Laptop - when is it time to replace

I run them until components fail which is usually at least 10 years. But I use PCs not laptops so that I can just replace whatever failed.

The biggest cause of slow computers is the stuff you put on the computer, not the computer itself, so buying a new one and starting afresh is generally no different than formatting and starting again.
If you can keep your PC clean you shouldn't need to format regularly.

[Syndrome]

Originally Posted by leesa

If you can keep your PC clean you shouldn't need to format regularly.

Define clean.

[slowsnake]

Hello,

You replace it when it stops working after retrieving it from where you slammed it through your gyprock wall, when it failed to boot up for the 100th time because the only cloud in the otherwise clear Northern sky is blocking your satellite dish signal!

Cheers Billy.