Laptops Buy New Laptop or Upgrade Existing one ?

A

Ashish.K

Adept
Hi Friends,

May be this is the question "Buy New or Upgrade Existing !!" which everyone thinks of while upgrading his system.

I am not a hardcore gamer which sticks to screen all the time to avoid any type of points loosing tactics nor i am an avid over clocker. I need the system basically for office work/internet/outlook primarily, occasionally movie viewing/songs listening/gaming once a while.

I have been relying on my DELL Insprion 600M from the last 1.5 yrs, which is acting as very nice and steadily till now. No glitches, no unusual downtimes, no LCD bleedings - all in whole, actually a perfect system in my view. Changed the Battery once in the last 6 months which still gives a solid backup of approx 2 hrs+ on full screen brightness mode.

I would never mind to keep it with me for another 1.5 yrs or so, but so many mean notebooks available at a very nice price considering the good old 600m Inspiron cost anyone will lucrated towards buying a new one rather then upgrading the existing one.

So ladies n gentlemen, here are two options running in the mind right now

Option no. 1
Upgrade the existing one
Upgrade the RAM with 1 GB or 2 GB DDR400 - 4-5K
May be we can increase HDD size, to 120 GB or so - another 3-4K
Cost: around 9-10K

Can't think of any other upgrade options, open for any type of performance upgrade... pls dont ask me to overclock or something like that

Option no. 2
Buy a new system
NO Dell VOSTROS - I don't like the overall look of Vostro, and appears very bulky to me.
Dell Inspiron 1520 - 40-45K
Dell XPS 1530 - 45-50K
HP Santa Rosa Range - 50-55K
Compaq Notebooks - 35-40K
Cost: According to Picked model

Open in the listening and discussing other options in price bracket of 30-50K
What do you suggest guys, should I buy new one or upgrade existing one ??
 
TheIndian said:
Ram upgrade maybe, HDD do you really need more ? maybe an external USB one would be a nicer idea -
Click to expand...

That surely sounds better, I do have an external USB 80GB HDD... But the only point i have been considering a newer one, i am actually bored of seeing the same thing in my pack from the last 1.5 yrs, with so many nice laptops floating i am actually more inclined towards buying a newer one. :hap2:

However, i have a major logic for supporting my Option no. 2 "Buy a newer one" with which i seek a better hardware resale value of my current laptop then that of it in future, as a used centrino P4 is currently available roughly for around 18-20k in the market i.e. I'll be getting roughly 20K for this DELL Laptop, which i don't think I'll get in future..... which will be another loss !!

Ashi
 
The logic that you won't be getting very much for your old system in the future is sort of flawed because the negative effect of price decrease on an old laptop is easily exceeded by the positive effect of the price decrease + better hardware in the new laptop that you will delay buying.

So even if your system value decreases by 5000 in another 6 months, the combined effect of price decrease and hardware upgrade on your new laptop is probably going to be about 15000.

However, you also have to take into account the negative effect of using an old laptop for another 6 months.

A. Now all you have to do is calculate amount of utility derived per month from your old notebook

{(Initial Price of your Centrino) - (Expected sale price)}/No. of months used

B. Then calculate the extra cost per month of upgrading the laptop before another 6 months

{(Decrease in cost of new laptop after 6 months + value of upgraded hardware in another 6 months) - (Price decrease of old laptop)/6

Where, A is the amount of utility you normally derive and B is the amount of extra utility over A you will have to derive in the next 6 months of buying a new laptop to offset the monetary gains you will derive by delaying the purchase decision.

To interpret in layman terms, if the percentage of extra happiness you derive from the new laptop is more than {B/(A+B)}*100 you should probably buy a new laptop now and if it is less you should buy a new laptop 6 months later.
 
cybertragic said:
The logic that you won't be getting very much for your old system in the future is sort of flawed because the negative effect of price decrease on an old laptop is easily exceeded by the positive effect of the price decrease + better hardware in the new laptop that you will delay buying.

So even if your system value decreases by 5000 in another 6 months, the combined effect of price decrease and hardware upgrade on your new laptop is probably going to be about 15000.

However, you also have to take into account the negative effect of using an old laptop for another 6 months.

