A laptop that "still works" is often costing you more than a new one — in lost time, ended security support, and dying batteries. A practical lifecycle guide.
Businesses hold onto laptops far longer than they should. The reason is understandable — a working laptop feels like a paid-off asset. But "working" and "costing you nothing" aren't the same thing.
Here's a practical guide to when a business laptop has actually outlived its value.
The realistic window: three to five years
Most business laptops hit their useful end between three and five years. Before that, performance is usually fine. After that, the costs of keeping it start to quietly exceed the cost of replacing it.
This isn't a marketing line from a hardware vendor. It's the point where support ends, batteries degrade, and the daily friction of a slow machine adds up across a year of someone's salary.
The costs people don't count
A laptop that's "still fine" is often costing you in ways that don't show up on a receipt:
- Productivity drag. An extra 15 minutes a day of waiting on a slow machine is, over a year, more than a week of lost work per employee.
- Support ends. Most manufacturers stop security updates at four to five years. An unsupported laptop is a security liability, not just a slow one.
- Battery failure. A laptop that only works plugged in isn't really a laptop anymore.
- Repair economics. A single board or screen repair on a four-year-old machine often costs more than the machine is worth.
The "good enough" trap
The most expensive laptop is the one an employee tolerates for two years past its useful life because "it still turns on." The employee never complains — they assume slow is just how it is. It isn't.
Ask your team one question: does your laptop ever make you wait when you'd rather be working? If the answer is regularly yes, the laptop has already cost you more than you think.
Plan the refresh, don't react to the failure
The worst time to replace a laptop is the morning it dies — because then you're paying rush pricing, settling for whatever's in stock, and losing a day of someone's work.
A simple lifecycle plan fixes this: know the age of every machine, replace on a schedule (typically four years), and budget for it annually so it never feels like a surprise expense.
Leasing can smooth the cost further, replacing capital spikes with a predictable monthly line. For growing teams, it's often the cleaner option.
The simplest rule
If a laptop is past four years, plan its replacement this year. If it's past five, replace it now — the math already isn't on your side.
Not sure how old your fleet actually is? Start with an IT Health Check — we'll inventory it for you.