3 ms·

besides fixing a pc tower many things are just too expensive to repair, if it's several hundred to repair and similar price ratio for a new one or buy a used on

by sfmike 3y ago

besides fixing a pc tower many things are just too expensive to repair, if it's several hundred to repair and similar price ratio for a new one or buy a used one same price then people opt for that

freeone3000 3y ago
Even then! Best Buy charges $150 to take a look, plus the cost of software or replacement parts. That’s more than half of the cost of the average (as in, median most popular) computer! You can get a used optiplex for that, no problem.
- accrual 3y ago
  It makes me happy I can do nearly everything Geek Squad can do, maybe even more in some cases, especially since it's a skill apparently valued so high. I could charge 50% of what Best Buy does and still make a profit, hah.
Legend2440 3y ago
Really just comes down to manufacturing is heavily automated, while repair is heavily labor-intensive. It often is cheaper to buy a new thing than to hire a skilled technician to drive out and repair it.
- jerlam 3y ago
  Yup, compared to many other consumer items, computers are extremely difficult to diagnose and repair compared to their replacement cost. I just had my refrigerator fixed last year - the repair cost $500, and I think there are only three or four major parts that the technician can repair/replace. I think it's similar for a washer/dryer. It can be diagnosed and fixed expensively, or not at all and must be replaced. The average computer is a mess of random hardware components and bad drivers and questionable-quality software that all interact with each other in unknown, disastrous ways. The YouTube channels Linus Tech Tips and Gamers Nexus have a bunch of videos in where they purposefully unplug or disable something on brand new computers, contact the tech support of the manufacturer, an independent shop, or Best Buy to have them try and fix it. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't.
  - SoftTalker 3y ago
    Basically nothing is repariable (that is to say, nobody will bother to repair) anything below the "board" level any more. Your refrigerator could have had a bad relay or a bad capacitor, but they most likely just replaced the whole "control board" because that is just a couple of screws and a couple of cable connections. No diagnosis beyond "something is wrong on the board" and takes the tech about 5 minutes to do.
bluedino 3y ago
The computer might only cost $500, but the function it performs is worth more. Let's say you have a desktop computer, power supply goes out. $100 for the part, and $100 for the tech to replace it, for a total of $200. You might think, "that computer is 3 years old, it's not even worth $200, just buy a new one". However, a new computer comes with more costs. You have to set up all your software. Configure your web browser, bookmarks, desktop icons, setup your printer, find that program you were using to do X, this might take a whole day to do. Some people just want it fixed so they can get back to work.
- ipaddr 3y ago
  But it would take a day to get someone to look at it and a new computer can drive home with you today.

by sfmike 3y ago

besides fixing a pc tower many things are just too expensive to repair, if it's several hundred to repair and similar price ratio for a new one or buy a used one same price then people opt for that

freeone3000 3y ago

Even then! Best Buy charges $150 to take a look, plus the cost of software or replacement parts. That’s more than half of the cost of the average (as in, median most popular) computer! You can get a used optiplex for that, no problem.

accrual 3y ago
It makes me happy I can do nearly everything Geek Squad can do, maybe even more in some cases, especially since it's a skill apparently valued so high. I could charge 50% of what Best Buy does and still make a profit, hah.

Legend2440 3y ago

Really just comes down to manufacturing is heavily automated, while repair is heavily labor-intensive. It often is cheaper to buy a new thing than to hire a skilled technician to drive out and repair it.

jerlam 3y ago
Yup, compared to many other consumer items, computers are extremely difficult to diagnose and repair compared to their replacement cost. I just had my refrigerator fixed last year - the repair cost $500, and I think there are only three or four major parts that the technician can repair/replace. I think it's similar for a washer/dryer. It can be diagnosed and fixed expensively, or not at all and must be replaced. The average computer is a mess of random hardware components and bad drivers and questionable-quality software that all interact with each other in unknown, disastrous ways. The YouTube channels Linus Tech Tips and Gamers Nexus have a bunch of videos in where they purposefully unplug or disable something on brand new computers, contact the tech support of the manufacturer, an independent shop, or Best Buy to have them try and fix it. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't.
- SoftTalker 3y ago
  Basically nothing is repariable (that is to say, nobody will bother to repair) anything below the "board" level any more. Your refrigerator could have had a bad relay or a bad capacitor, but they most likely just replaced the whole "control board" because that is just a couple of screws and a couple of cable connections. No diagnosis beyond "something is wrong on the board" and takes the tech about 5 minutes to do.

bluedino 3y ago

The computer might only cost $500, but the function it performs is worth more. Let's say you have a desktop computer, power supply goes out. $100 for the part, and $100 for the tech to replace it, for a total of $200. You might think, "that computer is 3 years old, it's not even worth $200, just buy a new one". However, a new computer comes with more costs. You have to set up all your software. Configure your web browser, bookmarks, desktop icons, setup your printer, find that program you were using to do X, this might take a whole day to do. Some people just want it fixed so they can get back to work.

ipaddr 3y ago
But it would take a day to get someone to look at it and a new computer can drive home with you today.