individual parts, you’d probably spend at least twice as much for the com-
ponents, and spend 6 or 8 or 10 hours putting the pieces together. If you
were to assign that cloning job to a professional repair shop, the cost of that
computer — parts and a day’s labor — would be something like $3,000.Now, obviously, you’re not going to waste money in that way. However, it’s a
much less obvious decision when it comes to determining whether to repair
a malfunctioning screen on a three-year-old laptop. Is it worth putting a few
hundred dollars into a machine that would resell on eBay for $150? The
answer, as you see later, is maybe.Speaking very roughly, a basic repair for a laptop usually runs in the range
of $150–$250. For that amount of money you should be able to get an LCD
component(not the LCD itself) or a broken connector repaired. If the mother-
board itself is fried, or damaged be repair, the cost to bring the laptop back
to near original specs could be several hundred dollars.So, does your laptop stay or does it go.. .to the shop?I suggest you answer these questions before making the ultimate decision:What’s the approximate worth of the laptop when it’s in working con-
dition?One relatively easy way to gauge the value of a used laptop or
almost anything else is to check the listings on eBay. Start by looking for
your exact make and model; if you can’t come that close, look for an
equivalent machine using the same processor (Pentium, Celeron, AMD,
or other) running at the same speed, a similar amount of RAM, and a
similar-sized hard drive.
What’s the approximate cost to purchase a new machine of equivalent
or greater technical specs?The fact is that laptops keep getting better and better, with prices going
down or value going up. If your original machine cost $1,000, after a year
or more the same amount of money buys a much more capable machine.
As this book goes to press, the low end of laptop computing sits at about
$650 for a quite-capable machine most likely built around a Celeron or
equivalent AMD processor. The screen size at that price level is likely to
be an adequate 13 inches in diagonal measure, there will be a relatively
small hard drive, and basic audio and video capabilities.
The high end stands at about $2,500, and for that you get an ultra-slim,
ultra-light, ultra-fast machine with a large, bright screen. Expect to also
receive CD-RW and DVD capabilities and built-in modem, networking,
and WiFi facilities. In between lies the largest segment of the market:
fine machines priced from about $1,000–$1,500. These machines have
all of the latest features, but aren’t quite as light, thin, or fast as the top
of the line.56 Part II: Explaining What Could Possibly Go Wrong