\n<\/p>\n
S<\/span>o you want a new laptop. Of course you do. Everybody always does, except for perhaps during that short honeymoon period after you\u2019ve just bought one. But the glamour wears off, technology marches on, and before you know it, a newer, younger, more powerful model is wandering into your thoughts.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not here to judge, but as a technology specialist I can share a few thoughts that might help you fight the urge to upgrade.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s start with the basics: the No 1 reason not to buy a new laptop is that you don\u2019t need one. We\u2019ve grown accustomed to living in an age where technology gets faster every time you turn around, but the jobs we\u2019re actually doing on our laptops are evolving at a much more timid pace. Many of us spend 99% of our computing time using just a handful of apps \u2013 a web browser, a conferencing app, a word processor, and possibly a spreadsheet or presentation app.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re looking for a new laptop because you\u2019re having to do all of the above on a lousy screen, or with a clunky keyboard, then you might have a point \u2013 we\u2019ll come to that later on. But if your head is being turned by faster processors and bigger SSDs, hold fire: do you really think you\u2019ll get your reports written any faster because you\u2019re typing them on a Core Ultra 5 processor rather than an old i3? Worry about your own productivity before scapegoating the poor computer.<\/p>\n Outdated connectors aren\u2019t an excuse either. Your laptop may not have the latest USB ports or wifi hardware, but the wonderful thing about modern standards is that they\u2019re stupendously backward- and forward-compatible. You don\u2019t need a new laptop to pair with your sparkly new wifi 7 router \u2013 the wifi 5 card in your current one will work just fine (although a Windows update will still take ages). And any USB peripheral can be plugged into any USB port, dating all the way back to 1996 \u2013 as long as you have the right cable or adaptor.<\/p>\n <\/span>Laptops feature a lot of environmentally costly materials.<\/span> Photograph: Bloomberg\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Let\u2019s also acknowledge that not buying a new laptop saves you money. A grand or more for a high-spec model is a lot to spend, but if you tell yourself it\u2019s a long-term investment it somehow feels justifiable. But this doesn\u2019t mean the money can\u2019t be better spent elsewhere.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re looking at replacing your laptop because there\u2019s something wrong with it, you might be able to save money by getting it repaired. Sadly it\u2019s not always feasible, largely thanks to the trend towards factory-sealed devices and soldered-in components, but do look into it, as a busted laptop can sometimes be restored to a quasi-pristine state for a third of the price of buying a new one.<\/p>\n Another reason you might hesitate to decommission your existing laptop is that it takes a lot of environmentally costly materials to build a new one, and there\u2019s a further ecological cost in safely disposing of your old one.<\/p>\n Finally, once you do plonk a shiny new laptop down on your desk, you will probably spend the following days and weeks hunting down all the different bits of software and drivers that you need to reinstall, and working through endless settings and preferences to get the thing working the way you like \u2013 which is to say, the way you already had your old one working.<\/p>\n <\/span>Hardware upgrades can give your laptop a new lease of life.<\/span> Photograph: baona\/Getty Images\/iStockphoto<\/p>\n If you do decide to give your laptop another chance, there are things you can do to make your working relationship more harmonious. If you\u2019re irritated by endless pop-ups and performance jitters, it\u2019s always a good idea to audit the items that open on startup and turn off any that don\u2019t seem necessary. Windows works perfectly well without any third-party software firing up automatically at startup. All that extra stuff added in there by pushy apps and overzealous laptop manufacturers \u2013 that can all go, and your life will be better for it. Even if you\u2019re on a Mac, it never hurts to check your login items and see what you can do without.<\/p>\n The same goes for browser extensions, which tend to accrete to the point where every page you open is covered in smart content and analytical toolbars. As well as getting in your way, each one consumes resources and contributes to that sense of general malaise that afflicts laptops of a certain age. Ditch \u2019em. If you\u2019re using Chrome, enter chrome:\/\/extensions into the address bar and smash Remove on anything that isn\u2019t earning its keep; in Microsoft Edge, the address is \u2013 guess what? \u2013 edge:\/\/extensions. On Safari, open the Settings window, and select Extensions to view and manage your plug-ins.<\/p>\n And while you\u2019re having a clearout, I recommend spring cleaning your storage too. There are lots of neat free tools that will perform a wholesale audit of your hard disk and show you exactly what\u2019s taking up the space. My personal favourites are WinDirStat on Windows and Disk Inventory X on the Mac; whichever you pick, I\u2019ll bet you\u2019ll be shocked by the amount of space you\u2019re wasting on old downloads and unneeded apps. Purging them probably won\u2019t make your computer run any faster, but if you were thinking of buying a new laptop just because this one was nearly full, that urge may now be quelled.<\/p>\n Alternatively, you could give your laptop a new lease of life by treating it to a hardware upgrade or two. As with repairs, this isn\u2019t always possible, but it\u2019s worth exploring whether you can add extra memory, extend the storage or replace the battery. Expanding the RAM, in particular, can make a remarkable difference to the overall feel of a computer. The latest operating systems and applications tend to high-handedly assume that you have at least 8GB of RAM and prefer twice that much; disappoint them and they may embark upon a go-slow in protest.