Computer lifecycle

Purchasing a new computer

Your Ag IT consultant will work with you to get a computer that meets your needs. They will help you consider:

• Discounts that might be available (i.e. educational, warranty, bulk purchasing).
• Warranty options to fit your budget and needs (i.e. onsite, next business day, etc.)
• Ordering through Simba for tax exemption
• Models that can be fully supported by the Ag IT Help Desk.

Useful life of your computer

Ag IT is prepared to provide hardware and software support for the useful life of your computer.

• Useful life for a primary computer is usually 4 years. Having a primary computer older than 4 years increases the risk of downtime associated with hardware failures.
• Useful life for secondary computers (periodic use machines) is usually 5 to 6 years. Computers older than 6 years will usually have performance and software compatibility issues.

IMPORTANT: There will be some cases where the typical expected lifespan for a computer could be shorter than expected.

• New operating systems sometimes have hardware requirements that are not supported by older model computers. For instance, Windows 11 has security hardware and performance requirements that do not currently exist with Windows 10. Apple drops support for their oldest Macs with each new release of their operating system.

Retiring/Salvaging your computer

• When a computer is being retired, it is important to properly dispose of it through Lion Surplus. Ag IT has a How to with details on salvaging computers and other IT equipment.
• Be mindful of where your computer is being stored before being sent to Lion Surplus. Your computer can be sent to Lion Surplus without first being cleaned of data, but it is important that you keep it in a secure location (not the hallway) until it goes to salvage.
• Lion Surplus performs a secure deletion of any data that is on computers that are salvaged, so you do not need to worry about deleting your files.