On average, UK computer owners replace their machines every 4.5 years, citing slow speed as their top dislike, according to research commissioned by memory upgrade destination Crucial.com.
The survey, conducted by Consumer Analysis Group, polled more than 1,000 computer owners in the UK, aged 16-70. It found that the most commonly-owned computer in the UK today is an “old desktop computer”, as identified by 25pc of survey respondents.
It revealed a strong reluctance to replace computers too often, with only 2pc of respondents saying they were willing to replace their computer “every two or so years”.
When confronted with a sluggish machine, most computer owners said they turn to simple self-help methods, such as compressing files (53pc), running the anti-virus checker (52pc), or rebooting their machine (43pc). However, nearly half of those surveyed (49pc) also believed they would benefit from a memory upgrade.
However, handling the insides of a computer, as with a ‘DIY’ computer memory upgrade, filled more people with fear (39pc) than sweeping up and discarding a spider (16pc).