A. Now all you have to do is calculate amount of utility derived per month from your old notebook
{(Initial Price of your Centrino) - (Expected sale price)}/No. of months used

B. Then calculate the extra cost per month of upgrading the laptop before another 6 months
{(Decrease in cost of new laptop after 6 months + value of upgraded hardware in another 6 months) - (Price decrease of old laptop)/6

Where, A is the amount of utility you normally derive and B is the amount of extra utility over A you will have to derive in the next 6 months of buying a new laptop to offset the monetary gains you will derive by delaying the purchase decision.

To interpret in layman terms, if the percentage of extra happiness you derive from the new laptop is more than {B/(A+B)}*100 you should probably buy a new laptop now and if it is less you should buy a new laptop 6 months later.
Click to expand...

Dear, this logic is very much true and near to physics law but will be true at every stage of laptop life, i.e. weather today or 6 months later or even 12 months later. :) May be talking about up-gradation and considering resale price of old laptop, a wild solution can be like selling off this laptop today and hold any buying decisions for next 6 months or so.. which will benefit me most according to this logic, which will be useless to me otherwise, since i am not going to get my job suffered at any cost.

But here we are head-storming over a debate where-in i want to decide for taking up a new laptop weather today or after 6 or so months, rather then a point of happiness derived. On practically grounds a human mind is always diverted into a phase where he has to choose among options available, here we have options of up-gradation or buy new. :cool2:

I am more or less inclined towards getting new one, which otherwise will give me benefits like
1. Care-free usage of the new laptop
2. Warranty coverage of a new laptop
3. Dealing with superior Hardwares then that of old laptop
4. A refreshing and new working laptop environment
and last but not the least Latest Techno stuff in hand :hap2:

May be as i am inclined towards getting new's benefits, i am not able to see the benefits of holding the old one with me and upgrading the same. I appreciate if some one can discuss it further taking my mind state in consideration..... :cool2:
 
I can read clearly that u just want a new laptop and asking people which one do u go for, from the list u have given...............

Option no. 2
Buy a new system
NO Dell VOSTROS - I don't like the overall look of Vostro, and appears very bulky to me.
Dell Inspiron 1520 - 40-45K
Dell XPS 1530 - 45-50K
HP Santa Rosa Range - 50-55K
Compaq Notebooks - 35-40K
Cost: According to Picked model

Open in the listening and discussing other options in price bracket of 30-50K
 
TheIndian said:
you want a new one,

Why do you feel the urge to seek approval of others ?
Click to expand...

Dude.. i do want a new one, but i am not seeking anyone's approval.. i am actually just debating with myself where-in i am debating "why i am looking for a new one, when i already had one ?"

May be i'll be sounding a bit foolish to some people, but this is a situation where-in everyone found himself one or another day. :)
 
welll....... stop the squirish guys!!!!!!!!!!
i guess its final that u r goin to buy a new one....heh
1. i agree vostro is bulky.... n not so stylish...
2. inspiron is a good buy for the price...
3. u won't be getin an xps in the range u specified.... its above 55 in the least...n last uheard...... dell ppl are not givin in to bargains on that price...unless u customize it into a higher price range...so i belev its out...
4. hp santa rosa is a good option..they r gud lukin too......
5. compaq is a good buy but def not for gamin.....

so i say u go for either an hp lappy or if u r ready to wait.... go for the inspiron.....
 
ash.....he meant in a different way. What he was trying to say is if you do know that you cant push the current lappy to a great visible level and you need a lappy, there shouldnt be any confusion to get a new one. He wasnt mocking or trying to make you feel "foolish". All respects dude-no offense "IF" I sounded harsh.
 
The Sorcerer said:
ash.....he meant in a different way. What he was trying to say is if you do know that you cant push the current lappy to a great visible level and you need a lappy, there shouldnt be any confusion to get a new one. He wasnt mocking or trying to make you feel "foolish". All respects dude-no offense "IF" I sounded harsh.
Click to expand...

Thanks sorcerer, it seems it's high time i would get a new one, otherwise i see a state where-in people are holding their heads while see my thread bumped again with another query :bleh: FYI.. i have already started spending some time on dell and compaq websites while comparing their current models :eek:hyeah:

While it was great discussing with you guys - Heartily thanks to all those who participated, while i am a bit busy right now with annual audit and closing stuffs :) i will be back very soon with opening up 2 threads very soon - 1. Selling up the current DELL baby, 2. Which new laptop to buy ?

Cheers :cool2:
 
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