How to Buy a Computer in 2026 (And When Not To)

Most people who think they need a new computer don’t. A slow machine that still boots is usually neglected, not dying, and a cleanup fixes it for a fraction of what a new one costs. Buy new only when the hardware is failing, it cannot run the software you need, or a repair costs more than the machine is worth.

I’ve talked more people out of buying a new computer than into one. That is an odd thing for a computer guy to admit, but it’s true, and it’s a big part of why folks around Valdosta keep my number. So before we get to what to buy, let’s figure out whether you need to buy anything at all.

Is your computer actually dying, or just neglected?

Here is the pattern I see over and over. A computer gets slow. Nobody can say exactly when it started. Somebody at the store says it’s old and the fix is a new one. And the whole time, the actual problem was a drive packed full, a dozen programs launching at startup, a browser loaded with junk, or an old spinning hard drive that was never fast to begin with.

Neglect looks like this:

• It takes minutes to boot, but it does boot.
• Everything works, just slowly, and the slowness came on gradually.
• The storage is nearly full.
• Pop-ups, toolbars, or a browser that goes somewhere you didn’t ask for. If that sounds familiar, read the signs your computer has a virus before you spend a dime on hardware.
• It still has a spinning hard drive instead of a solid-state drive.

Real hardware trouble looks different:

• It won’t power on, or it shuts itself off under load.
• The hard drive clicks or grinds, or files start coming up corrupted.
• Blue screens that point at memory or the drive, not at a program.
• A cracked screen, a broken hinge, a swollen battery, or a charging port that only works at one angle.
• It cannot run something you genuinely need for work or school, and no amount of cleanup will change that.

The first list is a cleanup. The second list is a repair decision, and sometimes a replacement. Most of what comes through my door is the first list. It’s the same story I told in my rundown of the tech problems I see most in Valdosta homes and offices, and it hasn’t changed.

Do you have to replace a Windows 10 machine?

No. This is the question I’ve been asked most since last fall, so let me be exact about it.

Windows 10 reached end of support on October 14, 2025. Microsoft’s own position is that those PCs keep working. What stops is the security updates and technical support, which Microsoft says leaves the machine “at a greater risk for viruses and malware.” That is a real risk and I don’t want to wave it off. But nothing shut down that day, and anyone who told you otherwise was selling something.

You have three honest paths:

What specs actually matter in 2026?

Fewer than the spec sheet wants you to think. Here is what I look at, in order.

The one thing you cannot fix later

This is the most important section in this post, and it is the one the store will not tell you.

Soldered LPDDR5 and LPDDR5X memory is now standard on most premium thin laptops, on Copilot+ PCs, and on every Apple MacBook. It is not just the expensive ones, either. Budget and entry-level laptops frequently ship with soldered memory too, and those are exactly the machines people buy on the cheap, planning to upgrade later. There is a socketed alternative called LPCAMM2 that can be swapped, but very few laptops use it so far. Assume yours does not unless the spec sheet says so.

Apple takes it a step further. On an Apple Silicon Mac, both the memory and the storage are fixed permanently at the moment you order. Apple charges a steep premium to bump either one, and I understand the temptation to skip it. Don’t. The upgrade price at checkout is the only price there will ever be. A Mac bought with too little memory is a Mac with too little memory for as long as you own it.

Right-to-repair laws are moving in the right direction. California’s SB 244 requires manufacturers to provide service documentation free and to sell replacement parts and repair tools. That helps with batteries, screens and keyboards. It does not unsolder a memory chip. No law will.

Laptop or desktop?

Buy the shape that matches how you actually use it, not the one that looks better on the shelf.

A desktop wins on almost everything except carrying it. You get more computer for the money, it is easier to repair, the memory and storage are usually upgradable, and it does not have a battery that wears out or a hinge that cracks. For a home office, a homework machine, or a business front desk, a desktop is my default recommendation. As a dad of four, I also like a desktop in a room everyone walks through. It is easier to see what is on the screen.

A laptop wins when it has to travel, and for a lot of people that is the deciding factor. Just go in knowing that a laptop is where the soldered-memory problem bites hardest, where batteries fade, and where a single drop can end it. Buy it with the memory you will need, treat it like the fragile thing it is, and back it up.

If you are on the fence, a small desktop with a decent monitor will outlast the laptop and cost less to keep running. If you already know you need a laptop, go back and read the section above one more time before you shop.

Is refurbished a good idea?

Yes, from the right seller. Refurbished does not mean broken. It usually means returned, off-lease, or open-box, then tested and resold with a warranty. Some of the best values I see are business-grade machines coming off corporate leases, because those were built to be serviced.

The warranty is how you tell a real refurbisher from somebody flipping junk. Microsoft Store Certified Refurbished Surface devices carry a 12-month hardware warranty. Amazon Renewed covers most items for 90 days from the day you receive it, and Renewed Premium extends that to 365 days. Those are published guarantees you can hold someone to. A listing with no warranty at all is not refurbished; it is used, and it should be priced that way.

• Buy from a seller with a written warranty of at least 90 days, and longer is better.
• Check the memory and storage before you buy. Everything I said about soldered parts applies double here, because you cannot configure a refurbished laptop at order time.
• Make sure it will run Windows 11. A refurbished machine that fails the TPM 2.0 or processor check is a Windows 10 machine with an expiration date.
• Bring it by for a diagnostic when it arrives if you want a second set of eyes on a machine you did not see in person.

What to skip at the register

Some days the computer is the cheap part of the transaction. Here is what I would leave on the counter.

Which brings me to the store’s own setup service. Sometimes it is worth it, and sometimes it is a technician clicking through the same screens you would. What I do for $350 flat is different: unboxing, Windows set up in your name, every update run, the bloatware gone, the printer and Wi-Fi working, and everything moved off the old machine so you can sit down and go. That is on the same pricing page as everything else, and there are no contracts, ever.

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