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Get the best shopping advice from the Filter team straight to your inbox. The Guardian\u2019s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link.<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.<\/span><\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n <\/span>\u2026 or just give it a good old clean.<\/span> Photograph: d3sign\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Beyond all that, you can always engage the nuclear option \u2013 a complete wipe and reinstall. There\u2019s no need to muck about with dozens of floppy disks as in days of yore: you can now download and reinstall the OS files over the internet, on Windows and macOS. This makes it a tantalisingly easy way to restore the spring to a computer\u2019s step, but bear in mind that the process will put your computer back into the same naive, unpersonalised state as a new laptop. And be very certain you\u2019ve backed up all your personal files before you head down this path \u2013 the reinstaller may offer to keep your documents and settings, but if anything does get lost, that\u2019s squarely on the head of the genius who decided to reformat their own hard drive.<\/p>\n While I\u2019m on this tack, don\u2019t underestimate the power of physical cleaning. Much of the thrill of opening up a brand-new laptop is to do with the perfectly unsmudged screen, and the spotless, grease-free keys that respond precisely to your touch without the slightest hint of biscuit crumb. I recommend you turn off your laptop, grab a non-abrasive cloth (ideally microfibre if you have one) and give it a proper wipe down, inside and out. Then, turn it upside down and attack the keyboard with a handheld vacuum, giving the keys a good scrub with the brush, to dislodge any dust or morsels from around the edges. When you turn the thing the right way up, it\u2019ll be like someone\u2019s handed you a new computer.<\/p>\n <\/span>Sometimes buying a new laptop is unavoidable.<\/span> Photograph: Westend61\/Getty Images<\/p>\n All the above notwithstanding, there are some situations where a new laptop is the right answer. As I\u2019ve intimated, repairs and upgrades aren\u2019t always possible, so if you\u2019ve shattered the screen, the only solution might be to take a trip to the computer shop.<\/p>\n A particularly irritating scenario is when the hardware is still working fine, but is too old to support the latest operating system and security patches. This tends to happen to Apple systems after about a decade, and it\u2019s about to hit many millions of PCs on 14 October, when Microsoft cuts off support for Windows 10. Computers that meet the hardware requirements for Windows 11 can upgrade for free, but the rest will be stuck out in the cold.<\/p>\n If your computer is among that unhappy cohort \u2013 and for whatever reason you\u2019re not in a position to install a non-Windows OS \u2013 then a new laptop is a must. While it\u2019s possible to keep running an unsupported operating system, I can\u2019t in all conscience recommend you do that. Without regular security patches coming down from the mother ship, you\u2019d be a sitting duck for future hacks and ransomware attacks.<\/p>\n This doesn\u2019t necessarily mean you need to bin your existing laptop. You can install a free Linux operating system on almost anything, and use that for everyday tasks such as surfing the web, editing documents and spreadsheets in LibreOffice, and even making video calls.<\/p>\n Another option is Google\u2019s ChromeOS Flex platform, a free version of the Chromebook operating system that you can install on a wide range of laptops. Whether you use it yourself or pass it off to a friend or family member, you\u2019ll have done your bit to extend the life of that particular device, and to defer the environmental cost of decommissioning it.<\/p>\n Finally, let\u2019s not pretend that there isn\u2019t a social aspect to all of this. The whole point of a portable computer is that you can take it out and about with you, where people can see it. Rocking up in your local coffee shop with a David Cameron-era laptop makes a certain statement, and not necessarily a bad one: it shows you\u2019re a loyal, practical sort of person, unswayed by the temptations of consumerism.<\/p>\n For more, read the Filter\u2019s guide to how to make your smartphone last longer<\/strong><\/p>\n Darien Graham-Smith has been a professional IT journalist for more than 20 years, covering brands from Amazon to Zyxel for <\/em>various magazines, newspapers and websites. A lifelong technology enthusiast, he wrote his first \u201cHELLO WORLD\u201d program on the Sinclair ZX-80, and prides himself on keeping his home fully set up with all the latest consumer gadgets \u2013 whether useful or, more frequently, not<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" So you want a new laptop. Of course you do. Everybody always does, except for perhaps during that short honeymoon period after you\u2019ve just bought one. But the glamour wears off, technology marches on, and before you know it, a newer, younger, more powerful model is wandering into your thoughts. I\u2019m not here to judge,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27542,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[2179,1562,3011,722,5019],"class_list":{"0":"post-27541","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-technology","8":"tag-buy","9":"tag-hold","10":"tag-laptop","11":"tag-technology","12":"tag-upgrade"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27541"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27541\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/27542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Save money \u2013 and the environment<\/strong><\/h2>\n
How to get the best out of your <\/strong>existing laptop<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Reinstall from scratch<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Maybe you do need a new one after all: signs to upgrade your laptop<\/strong><\/h2>\n