are about 7.5 years old.

I was just curious what other companies typically did.

Thanks!

Quality components used in a 'conservative' configuration will last quite a while. I have OpenBSD Gateways that have been running for over 5-years with little more then a few fan replacements and dust removal. Still sporting that speedster P2-400 w/ 256-megs ram.

A quality power supply and good case cooling will be the most bang for your buck IMHO. Components will fail faster the dirtier the power and hotter the case gets.

Other then that, I usually stick to enterprise grade HD's and name brand quality hardware. My normal hardware mix is made up of: Asus Motherboards, Antec Cases, Antec SmartPower PS, Corsair memory, Seagate ES drives, nVidia/Intel Chipsets, etc. I like the motherboards with built-in video because it's one less component to worry about buying and failing.

Stuff I don't particularly care about quality on are the CD-Rom and floppy drive. If you build things right you will only need to use them once.

I also build my own boxes because the quality of most shelf-bought systems worries me.

As far as rotation goes, about once I year I call people up and sell an annual check-up where you show up with a compressed can of air and blow the computer out, check for bad fans, run SpyBot, etc. Also make recommendations for upgrades. I like to do it around christmas cause that's when most business' will have downtime for the holidays. Easy way to make a little extra change.

I'd recommend replacing all fans and HD's at least every 5 years. These are the only parts that move and will obtain the most wear. At a minimum they should be gone over in fine detail every 3 years.

The main failure point that I have found on newer PC's is the hard drives. They just do not last near as long as the older ones. What I have started doing is putting drive coolers on them, nothing fancy, just a fan to replace the bay cover. This keeps cooler air flowing over the drive and appears to extend its life quite a bit.

Drives will wear faster the hotter they get. They will also wear faster if they are too cool. There is kind of a lukewarm operating temperature where you achieve the least amount of wear. I forget the exact number but I remember it being in the 45-c range (so just above body temperature).

Also got to remember that a 3600-rpm hard drive will wear less then a 7200-rpm hard drive under the same conditions. Not to mention a 3600-rpm hard-drive was the size of a small shoebox and took like 4-amps to run.

Quality and target market have something to do with it as well. Most desktop hard-drives are designed to be cheap at all costs. The MTBF for these drives is usually rated at like 20% duty cycle. This is typically what you are going to find at CompUSA and Staples, etc.

A mid-grade SATA drive like a Seagate ES or WD Raptor are designed for light-duty enterprise usage. I've been using the Seagate ES drives since they came out and they are very reliable and perform well. I have yet to have a failure. The MTBF for this class of drive is usually in the 60% area.

High-End drives, such as SAS and SCSI, are designed for the sole purpose of high usage and availability. The MTBF is usually rated at 80-85% duty cycle and they are usually given completely different internals as the desktop line. This is also reflected in the price. These drives will usually last YEARS upon YEARS in normal usage. Even in high-use raids they are usually only rotated every 5 years.

The other thing you got to remember is that MTBF does not mean the drive will last that long. That rating means that if you replace the drive on manufacturer suggested intervals (Life Expectancy) you will have that much time before you experience an unplanned failure.

Take for instance, a drive with an MTBF of 50,000 hours and a life expectancy of 2-years (consumer desktop drive). This means that if you replace that drive every 2-years, it will take 50,000 hours (Or 5.7 years) before you experience an unplanned drive error.

The consumer/desktop grade drives are only designed for a 1 to 2 year life expectancy.

The enterprise grade drives are usually rated at 5.

Again, this is also just a "guideline". Your mileage may vary.

Dang, Kumba, I don't care what 'they' say about you, you can stay. Altho most people couldn't care less, the info in the last couple of posts is probably interesting to most regulars here. Thanks, for the info. Now, do I start thinking about building a new vista compatible, but with XP for now, unit? Or do I wait for the inevitable crash, then kick myself down to Big Box and get the shaft? Only procrastination knows! John C. (Not Garand)

I'd run XP. Vista is pretty useless. Infact it will break more things then it fixes.

I was looking up Seagate ES drives last night, and they are rated for about 40-degrees celsius.

I change all my computers(in my office) every 3 years, I default the old ones and keep them as back ups. Overkill yes, downtime, never. I find other uses for the old computers, donation, for a customer that wants an SMDR program etc.


Walter

Chances are in 3 years the computer will be so outdated that it wont run some of what you need anyways.

The only exception to this rule is a server, as they typically only run the same stuff they are initially configured with. So unless the load increases on a server or it's storage requirements increase, they are pretty static.