Before picking a new laptop, it is vital that you are familiar with a couple of things, as they will play a major role in its overall durability, usability, and efficiency. Some of these things include the average lifespan of a laptop and its battery life.
In this article, I will explain these two essential parts, so if you are curious about these two parts and want to have an idea of how long your laptop can continue to serve you, you are reading the right article.
How Long Do Laptops Last Before Replacing Them?
Three main points determine how long you can use a laptop before it becomes outdated or before it becomes a machine that cannot meet your basic computing needs, and these are:
- The hardware components of the laptop
- The type of tasks that you will be carrying out on the laptop
- How you maintain the laptop
Now let me explain these three points.
A Laptop’s Hardware Will Determine How Long it Will Stay Relevant
The kind of components that comes with a laptop will determine the laptop’s average lifespan. Major components like the processor, graphics card, memory, and storage capacity will dictate how long the laptop will remain relevant.
So, basically, the more you spend on a laptop, the longer it should stay relevant. Let’s break it down to explain it better.
If you go for a laptop that is less than $800, you should expect it to be relevant for 2-4 years.
If you buy a laptop that is around $800 to $1000, you should expect it to remain relevant for 3-5 years.
And a laptop that is around $1000 or more will remain relevant for 4-7 years.
This is basically a breakdown of what you should expect when it comes to the average life span of a laptop according to price. There is something you should know; however, the way you maintain a laptop will play a major role in how long it will last.
And that means your $800 laptop can serve you for a very long time if you ensure adequate and proper maintenance as specified by its Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM).
Your Computing Needs will Determine How Long it Remains Relevant.
The more resource consuming tasks that you need your laptop to perform will determine how long it will stay relevant. For example, if you are using your laptop for high-end gaming, video editing, and graphics design, your laptop might become outdated quickly.
This is because most high-end software requires regular updates and new versions. And there will come a time that your laptop will not be able to handle the new versions of this software.
These new programs will require a more powerful processor, better graphics cards, and sometimes a bigger storage space. When this happens, your laptop becomes irrelevant unless you upgrade the components, which may not perform at their optimum best.
However, if you are using your laptop for simple computing tasks like browsing the internet, watching videos, typing, etc., you can expect the laptop to stay relevant for a long period. This is because the average laptop can handle these general computing tasks for years without struggling.
How Well You Maintain Your Laptop Will Determine How Long it Will Last
Let me use my case as an example. In 2007, I got a brand new laptop for around $800. The purpose of getting the laptop was to use it for general day-to-day tasks and some minor gaming and less-intensive computer operations. By the end of 2012, the laptop was no longer usable.
Why? Because the charging port of the laptop stopped working, and the reason why it stopped working was that I was constantly overcharging it. I always forget to unplug the charger after it had reached the 100% battery life. I didn’t even know it could affect battery life, so I didn’t care.
Although I was still able to use the laptop for general tasks like surfing the internet, sending emails, and listening to music, I couldn’t use it to play games anymore. The summary of it all is that the lifespan of the laptop was cut short because I didn’t take proper care of it.
This goes to show how important it is to take good care of your computer laptop. I’m sure I could still get up 2-3 years if I took proper care of it. So if you want your laptop to work for years, ensure that you always take care of it.
How to Prolong Your Laptop’s Lifespan
- Unplug the charging cable once the laptop is fully charged
- Make sure you open up your laptop once in a while and clean it
- Always use a laptop cooling pad to prevent overheating
- Don’t use your laptop near food or liquid
- Use quality Antivirus software
- Upgrade your laptop components that are upgradeable
How Long Should A Laptop Battery Last (on a Single Charge)?
There are two ways to determine how long a laptop battery should last. The first one is how long should a backup battery last after it has been fully charged. The second one is how long a backup battery will last before it completely drains.
The average time for a laptop to work on a single charge can also be categorized into two parts. The first is the quality of the laptop’s backup battery, while the second is how you use your laptop.
The quality of your laptop will definitely dictate the quality of your battery. However, there are expensive laptops with average battery backup. But most of the time, a very high-end and expensive laptop will come with a very good battery.
So, it’s always crucial to do thorough research about all the laptop components that you are willing to buy. In addition, it’s also important to read reviews from existing users; this will give you an idea of what to expect from the laptop.
Basically, the average lifespan of a laptop battery when it is fully charged should be a minimum of 2-3 hours to a maximum of 7-8 hours, and it can be more than that. A lot depends on the type of task that you are carrying out on the laptop.
If you are using a high-end gaming laptop and you are using the laptop to play games for long hours, you will probably get around 2-3 hours of playing time before you will need to charge it. This is because most high-end games consume a lot of power, and this will definitely have an effect on the lifespan of your battery.
But if you are just using your laptop to do basic tasks like web browsing, sending emails, listening to music, or any other simple tasks. You will probably get up to a minimum of 4-5 hours out of the average batteries out there and a maximum of 10-12 hours or more out of the best laptop batteries.
Another important factor that I need to mention is the age of your battery. Basically, your laptop battery will work longer when it is brand new than when it is two years old.
It has been proven that an average laptop battery that use to last up to 4-5 hours when it is fully charged can reduce to 2-3 hours after using the laptop for a year or so.
How to Optimize the Average Single Charge Duration for Your Laptop
- Always make sure that your laptop screen brightness is as low as possible
- Reduce the amount of time before you screen times out
- Always close tabs that you are not using anymore
- Always use headphones over laptop’s speakers (Headphones consume less power)
- Always switch off your WiFi when you are not using it
- Always use a cooling pad for your laptop (the lesser the heat, the longer the battery life)
- Unplug the charging cable once your laptop is fully charged
- Always have a backup battery
How Long Should A Laptop Battery Last (Until It is No Longer Usable)
Basically, a laptop battery life should be to last around 300-500 full charges before it becomes unusable. However, the number can sometimes vary depending on the quality and the type of battery that you are using. Usually, if you are getting a premium laptop, you can expect to get a decent battery backup with it as well.
It is also important to point out that this number is only for full charges. For example, if your battery charge is on 20% and you plug in your charger, which does not count as a full charge, its only 80% of one full charge. A full charge is when your battery is completely empty.
So, basically, the lifespan of your battery before you will need to replace it cannot be date-based; it all depends on how you use it.
The more you use the battery of the laptop, the more you will need to charge it. And the more you plug in the charger, the shorter the lifespan.
