When to repair and when to buy a new computer is a tough decision in my line of work. Most people are not aware that the biggest expense of a computer is not the initial cost for the computer, but the maintenance and repair over it’s lifetime. This cost includes my hourly rate to repair as well as other things like software. I hear people say they’ll just buy a new computer when they have problems, but if they make the same mistakes on the new one, chances are you’ll have the same problems like the old computer.
Another thing to consider is with a new computer someone like me will have to reinstall your software, email, web browser links as well as your hardware configuration like printers, scanners, external hard drives and networks. You can try and do it yourself, but it you may not be as thorough or fast as I would be.
I read an article that the average business computer is replaced every three to five years. If the computer they are using is not under warranty and under four years old then I lean towards repair if it’s hardware. Over four years old, I lean towards replacement of the computer. If one hardware item is replaced it’s possible that another one may fail soon after(or not). This is the guideline I use when advising clients for hardware issues.
For software and malware issues I usually repair after discussing with my client.