At ECN, when faculty and staff needed to purchase a new computer, our staff spent considerable time compiling current pricing and specifications and then summarizing that information in countless e-mail replies. This was clearly something that could be made much more efficient with a simple web page.
I wrote our PC Desktop Recommendations page. It has been expanded several times since since it was first published, and it is updated several times every year. This quickly became one of our team’s most useful articles.
One of the recent additions to this article is the “How often should my computer be replaced?” section. It articulates why ECN recommends budgeting to replace one’s primary computer when its warranty expires while perhaps delaying a purchase until the hardware actually fails or is otherwise proved inadequate. By following this strategy, departments may be assured that faculty and staff always have adequate computers. Departments might also achieve budgetary savings: If your department budgets to replace your computer at 5 years but doesn’t have to do so until its 6th or even 7th year, it’s actual money saved.
First published: April 2, 2010
URL to live article: https://engineering.purdue.edu/ECN/Support/KB/Docs/PCDesktop