BleepingComputer.com: Buy it now or next year?

I'm a junior in high school and I have a job in which I sit at a boat landing on a lake and check for harmful invasive plants on boats as they come in. There is internet connection nearby and I can get signal there. Obviously boats do not come all the time so I have a lot of downtime.

My current laptop was a mediocre computer when I bought it 3 years ago for $400. Now the battery is completely shot and I have to leave it plugged in. It is not even an option to bring this to the boat landing.

I would like to buy a computer this summer. Since I'm a junior and I was planning on getting a relatively high end laptop next year anyway, I was thinking maybe i should just get it this year. I would be able to get a better system for the same price next year if I chose to wait. But, if I get it now, I can use it during all of my boring shifts and all this year.

So my question is: should I get a new laptop now or wait till graduation?

This post has been edited by bscolls: 21 June 2011 - 07:19 PM

Well Intel and AMD are realeasing new processor soon and i would by end of this year or next year the new processor would be already in the laptops for sell. What are you gonna use it for and what is the budget?

Summer will be over before you know it. That means it won't be long until back-to-school sales.

Included in those back-to-school sales will be computers. You may be able to get a good deal on a laptop before school starts. If you don't get the Sunday paper with weekly ads you can go to the websites of stores in your area to look at the weekly ads. See what they have and decide if you want to invest in a new laptop now instead of next year. If you aren't happy with your mediocre system with a shot battery now do you really want to stay unhappy with it for a year? Your normal human reaction in 6 months would probably be "I should have gotten me a new one 6 months ago instead of sticking with this one". Plus, over the course of the year, other things may go wrong with it to the point where it is no longer worth using. You would constantly be trying to keep it working and sometimes it's not worth the hassle. So what if you don't get one with the new processor? What you will have is a system you are happy with and enjoy using.

If you see something on sale, you can go look at it. Just remember that the sale price is only good for a week, so you will have to get it then. If you decide not to get it, there will be others on sale the next week. You run the risk of not getting what you really want if you don't get it when it is on sale.

You could also keep your current laptop limping along until the Christmas season computer sales.

This post has been edited by Queen-Evie: 23 June 2011 - 05:28 PM

Well...years ago, when I bought a laptop...I did so only because I wanted it for the times at work when I could use it. I had no access to a computer unless I bought one and I had ample time to use it and enjoy it...so I didn't hesitate. The money was not a consideration, the important thing for me was to have access to my programs and the Internet when the occasion arose.

The question is...how important is having it during your summer stint...for you?

Louis