We're approaching the end of the year. Some of you may have the need to spend some money before the end of the year for tax reasons. Putting part of your budget into better technology is never a bad thing.


Easy Answer

Traditionally, you'll see a suggested range of every 3-5 years to buy the laptop. That's the simplest answer.

The two big factors for your decision should be 1) Do you have the money to spare? Then, 2) How is your current laptop faring?


Budget - And Valuing Your Time

If you've got room in your budget - whether you're an individual or a business - then end of year is a great time. Obviously for taxes. But also, when you see a deal - jump on it and save the laptop for configuration later in January or to give to a new employee later in the year.

Here's my biggest reminder for why you should buy a new laptop: Every glitch or slow process that happens to you on your computer is annoying. You may have gotten used to your workarounds, but those inconvenient seconds cost you when they stop your flow at work. Or problems that require a reboot probably mean it's going to be about 15-20 minutes til you realistically pick up where you left off.

If you're a business, you are definitely going to see a return on your investment in increased productivity and employee morale. You will. To the point that you might want to buy new employee laptops every 18 to 24 months. New online and app technologies require more processing power over the years, not less. So, get new and solid computers as often as you can afford. I called it an "investment" and it pays off every time.


Selecting Your New One

Don't go too cheap with this. When you scrimp on the processing speed or hard drive size, I'm telling you that is going to come back to bite you in the long run. Even more so, don't go for the cheapo brands (like Acer or Lenovo). You don't have to go "top of the line" but don't do this half-way and purchase yourself an ongoing headache.

If you don't know what your specs are, do some basic Googling. But if you're looking for your most important decision factor, go with the larger internal memory size.


Consider A Procurement Service

Here's a little plug for our partners at Procuretech. Whenever we need something new at Plannedscape, my first move is to call Kevin at Procuretech. I just tell him what my basic needs are and what my budget is and he just takes care of it. One confirmation / go-ahead call later then I usually have a laptop delivered to my house about 3-4 days after that first call.

Seriously, they (or other procurement agencies) can and do find deals that the rest of us can't find. I can't recommend them enough.


Budget Choices

What if you DON'T have money in your budget for a replacement and your computer is already glitchy and wonky? Consider reinstalling Windows and starting over. (Back EVERYTHING up in two places first, of course.)

Here's a good CNET article on the subject


Other Voices

Don't just listen to my opinion. Here are a few other sources tackling the subject and making good points:
- Business Tech Weekly
- www.ranklaptop.com
- A good Reddit post
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