On average,PCs last for 5 years or sobefore they need major upgrades. Keep in mind that this is a very general statistic.
A PC’s exact lifespan can vary a lot depending on thecomponent gradeandexpected performance.
Some people don’t change any parts for a decade, while others like upgrading every year. Similarly, some parts are worth upgrading frequently (like the GPU), while others are not (like the PSU).
Taking all of this into account, I’ll help you estimate how long your PC will last and when you’ll probably need to upgrade.
What Determines a PC’s Lifespan
Different parts have different lifespans.CPUsandmotherboardstend to be extremely durable, whereas theRAM sticksandfansfailcomparativelysooner.
Note that the keyword here is –comparatively. Overall, PC components are long-lasting, and even the short-lived parts can work for a decade or more withproper maintenance.
This means most people replace their PCs because the system becomes obsolete rather than due to hardware failure. And since obsolescence is highly subjective, your PC’s lifespan will depend onyouruse cases and expectations.
Look at the GPU, for instance. The GTX 1080 Ti was released in early 2017.
7 years later, a lot of users stilldon’t feel the need to upgradefrom this card. It can run the latest games at mid-low settings and handles non-gaming workloads just fine.
Then, there’s the other camp that likes having the latest and greatest. For the best possible performance and no compromises, upgrading every generation makes sense.
Average Lifespan of Components
To get a better idea, let’s look at how long each part typically lasts and why people upgrade.
On average, peopleupgrade CPUs every 5 years or so.
This allows them to skip a few generations. The generation jump significantly improves clock speed,core count, cache, memory support, and support for new CPU technologies.
