I have definitely noticed that I can wait longer between computer upgrades these days, at least with PCs (I am not an apple gal/guy). Still, some of my pre-2010 computers, and even some post 2010, machines do need to be placed on the garbage heap. I have lots of computers and it really is a mixed bag as to what works well over the long haul and what does not. It seems to come down to the combo of motherboard/chip/graphics card as to what will or will not work well. The amount of RAM could play into this if it was really low but this is not a problem with any of my machines as I make sure to not begin to low in this regard.
The chip itself is not so much a big deal as much as how well it handles graphics. Some of the motherboard/chip combos I have work well, regardless of the absence or presence of a graphics card. Yet it is not entirely clear to me this is true. I have a relatively newer vintage crap laptop that seems to have lost something over successive software upgrades, e.g., win 8, 8.1, 10 and office flavors/years.
Fortunately I have access to a great source of cheap machines. A local computer store offers all kinds of open-box and otherwise discounted PCs that regularly offer fantastic deals. In fact, I’m off to the store this morning to check out what looks like an incredible steal……