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I have a daughter who’s just starting preschool- and I can’t believe how a 1st day outfit, new backpack, markers and crayons are adding up to a real household expense.  It got me thinking about parents of older students who also have to think about expensive technology purchases… beyond the great Fisher Price laptop of course…

Everyday I work in the business of extending the life of consumer electronics. Typically this comes in the form of encouraging reuse by enabling consumers to trade in used electronics for cash and then we help the items get adopted into new homes. But today, I started thinking about how I could take this same principle and pass on some things we’ve learned about extending the life of electronics in your own home, while sharing some thoughts about smart buys and about when it might not be the smartest idea to rush out and buy the latest and greatest laptop.

A laptop is probably the biggest technology purchases parents make for their students during this time of year. When it comes to laptops- here’s what you should know:

•    Laptops should last up to 3-4 years so plan to buy one at the start of high school and again at the start of college. •    Maintaining your laptop is critical to having it perform smoothly. Performing software updates, keeping antivirus updated, and minor system upgrades will insure you get the most from your purchase. •    Students shouldn’t be early adaptors. When it comes to laptops, you don’t need to be the first one on the block to have the new operating systems so don’t rush out to be the first to buy Windows 7 for high school or college.

•    If you have an older laptop, consider small upgrades vs. buying a whole new one.

• Add more RAM. RAM has considerably dropped in price over the years and on most laptops. Adding RAM is as simple as swapping out the old for the new. You first want to check what type of RAM your system handles, and then the maximum amount of RAM that can be added. Shop around and find the best price, then maximize your systems RAM capability.
• Bigger Faster Hard Drive: Now that Solid State Drives have come into the picture, prices on standard hard drives have been dropping. A nice upgrade to an older system is a new bigger and faster hard drive. Most older systems probably have 5400 rpm drives with a size of around 80-120gb. For around $60 you can purchase a 500gb 72000rpm drive to dramatically improve your system. If you want an even faster system try installing a Solid State Drive, you will get better performance but at a higher cost. Make sure you check out Apricorn’s ADW-USB KIT ($30) to move your old hard drive data to your new drive quickly and easily.
• High Capacity battery: over time batteries just tend to wear out. Purchasing a new battery that has a higher capacity can bring new life to your laptop. You can find generic batteries on eBay that can save you 50-60% from what the manufacturer price.
• Clean out your System: Most older laptops probably have a ton of unused files. Try going through your installed programs (in control panel) and removing everything you don’t use. Also look for the useless software (crapware) that ships with a lot of new systems. De-fragmenting your hard drive is also another way to speed up your system. De-fragmenting your hard drive basically organizes all your files and puts your drive back in order (like re-organizing your closet)

Many electronics, including laptops maintain between 10-30% of their value even after a few years of use- so when you’re done with your item remember to trade it in and recoup some of the expense. Part of pricing is based on the condition of your item so investing in a good case and taking good care of your technology purchases really does pay off in the end.